The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898
Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and
their peoples, their history and records of the catholic missions,
as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the
political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those
islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the
close of the nineteenth century,
Volume XXXII, 1640
Edited and annotated by Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson
with historical introduction and additional notes by Edward Gaylord
Bourne.
The Arthur H. Clark Company
Cleveland, Ohio
MCMV
CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXXII
Preface 9
Historia de la Provincia del Sancto Rosario de la Orden
de Predicadores (concluded).
Diego Aduarte, O.P.; Manila, 1640 19
Bibliographical Data 299
ILLUSTRATIONS
Indiæ orientalis nec non insularum adiacentum nova descriptio
(map of Indian archipelago), photographic facsimile of part
of map by Nicolaus Visscher [1660?], from copy in library of
Wisconsin State Historical Society 153
Map of the East Indies; photographic facsimile, from the
French edition of Mercator's Atlas minor of 1635; from
copy of original map in Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris 169
Autograph signature of Diego Aduarte, O. P.; photographic
facsimile from original MS. in Archivo general de Indias,
Sevilla 297
PREFACE
In the present volume is concluded the excellent Historia of the
Dominican writer Diego Aduarte, begun in Vol. XXX, and continued in
XXXI; the period of mission history here covered being 1608-37. Aduarte
died in 1636; but the events subsequent to 1634, with a sketch of
Aduarte's life, are added by the hand of his editor, Fray Domingo
Gonçalez.
Continuing the life of Fray Luis Gandullo, who was prominent among
the founders of the Dominican province, Aduarte narrates the marvelous
conversions and even miracles wrought by him, and many of his visions
and other wonderful experiences. In 1612, the chapter again elects
Fray Miguel de San Jacinto as provincial. The persecutions in Japan
become more widespread and severe; various incidents therein are
related. Our writer sketches the life of Fray Diego de Soria, the
second bishop of Nueva Segovia; and of another early missionary in
that province, Francisco Minayo.
Book ii of Aduarte's history recounts events from 1614 on, beginning
with Japan, where a new and more cruel persecution of the Christians
begins with that year; and orders are given by the shogun that all
priests and religious must be banished from Japan. When this order
is carried out, many of the missionaries remain in the country,
in hiding and disguised--traveling through the country to instruct
and console the Christians, suffering great hardships and dangers,
and finally, in most cases, dying as martyrs for their faith. In
the long biography of Fray Francisco de San Joseph Blancas, the most
interesting point is his linguistic achievements in the Tagal language,
and the introduction of printing in the Philippine Islands, which
Aduarte here ascribes entirely to Fray Francisco. This father also
learned the Chinese language, and assumed the charge of instructing
the negroes and slaves in Manila.
In 1615, the Cagayán mission is much disturbed and injured by the
flight to the mountains of many Indians who had been gathered into
the mission reductions; this is caused by the machinations of the
aniteras, or priestesses of the old idols, who try to draw these
half-tamed Indians back to their old superstitions. In this year come
a large company of religious; and in 1616 the provincial elected is
Fray Bernardo de Sancta Catalina--who dies soon afterward, and of
whom Aduarte writes a long biographical account. He is succeeded
as provincial (April 15, 1617) by Fray Melchior de Mançano. The
persecutions in Japan steadily increase in severity, in 1615-16,
in which latter year Iyeyasu dies. In 1617 two missionaries--one
a Dominican, the other an Augustinian--deliberately go to Omura to
rebuke the daimiô for his cruelty to the Christians, and to preach
the gospel in public; they, with other captive religious, are put to
death. Their example in so bravely enduring martyrdom encourages and
strengthens the Japanese Christians, many of whom give their lives for
the faith, and compels the respect of the heathen. Other missionaries
are arrested, and suffer great privations while in prison.
Aduarte recounts the progress of the work undertaken by the Dominicans
for the Chinese in Manila. For many years the missionaries live at
Binondoc, the village to which the Christian Chinese go to live when
they receive the new faith; but they conclude that it would be better
for all concerned to build a convent and church within the Parián. In
1617 they begin to erect these buildings, and priests of the order
take up their residence therein, in the midst of that great market
and its crowd of traders and artisans. Their labors are crowned with
notable and prompt success--not only in securing the baptism of the
sick and dying, but in the instruction of those who are in health,
who carry the gospel into their own country, wherein the missionaries
hope to effect a great conversion some day. The church first erected
is a poor and unsubstantial affair; but afterward a large and very
handsome church is built--in the Chinese fashion, of wood shaped and
fitted without any nails. When the Parián is burned in 1628, the church
is saved by placing an image of the Virgin in front of the approaching
flames. Later, the timbers begin to decay, and another building is
erected, with stone pillars; its walls are covered with paintings,
which serve greatly for the instruction of the heathen. During fifteen
years, the number of baptisms in this church amounts to 4,752. The
Dominicans win the great respect and affection of the Chinese, who
seldom die without having received baptism.
This order extends its labors to some other countries. China is, of
course, the chief goal of its desires; but the Dominicans are unable
to effect an entrance therein. One of the friars, attempting to go
there (1618), is obliged by storms to land on Formosa; and to his
subsequent report of the advantages of this island is ascribed its
later acquisition by the Spaniards. Another mission sets out for
Korea, but is unable to go farther than Nangasaki, and is thus
frustrated. Twenty-four new missionaries arrive this year from
Spain. A new residence is established at Cavite, the priests in which
accomplish much good, among both Spaniards and natives. A new mission
is begun in the Babuyan Islands, north of Cagayán; it is very arduous
and full of privations, but the religious gladly labor therein, and
find the people excellent Christians, although they are most poor and
needy. The fathers often ask alms from the convents and the Christians
in Nueva Segovia, to help these poor disciples of the Lord. Some of the
religious who have remained in Japan are martyred in this year of 1618;
yet amid the fierce persecutions new converts are made, and the native
Christians show much loyalty and generosity to their spiritual fathers.
In 1619 the intermediate chapter session meets at Nueva Segovia,
on which occasion the college of Santo Thomas at Manila is formally
added to the province; an historical sketch of this institution
is presented. In November of that year occurs an unusually severe
earthquake in Luzón, of which various features and incidents are
recorded. Among the buildings overthrown is the Dominican convent in
Manila, all its inmates, however, escaping in safety. In 1621 Fray
Miguel Ruiz is elected provincial. On November 6 of that year occurs a
revolt among the Gadanes in northern Luzón, of which a full account is
given. One of the Dominican missionaries, Fray Pedro de Santo Thomas,
courageously goes alone and unarmed, to the mountain stronghold of
the insurgents, to win them back; and some months later he returns
with three hundred families of these rebels, who settle peaceably
on the lower lands. Aduarte fills chapters xviii-xxvi with accounts
of martyrdoms of Dominicans in Japan, during 1621-23, and sketches
of their lives--matter which is presented to our readers in brief
synopsis, as but indirectly concerning the Philippines.
The election of provincial in 1625 elevates to that dignity Fray
Bartholomé Martinez, who has long labored among the Chinese of
Manila. In this year occurs another revolt among some of the Cagayán
Indians; two religious are treacherously slain by them, and then they
flee to the mountains. In 1626, Fernando de Silva sends an expedition
to conquer Formosa, which is accompanied by Dominican missionaries, who
hope to find in Formosa a stepping-stone to an entrance for them into
China. A fortified post is established in the island by the Spaniards;
the Dominicans act as spiritual guides for the soldiers, and, after
learning the native language, are able to win the confidence of the
inhabitants and begin instructing them. Many of the missionaries
in the province die, but a reënforcement comes to them in this same
year. In 1627 is held the intermediate chapter-session. By that time
the revolted Mandayas have been pacified, and by the efforts of their
Dominican pastors induced to return to their villages and to the care
of the missionaries. In this year occur many martyrdoms in Japan, of
which accounts are given. In 1628, the four orders of friars in the
Philippines unite to send a reënforcement of missionaries to Japan, but
this attempt is frustrated by the wreck of their ship. Aduarte at this
time arrives at Manila with a large company of religious. A Spanish
expedition is sent to Camboja, and the Dominicans send missionaries
thither; but both enterprises result in failure. In Formosa they are
making some progress.
The provincial elected in 1629 is Fray Francisco de Herrera. Soon
afterward dies Fray Bartolomé Martinez, of whom Aduarte writes
a long biography; he ends his life in the Formosa mission, which
he had established. The persecutions in Japan continue (1629-30),
hundreds being martyred for the faith, and rigorous search being made
everywhere for all Christians. It is with difficulty that any news of
events there can be sent from that country. At the end of 1630, some
Spaniards, accompanied by two Dominican friars, go on an embassy to the
Chinese city of Ucheo; on the way, the Chinese crew mutiny, and kill
most of the Spaniards. Four of these, including one of the friars,
escape to the Chinese coast; the father remains there, and labors
among the heathen. In December, 1633, the preaching of the gospel
is introduced into Itui, in Luzón; two Dominican friars go thither,
of whose mission, and of that region and its people, some account is
given, followed by a long biography of Fray Tomás Gutierrez, head of
the mission. The new provincial this year is Fray Domingo Gonçalez,
Aduarte's editor; at this session of the chapter an important change
is made, the abolition of the intermediate chapter. The missions
are extended farther than ever before, but new workers are greatly
needed. Many religious meet a martyr's death in Japan this year,
and the persecution steadily increases in severity; biographical
sketches of several martyrs are given, one of whom had achieved much
in Formosa. In that island arises a rebellion among the natives,
who murder (1633) one of the missionaries.
Aduarte describes the mission to the Mandayas of northern Luzón, begun
in 1631; it has been very successful, and many of those fierce and
warlike people are now quite tamed and Christianized. The martyrdoms
(in 1634) of several missionaries and Christian women in Japan, with
sketches of their lives, are related. Two chapters are devoted to an
account of the Dominican missions in China, which contain many devout
Christians; at times, the missionaries are in danger of being slain
by mobs. The Dominican mission in Formosa has not accomplished many
conversions, and it has lost many devoted missionaries.
At this point ends Aduarte's own work in this history; the remaining
chapters are added by his editor, Fray Domingo Gonçalez. He relates in
full the late effort made by Fray Diego Collado to divide the province
of Filipinas, and to appropriate its best posts and revenues for his
congregation of "Barbones." This attempt greatly disturbs Aduarte,
whose last days are saddened, and perhaps even shortened, thereby. But
not long after his death this cloud passes away, and the province
is restored to its former condition--a result mainly ascribed to
the intervention of the Virgin Mary; and Collado's new congregation
melts away. Gonçalez then presents a long and elaborate biography
of the illustrious Aduarte, which we abridge considerably, retaining
especially such information about that prelate, and such account of
the missions, as has not already appeared in his Historia. His virtues
are recounted at length, and the many benefits which he secured for
his order, for the poor and needy everywhere, and for the Indians.
Fray Gonçalez completes Aduarte's history up to the year 1637, thus
comprising the first fifty years of the history of the Philippine
Dominican province. In that year, Fray Carlós Gant is elected
provincial; and in Japan the last Dominican friars remaining there
are martyred, of whose lives and deaths sketches are given. At the
end of the book is printed a letter from Felipe IV to the Dominican
provincial at Manila, ordering that the recent partition of the
province be annulled, and Collado sent back to Spain.
The Editors
August, 1905.
HISTORIA DE LA PROVINCIA DEL
SANCTO ROSARIO DE LA ORDEN
DE PREDICADORES
(Concluded)
By Diego Aduarte, O.P.; Manila, 1640.
Source: Translated from a copy of the above work in the possession
of Edward E. Ayer, Chicago.
Translation: This is made by Henry B. Lathrop, of the University
of Wisconsin. This volume includes chaps. lxxi-lxxviii of book i,
and all of book ii--partly in synopsis.
HISTORY OF THE DOMINICAN PROVINCE OF THE HOLY ROSARY
By Fray Diego Aduarte, O.P.
(Concluded)
CHAPTER LXXI
The arrival at Manila of father Fray Luis, his assignment to Pangasinan
and the events there
[Father Fray Luis was assigned to the province of Pangasinan and
went there in the company of the two other fathers who were sent
to the same place. Suffering from disease as a result of exposure,
he was miraculously cured. The Lord wrought miraculous conversions
by means of father Fray Luis, and supported him in his sufferings
and illness with visions. Being taken back to Manila for care, and
fearing that he might be sent to some other province, he prayed God
to renew his strength that he might return to Pangasinan. The Lord
heard his prayer and he was able to return to the duties which he
loved. The Lord blessed the mere word of father Fray Luis, sometimes
even more than the great labors of other religious; and he took as his
special charge those Indians who had been given up by others. At one
time when news came that smallpox was raging in one of the villages
named Bimmalay, and that many children were dying in it, father Fray
Luis instantly went there to baptize as many of the children as he
could. The fathers were not usually permitted to baptize the children,
except in cases where it was certain that they were not going to live,
and then they were permitted to do so only as a result of prayers
and importunities. At one time a soldier came to Binalatongan with
news that Don Luis Perez das Mariñas was dying in the province of
Ylocos. He sent word to father Fray Luis, but without asking him to
come, as the sisters of Lazarus wrote to the Lord. Father Fray Luis
went to his choir to intercede for his friend, and there remained
constantly in prayer and sacrifice until he received news that he
was better. From the very day when the soldier reached father Fray
Luis, the governor began to recover his health. On many occasions
sick children were healed by the prayers of father Fray Luis. He
was ready to risk his life for his duties. In many cases it seemed
as if God had kept children alive only until they received baptism
that they might be saved.]
A case which illustrates this point happened to father Fray Luis
in Calasiao. He would never tell of this unless compelled by his
obedience. He was called upon to see a child who had been baptized,
and who was dying; and he went there with a boy named Andresillo,
and with others. When they came near the house where the child was,
they heard a great lamentation with which they were weeping over him;
and in another house very near they heard a great noise of people who
were drinking, as was then very common among the heathen. Among others
was their chief named Catongal, a man fierce by nature, and furious
when he had taken wine. On this occasion he came up with the others,
full of wine, and said to the father, "You kill many"--intimating
that he killed them with baptism, because few of those who received
it escaped. The father replied that the reason of this was, that the
Indians did not permit the children to be baptized until there was no
hope for their lives; and he said that the good that the religious did
to them would cause them to rejoice greatly if they knew it. Catongal
was not mollified by this; and the father tried to leave him to go on,
but it seemed best to have the child shrouded first that he might
take it and bury it--to prevent superstitious acts, such as were
customary. He saw it lying dead in the arms of an Indian woman; and,
looking upon it as such, he directed them to shroud it. But a voice
within him seemed to say that he should repeat a gospel. He went
to look at it again, found upon it all the marks of death, and said,
"Why should I say a gospel for it?" They shrouded it; but he was still
more urged on by that inner impulse to repeat the gospel, until at last
he did so. It was the gospel of St. John, In principio erat verbum. [1]
After he had repeated this he made the sign of the cross upon the brow
of the infant, saying, "O Lord, I ask no miracles of thee; but if it
is to thy glory, the credit of thy faith, and the conversion of these
heathen, I pray thee to work them." He added, Evangelica lectio sit
tibi salus et protectio, placing his hand upon the head of the child;
and, before he took away his hand, the Lord looked upon the child and
gave it life. All were astonished, and the father in confusion said, in
order to humiliate himself, that it could not have been dead; and the
chief was convinced that the fathers did not kill children. The child
sucked immediately, like a well and healthy child. It would have been
a miracle, even though it were not dead, for it so suddenly to have
recovered its health. Father Fray Luis passed the rest of that day in
great embarrassment, being anxious lest some part of what had happened
should be attributed to him, as the instrument of it. On the following
day he went to ask how the child was, and found it well and strong. He
asked the Indians who were there what they thought of the event,
and, before they replied, the Lord gave him an answer from within:
"This is excessive curiosity." He blamed himself severely, and was
so ashamed that he went away immediately, and never more looked upon
the child or spoke of the matter; and on the occasions which offered
themselves for any father to make any reference to it (because it had
been public), he changed the subject of conversation, without appearing
to understand. [In the villages of Gabon and Magaldan, father Fray
Luis succeeded in overcoming the hardness of heart of the heathen.]
CHAPTER LXXII
Some special favors received by father Fray Luis from the Lord,
and some temptations which he suffered from the enemy.
[However glorious the success of father Fray Luis in this country,
he was desirous of going to Great China, the conversion of which the
religious of this region had most at heart. He was taught in a vision
that the conversion of China was soon to be attempted and saw also a
vision of a man such as the missionaries to China ought to be. He was
constant in prayer and had frequent visions which guided him in his
religious life. The Lord granted him the blessing of great purity. At
one time, having been careless in prayer, he was visited by the Lord
with a punishment of strange trembling which went from the feet to the
top of his head, and seemed as if it would shatter his bones. When the
fathers of this province decided to send two to make an exploration of
the great kingdom of China, father Fray Miguel de Benavides asked for
the prayers of father Fray Luis--and, in particular, that the idols
might fall to the earth before the presence of God. Father Fray Luis
offered his prayers, and received from God the reply that he asked
much. But he answered, "Thou canst do it, O Lord."
It is not only favors which the Lord grants His servants; hence
father Fray Luis suffered many temptations of the devil, which were
permitted by the Lord that the virtues of the father might take
firmer roots. At one time the devil appeared to him in the form of
Christ; but father Fray Luis, not being moved by the affection which
he commonly felt for holy visions, said to him, "Thou art not that
which thou seemest." When father Fray Luis made the sign of the cross,
the devil took the form of a great cat, fierce, black, and terrible,
which by sending fire from its eyes and mouth exhibited its rage
and torment. "That is your real form, I think," said the father, and
without paying any further attention to him, he went on with his holy
exercises. The devil strove to interfere with him in his prayer, but
he was able to drive him away. He was at times tempted to be guilty
of improprieties in saying mass, such as looking into the chalice,
but the angels protected him. The devils at times strove to make him
flee from the church where he was performing his discipline.
Father Fray Luis suffered as much from the temptations of others as
from his own. He comforted Brother Juan de Soria of Manila, who,
under the direction of God, laid aside the habit of the order. On
another occasion, he assisted a novice who was moved by affection for a
woman. He had a vision of Christ crucified, with drops of blood falling
from his head upon his breast, but not upon the ground; this signified
that the novice should leave the order, but not to his destruction.. He
did so, and was married; but in a few days he was left alone, his wife
going to the aid of her poor and widowed mother. This the Lord seemed
to have ordained. On another occasion, father Fray Luis succeeded
in converting a Spanish sinner of the most obstinate sort, who had
been exiled from Nueva España to the Philippinas for his scandalous
life. The wretch confessed, and received communion, girt himself with
a haircloth garment, and, during the rest of his life (during which
he was confined in prison), he fasted often on bread and water.]
CHAPTER LXXIII
The fervor of spirit of father Fray Luis, and his expedition to China
[Although grace perfects nature, it may work so vehemently that it
weakens it and takes from it health and even life. This happened
in the case of father Fray Luis, who, although he was of robust
constitution, sometimes lost his health and was in great danger of
death as the result of the vehemence of his spirit in receiving the
favors of God. He prayed to the Lord to moderate this vehemence of
spirit, and begged that he would take it from him. Father Fray Juan de
Soria prayed the Lord to take from father Fray Luis this intensity,
and to give it to Don Luis Perez das Mariñas. From that day forward
the father lived with the greatest calmness, while the knight became
so fervent of spirit that he seemed like a living fire; and finally he
said to father Fray Luis that he should die of the love of God. Father
Fray Luis, after having received this peace and calm, became eager
to go to the conversion of China. Father Fray Juan had a vision of
Christ our Lord, seated upon a very spirited horse, which was biting
the bit and leaping about. The saddle, the girths, the reins, and all
the other accoutrements all seemed so weak that saddle and horseman
were sure to fall to the ground; but he held his seat firmly, and
made charges in one direction and another, brandishing a lance with
great dexterity. The horseman said to the father, "Who, think you,
can control this horse?" He answered, "Thou only knowest, Lord." "It
is I alone," said the Lord, giving him an inward understanding that
this horse represented China, and the weak accoutrements signified
the scarcity of ministers for its conversion. He added aloud,
"Go straightway and tell Fray Luis what thou hast seen, which is a
corroboration of what has at other times been said to him." Visions
were manifested to others, which ratified the visions which had already
shown Fray Luis that he was to go to China. Before the departure of the
governor Gomez Perez, Cathalina Diaz--a Spanish woman of holy life,
to whom God vouchsafed to see the future in visions, at times--had
a vision of the governor with his head cut open and bathed in his
blood, the death of the governor by treachery being prophesied in
this way. Although the difficulties of going to China seemed as a
result of this act of treachery to be greatly increased, in reality
the Lord made it the means by which father Fray Luis was sent there;
for he received a commission as ambassador, in company with father
Fray Juan de Castro. The ambassadors, reaching the province of Canton
instead of that of Chincheo, for which they were bound, were arrested
as pirates. Father Fray Luis thus had the opportunity to convert an
apostate Christian among the Chinese. He also found many slaves from
Macan who had apostatized in that country; and to them he preached
with much spirit, but little fruit. The voyage was one on which they
suffered greatly, particularly father Fray Luis, who traveled with
nothing but the habit in which he was clothed; and they were exposed
to the rain and to the cold, which was excessive. The viceroy of
Canton was very wrathful with them because they did not show him the
courtesy customary in that country, threatened them, and commanded them
to leave the province within fifteen days, taking with them not more
than twenty-five picos of rice. On his way back to the port he found
a number of apostates, but was unable to bring them back to the faith.
There is a law of the king of China that any poor foreigner shall
be supported at the public expense so long as he is in the kingdom;
but that, if he desires to depart, he shall pay the mandarin the
cost of his clothing, and something more. The allowance was twelve
maravedis a day. This is sufficient for three meals, since things
are cheap in that country. It is plain from this that there is
no law in China against admitting foreigners. On the contrary,
there is a law to attract them and to keep them. Knowing this, the
slaves of the Portuguese in Macan flee to China, where they have
their liberty and are well received. Father Fray Luis made one or
two conversions. Neither in Chincheo nor in Canton did they find
a trace of the galley which they sought, because it had gone to
Cochinchina. The mandarins in Chincheo played a trick upon them,
when the fathers asked permission for religious to go from Manila
to their country. Pretending to give it, the mandarins handed them a
plate of silver with some Chinese characters upon it, for which they
received large payment. The father obtained this money as alms from
the Spaniards who accompanied him on the voyage; but, when he showed
the plate in Manila, it was found only to give permission to buy food
there without hindrance. At the time of this journey father Fray Luis
was actually prior of the convent of Manila. On one Easter day he had
a vision of the Holy Spirit coming down upon all the religious of the
convent of Manila. After his term was at an end, he was assigned to
Nueva Segovia, where the faith had been newly planted.]
CHAPTER LXXIV
The silence, occupation, and virtues of father Fray Luis, and his
happy death
[Father Fray Luis had the three virtues which St. Ambrose, the
doctor of the Church, affirms to be fundamental ones: the power to
keep silence, the power to speak in due time, and the contempt for
worldly things. His habit of silence seemed excessive to some, but
when it was necessary he spoke with great spirit; and he so contemned
worldly things that, in spite of the high offices which he held in
the order, he had not even, as many good religious have, an image
or any other trifling thing of his own. When he was ambassador in
China, he left the rich table of Don Fernando de Castro and sustained
himself, as one in poverty, by the allowance granted to the poor in
China. Contrary to his nature, he was very humble. He was devout in
prayer, and careful in saying the divine offices. He distributed his
time with the greatest accuracy. He was most modest in the presence of
women, and, though he sometimes had to speak to them, he never looked
upon their faces. He was so charitable and tender-hearted that, when
the judges were about to execute any rigorous sentence, they always
concealed it from father Fray Luis, because they knew they could not
resist his prayers for pity and pardon. He could not bear offenses
against God, however willing to suffer wrongs to himself. He slept
on a mat on the floor of his cell. His pillow was a piece of wood
hollowed to make it light. Though the rules of the order permitted
him two blankets, one to lie on and the other to cover himself with,
he contented himself with one, folding it so that it would fulfil
both offices. He wore his serge tunic a month without changing it,
which in such a hot country causes great annoyance, because of the
great amount of perspiration. He said that custom had made it not
uncomfortable for him. He constantly wore a hair-shirt next his skin,
and over that a corselet of mail. In his extreme old age, the bishop
of Nueva Segovia compelled him to lay this last aside. He wore his
breeches in such a way that the fastenings cut into the flesh of
his legs. He was very sparing in his eating, giving his suppers,
when the constitutions permit them to us, to the poor; and his noon
allowance was more theirs than his. His lunch was two biscuit crusts
and a banana, or two guavas, when there were any; and except at these
times he neither ate nor drank. When he was vicar of the convent of
Nueva Segovia, a father visited him as his guest, bringing with him
two crawfish, which he boiled and put on the table; but father Fray
Luis would not permit them to be eaten, saying it was not a feast,
that they should have anything so unusual. He scourged himself every
night, with the energy which was his by nature. He was most patient,
and, though his body was mortified, his spirit was open to divine
influences. He had great power of insight into the souls of those
whom he saw. At one time he caused the bishop of Nueva Segovia, whose
vicar-general he was, to dismiss two youths of his household--saying
that he saw in them the marks of wickedness, and that one of them
was a thief and the other a traitor. This was not known at the time,
but the truth was afterwards discovered, one of them having ransacked
a desk of the bishop's and the other having been condemned to be
hanged for murder. When he was engaged in contemplation, his mind
was so absorbed that he could hear and see nothing else than the
visions of God. This life of penitence continued from his youth to an
old age of almost eighty years. In his last illness he was taken to
the convent of Sancto Domingo at Manila, where he died. Testimony of
miracles wrought by him during his life was given after his death. He
is mentioned with honor in the records of the provincial chapter of
1612 and in the general chapter held at Bolonia in 1615.]
CHAPTER LXXV
The election as provincial of father Fray Miguel de San Jacintho,
and the condition of the province and Japon.
On the thirteenth of May, 1612, father Fray Miguel de San Jacintho was
a second time elected as provincial, not because there was any lack
of religious of much virtue, knowledge, and prudence to take the place
of father Fray Baltasar Fort--who had just completed his term, and had
governed like an angel--but because father Fray Miguel had left all the
religious of the province so devoted to his good government that they
finally determined to elect him again. They regarded it as more prudent
to select one whom they knew by experience to be of great skill in the
government of the province, than to try the government of others who,
though they gave good hopes, could not offer so much certainty.
[At this time the bishop of Macan, Don Fray Juan de la Piedad,
was in Manila. He was a religious of our order; and when he saw the
interest of our religious here in the conversion of the Chinese, he
was desirous that some of the fathers of the order who understood the
Chinese language might be given to him to enter the kingdom by way of
Macan. Two fathers, Thomas Mayor--a very successful minister among the
Chinese race, and excellent in their language--and Bartolome Martinez,
were assigned for this purpose; but they met with so much opposition
at Macan from the religious of another order that they were unable
to carry out their purpose. Father Fray Thomas went to España, and
father Fray Bartholome returned to the Philippinas. Their voyage was
not entirely without fruit, inasmuch as it resulted in the conversion
of one Chinaman from Chincheo.
At this time, although our religious and the Christian people in
the kingdom of Figen in Japon enjoyed peace and quiet, there were
persecutions in other kingdoms of that realm. After the death of Father
Gregorio Cespedes of the Society of Jesus in the kingdom of Bugen,
in 1611, the tono of that region, who had protected Christianity
out of respect for the father, banished two other fathers who were
there, and tore down the churches. The tono of Firando martyred in
October of this year three Christians; and that of Caratzu, [2]
a cruel renegade, banished many. Thus the devil began that which
afterwards took place. The Lord gave warning, by means of crosses
miraculously found, of the persecution which was to occur. In this
year there went to Japon father Fray Alonso Navarrete and father
Fray Domingo de Valderrama, sent there by father Fray Baltasar Fort;
and in the following year father Fray Baltasar himself, at the end
of his term as provincial, went as vicar-provincial to this kingdom.
For a long time the emperor of Japon [3] had shown much dislike to
Christianity, and in the year 1612 he began to persecute it. Don
Pablo Dayfachi, the secretary of a man who was very intimate with
the emperor, received a great quantity of money from Don Juan, tono
of Arima, to help him in the recovery of some lands which had been
lost by his ancestors in war. Don Pablo, who was a Christian, could do
nothing for the cause of Don Juan, who complained to the emperor. The
emperor commanded that Don Pablo should be burned alive in the sight
of his wife, and that his son should be killed. The emperor thereupon
began to persecute the Christians, saying that deeds like these were
not done by the Japanese, and that Don Pablo had degenerated from
them because he was a Christian. Fourteen knights with their wives
and families and servants were exiled. The tono of Arima was banished,
because he had endeavored to get back by favors lands which others had
gained by war, and was finally executed. A certain English heretic,
named Guillermo Adam [i.e., Will Adams], who knew the Japanese
language and who pleased the emperor by giving him an account of
European affairs, vomited forth the hate which he felt against our
holy faith whenever he had opportunity. He told him that the plan of
the king our lord to conquer kingdoms is to send religious first,
that they may make the way plain for soldiers, citing for example
Nueva España and the Philippinas--although, in point of fact, neither
there nor here did religious precede, but invaders who intended to
conquer the country. In addition to this, Safioye, the governor of
Nangasaqui, had difficulties with certain fathers, and had complained
of them to the emperor. The result was that the hatred of the emperor
for Christianity grew greater and greater. He finally commanded all
the churches in that part of Japon known as Cami to be demolished,
and gave the same commands for the kingdom of Quanto. [4] He required
the Christians in certain parts of the country to deny their faith. A
number of the Christians proved weak; while of those who refused to
obey the commands some were martyred, some banished, and some driven
to the mountains. The conduct of the governors in different parts of
the country varied from very great rigor to as much kindness as was
consistent with obeying the commands of the emperor. The tono of Figan,
who had shown so many favors to our order, directed the religious of
our order to leave the kingdom, but did not at that time persecute
the Christians. The command to depart was received by the religious in
September, 1613. Two of the religious retained their habit, and went on
to Nangasaqui; but the third, disguising himself in Japanese costume,
fled to the country of Omura, and went about secretly animating and
encouraging the Japanese Christians. Don Miguel, the tono of Arima,
who had married a granddaughter of the emperor, [5] requested eight
gentlemen of his household to pretend to have abandoned the faith,
in order that he might satisfy the emperor that he had ceased to be
a Christian. Five finally consented. The other three were executed
with their wives and children, eight persons in all, in October,
1613. They were burned alive with a slow fire. The religious having
been driven out from nearly all the kingdoms and having assembled
in Nangasaqui, two of our religious were sent out to go secretly to
comfort the persecuted Christians, to hear their confessions, and to
celebrate the sacraments.]
CHAPTER LXXVI
The servant of God, Don Fray Diego de Soria, bishop of Nueva Segovia,
and one of the founders of this province.
[Among the most highly honored religious in this province a very
important place is taken by Don Fray Diego de Soria, second bishop of
Nueva Segovia. It was he who began the conversion in this province,
and who might therefore be called the father in Christ of that
church. Father Fray Diego was a native of Yebenes, near Toledo,
and professed religion in the convent of the order at Ocaña. Giving
signs of promise as a student and a preacher, he was sent to the
college of Alcala, where he continued to follow the rigorous rules of
the order forbidding the eating of flesh. When the holy and prudent
vicar-general, Fray Juan de Castro, assigned his companions to their
various duties, he gave father Fray Diego the chief place by making
him superior of the convent which was to be founded in the city of
Manila. The number of the religious at that time was so few that
the superior of Manila rang the bells, assisted in the singing, took
messages to the sacristy, and was general confessor of the many who,
influenced by the great virtue of the new religious (the Dominicans),
came to put their consciences in their care. The Lord had endowed
father Fray Diego with two qualities which appear to be opposed to
each other. The first was natural freedom of speech in rebuking evil
with great courage and zeal; the other was marked gentleness and
suavity of nature. At one time when the governor of Manila--who was
a very good Christian and a learned man [6]--was confessing to him,
a certain difficulty arose in which it seemed to father Fray Diego
that the governor had erred. When the governor strove to defend his
conduct, father Fray Diego said to him that in this matter he was,
although learned, not a judge but a party, and indeed defendant;
that in cases of conscience the confessor alone was the judge; and
that, after reflection, he had formed his conclusion, which was that
the governor's conduct could not be approved. He required him to
accept his decision or to seek a confessor elsewhere. The governor,
with tears in his eyes, professed his readiness to obey. At one time
when a very rich man was sick, and feared death and the judgment, he
sent to call father Fray Diego to him that he might confess; but the
father refused to go, sending back as an answer that the rich man must
return the tribute which he had wrongfully taken from an encomienda,
and must give the Indians there a minister. The sick man put himself
in father Fray Diego's hands, and thus his conscience was composed,
to the great advantage of the wronged Indians. When the bishop of these
islands, Don Fray Domingo de Salaçar, was about to set out for España,
he asked for father Fray Diego as a companion; but the governor at
that time [i.e., Gomez Perez Dasmariñas], being very different from
the previous one, refused to permit him to go to España, fearing
the freedom with which he might speak there. Father Fray Diego was
therefore sent to Pangasinan, where he learned the language of the
Indians; thence he went to Nueva Segovia, being the first minister to
the Indians there. Among them he made many conversions, especially that
of the most important Indian in that region, Don Diego Siriban. He was
afterward elected prior of Manila, and was then sent as procurator
to España. He went on his voyage in complete poverty, trusting in
the Lord for what he might need. He received enough not only for the
support of himself and his companion, but for the purchase of the
convent and garden of San Jacintho--where, from that time forward,
the religious who came from España to this province were lodged. This
was so important a matter that if father Fray Diego had done nothing
else for this province, this would have been enough to entitle him to
its gratitude and perpetual thanks, since it receives here a perpetual
benefit whenever new religious come. He had planned for other similar
prudent arrangements in España, but the province declined them for the
time, failing to see the advantage of them; and afterward, when they
were desired they could not be obtained, because there was no Fray
Diego de Soria in España. In that country, great and small thronged
to consult him in regard to spiritual matters, for he had singular
power in prudent counsel. He gave his chief attention to sending many
good religious to the Philippinas, and for this purpose went on to
Roma clad in the same lowly fashion as in his poor province. He was
very small of stature, and went clothed in a habit of serge which
was short and patched. In spite of his unfavorable appearance, he
made a great impression, not only upon the general of the order,
but upon the supreme pontiff, who at that time was Clement VIII. The
pope desired to retain father Fray Diego with him in Roma, in order
to put into execution the reformation of all the religious orders;
but the father was unable to remain, because he was very much occupied
with assembling religious for this province. It usually happens that
many of those religious who have purposed to come to the Philippinas
have fallen off; but in the case of father Fray Diego not one of those
who had been assigned and prepared for this journey failed him, while
many others came to see if they might be accepted. This happened at
the time of the great plague of 1601, which raged with especial fury
in Sevilla, where the religious were to assemble. Father Fray Diego was
highly regarded at court, especially by Queen Margarita. The bishopric
of Nueva Caceres in these islands was vacant, and was offered to father
Fray Diego, who declined to accept it because he did not understand
the language of the Indians of that region. But when the bishopric
of Nueva Segovia was offered to him, he could find no excuse for
declining it. It was desired to keep him in España in some bishopric;
but, as he wrote, he would not give up his poor apostolic bishopric
for the chief bishopric in España. When he became bishop, he did
not change his manner of living or lay aside his serge habit. The
only thing which he did to maintain his dignity as a bishop was to
keep one servant. He kept his pectoral covered with his scapular,
until the nuncio directed him to make his appearance more dignified,
and to wear his pectoral openly. His prudence was so highly regarded
that he was asked to carry the news of her mother's death to the
daughter of the Duchess of Lerma, the wife of the Conde de Niebla,
which he did with such discretion that she accepted her bereavement
with Christian resignation. On his departure from España, he brought
with him a good company of religious. On the way he was delivered,
as by the hand of God, from some Moorish galliots. When the others
were rejoicing at the opportunity of disembarking at the island of
Guadalupe to get wood and water, the bishop was in great anxiety, as if
he saw the evil that was to follow; and strove, but without success,
to keep the others from going on the land. The bishop disembarked,
and after saying mass instantly returned to the ship. The rest of the
religious, following the usual custom of those who go to that island,
remained till evening. Five of them lost their lives, and four came
back wounded, by the arrows of the Indians on that island. Somewhat
later, a storm attacking the fleet, some of the other vessels were
lost; but that in which the bishop was came safe to land--as it
seemed, miraculously. In Nueva España he inspected the convents of
the province, under direction of the pope, the general of the order,
and the king; and he performed this visitation with such justice
that even those who were grieved by his chastisement were obliged
to admit that he was a saint. On the way a mule laden with a number
of rich and exquisite pieces of cloth which had been given him in
España by many lords, and by the queen herself, for his pontifical
vestments, was drowned. All that the bishop said was Dominus dedit;
Dominus abstulit--"The Lord gave it, and the Lord has taken it away;
let Him be praised for all things." The muleteer was overcome with
shame; but the bishop consoled him, and caused him to be paid as if
he had delivered his entire load safely.]
CHAPTER LXXVII
The personal habits of Don Fray Diego de Soria and other matters in
regard to him up to his death.
[After reaching his bishopric, Don Fray Diego made a visitation of
it. Striving so far as possible to relieve the Indians of burdens and
of other labor, he made these visitations with as little baggage as
possible. He immediately paid those whom it was necessary to cause to
carry loads, and put the Indians to no expense whatsoever, even in
matters in which he might justly have done so. He constantly wished
to give them much, and not to ask even for the little which was his
due. He delighted in labor, and rejoiced particularly when there
were many to be confirmed. He observed the discipline and the rules
of prayer of this province. He rose at dawn and prayed until six,
when he said mass and gave devout thanks. If there was any business
to be done, he gave audience or attended to necessary matters. When
he was not obliged to attend to any of these occupations, he read
and meditated upon holy books and upon the sacred scripture and its
expositors. He did not generally write, but read and meditated, and
received the Lord. Thus he was occupied up to the time for saying
prayers at the sixth and the ninth hour; and then he ate some eggs
and fish, as if he were still in the convent of the order. After
his meal, he conversed with his companion upon some useful subject;
and, after resting awhile, returned to the exercise of prayer until
the time of saying vespers. Then, if necessary, he gave audience,
or engaged in works of piety; and then he returned to his sacred
reading and contemplation. He never had any other entertainment
or amusement, however lawful, nor did he go out to refresh himself
in the garden, or in the chase, or in fishing, taking pleasure in
none of these things. He made a personal visitation of his bishopric
every year, and confirmed many Christians, sending word beforehand,
that the ministers might prepare those who were to receive this holy
sacrament. He gave much to his church and to his convent of Manila,
in spite of the poverty of his bishopric, but gave very little help
to a poor brother of his. In the province of Pangasinan he gave great
alms, and sent a large sum of money to buy rice to be kept on deposit,
as it were, in the cities, and to be distributed in times of famine. He
spent but little upon the persons of his household, directing them to
eat as he did, twice a day, eggs and fish, and to be clothed plainly
as suited ecclesiastical persons. He lived in such poverty that he
sometimes lacked tunics to make a change. He was given to ejaculatory
prayer. At the festival of Pentecost in the year 1608, a dove lighted
on his head, which he was unable to drive away, the Lord thus showing
him honor. In the following year, at the celebration of this festival
in Abulug the dove came and sat upon the shoulder of the bishop. When
the fever with which his last illness began came upon him, he knew
that his death was approaching. So far as he could, he followed the
constitutions of the order even in his sickness. After twenty-seven
days of sickness, and twenty-seven years of labor in these regions,
his works were at an end, and he went to receive the reward of them. In
his last illness he gave to the college of Sancto Thomas, at Manila,
his library and three thousand pesos.]
CHAPTER LXXVIII
Father Fray Francisco Minaio and his death
[At this time the death of father Fray Francisco Minaio was much
regretted in the province. He was a native of Arevalo in Castilla la
Vieja. He assumed the habit and professed in Palencia, and was sent
to finish his studies in arts and theology to the convent of Sancta
Cruz at Segovia. He came to the province, very near its beginning,
with the bishop Don Fray Miguel de Benavides. He was assigned to
the province of Nueva Segovia, which was practically all heathen. He
labored much and with good results, and was stationed at the utmost
borders of the province, in the village of Pilitan. He learned
the language well, and was very devoted and compassionate to the
Indians. He labored most affectionately with the poor and sick, and
cared for the latter with his own hands. He and his associate, father
Fray Luis Flores, went about through all that region, searching for,
and burning the huts where superstitious sacrifices were offered to
the devil, who was consulted as an oracle in these places. These
huts were generally hidden among the mountains and crags in the
midst of bushes. The servants of God traveled over the rough paths,
and all the rest that they could take was in finding one of these
huts and in burning it. The devils were greatly angered by these
insults; and the Indians heard, in their fields, the complaints of
the devil because they believed in these men with white teeth. But
they were obliged to confess their weakness to the Indians, who in
this way were converted to the true faith. Father Fray Francisco,
not contented with work in these villages, began upon the conversion
of the idolatrous tribes of the great and spacious plains in the
neighborhood of Pilitan, which are known as Zimbuey. So diligent was
he that churches were built on those plains, and practically all were
baptized and became good Christians.] At one time when the father went
to visit them he found one of the principal chiefs of that country,
named Guiab, lying sick. He talked with him about matters of the
faith and his salvation; and Guiab, although he did not listen to
them with displeasure, was still unwilling to embrace them. Since
his sickness was not at that time severe, father Fray Francisco left
him, telling him that if his disease grew worse he should send for
him. Father Fray Francisco returned to his village of Pilitan. The
sickness of Guiab increased in severity; and the physicians who were
there--perhaps the aforesaid sorceresses--told him that the cure for
his disease consisted in killing a child and in bathing himself in
its blood. He immediately sent for the child; but so great was the
respect which they had for father Fray Francisco that, although they
supposed that the life of Guiab was departing, they were unwilling to
put this order into execution without first asking permission from the
father, and sent for some one to ask it. The father heard the message,
and, without letting the messengers return, went with them, fearing
that even if he refused his permission they would go on and kill the
child. At this same time Guiab heard, perhaps from the devil, that
the father was coming. He sent other messengers to say that there was
no necessity of the father's taking the trouble to go to the village;
that if he was not pleased that they should kill the child, they would
not kill it. This message reached the father while he was still on
the way, but he did not stop on that account, and kept on with all the
rest. When he entered the house of Guiab he found it full of people;
and immediately beheld there, weeping bitterly and hoarse with crying,
the child who was designed for the inhuman remedy which should slay its
soul. Full of pity, he told the sick man of the great error which he
was committing, and the frightful sin against God which would result;
the uselessness and unreasonableness of striving to obtain health for
an old man by bathing him in the blood of a child; the indignation
of the Spaniards if they should hear of this act; and the vengeance
which they would take for this unjust and cruel murder, if not upon
his person, at least upon his gold and treasure. Guiab admitted his
error, and ordered the child to be given to father Fray Francisco. In
the course of the father's conversation, Guiab received instruction as
to matters of the faith, which the father explained to him, taking as
the principle and subject of what he said the control of God our Lord
over the lives of men. The father took the child in his arms, and,
on his way back with him, he found a man tied fast to a ladder. This
was the father of the child, who was placed thus that he might not
interfere with the killing under the influence of his natural paternal
love. He had him untied, and left him in freedom and in great happiness
with his son. The sickness of Guiab was mortal, and the father taught
him thoroughly and baptized him. Following the directions of the new
Christian in his will, father Fray Francisco divided his gold among
his relatives, and gave liberty to many slaves whom he wrongfully
held. To the child whom the religious had ransomed (at the price
of six reals), he likewise gave baptism; and named him Feliz [i.e.,
"fortunate"], since he had been fortunate in being rescued from the
gates of eternal damnation, where he was already standing, and placed
by baptism in the beauty of grace and on the right path for glory. [It
could but be that the devil should burn with infernal wrath against
one who did so much against him; and that the Lord should reward him,
as He rewards His servants in this world, with sufferings which result
in their spiritual good. A bad man brought a false accusation against
father Fray Francisco of most nefarious wickedness, and supported it
with evidence so plausible that it seemed as if the father must be
guilty. The author of this charge exchanged a religious letter which
father Fray Francisco had written to his superior, for a forged one
very contrary to father Fray Francisco's real manner of writing. In
this way father Fray Luis Gandullo, at that time vicar-provincial,
was convinced of the truth of the charge. The innocent man took this
so much to heart that one day, when he was saying mass before his
Indians, he fainted and fell on the floor, as if he were dead. The
Indians fled from the church, in fear that they should be charged with
having caused the death of their minister. He was withdrawn from his
ministry and placed in confinement; but in the course of the trial
the truth was made clear, and father Fray Francisco was set free with
honor. Some years afterward, he was appointed prior of the convent at
Manila, and afterward, was very nearly elected provincial. He greatly
augmented the devotion to our Lady of the Rosary, and adorned her
image with rich vestments and jewels, and her chapel with a large
retable and other ornaments. He was not forgetful of the necessities
of the poor, and greatly increased the alms which were ordinarily
given at the door of the convent. After he had finished his term as
prior, he returned to Nueva Segovia. When he came back, the Indians,
learning that their good father and teacher had returned, came fifty
leguas to visit him. The Lord gave him a peaceful death, and he was
buried in the church of our father Sancto Domingo at Nueva Segovia.]
[End of Book I]
BOOK SECOND OF THE HISTORY OF THE PROVINCE OF THE HOLY ROSARY
CHAPTER I
The sufferings of the religious in Japon in the persecution which
arose against Christianity
[The church in Japon was like the primitive church as it was founded
by our Lord, which from the beginning suffered persecutions. The
first persecutions of the church were not so severe but that the
disciples when persecuted in one city could flee to another; thus, by
sinking its roots deep, it was able to endure the greater persecutions
which followed in the days of the Neros and the Domitians. All the
persecutions in Japon up to the year 1614 were like those in the
infancy of the early church--tempered, and without much shedding of
blood; and giving the ministers an opportunity, when they were expelled
from one kingdom, to flee to another. That which arose in this year
was like the universal persecution of the church. The emperor, seeing
that it was impossible to cut off the trunk of Christianity in Japon,
and that to martyr a few would only give the creed greater strength,
decided (perhaps advised by the devil) that it would be better and
easier to cut off only the roots--namely, the religious, by whose
teachings Christianity in Japon had been brought into existence and
was sustained. In the beginning of January in this year he sent out
an edict to all his tonos that the priests and religious in their
lands should be gathered together and sent to the port of Nangasaqui,
to the governor Safioye, to be put on board ship and banished to
Maccan or to Manila, so that not one should be left in Japon. After
this the rosaries, images, and other sacred objects were to be taken
from the Christians; and they were to be compelled to worship idols,
the disobedient being tortured and put to death. Great care was to be
taken that the bodies of the martyrs should not be permitted to fall
into the hands of the Christians, who might venerate them. This decree
was thoroughly carried out, and the Christians, deprived of ministers
and sacraments, went out of the cities and fled--some to the mountains,
others to caves, others to thick woods; and others set sail in little
boats for other countries. It made the heart burn simply to hear the
cruel destruction wrought by the emperor among the faithful. Some were
hung alive by one foot to high trees; others were tied to stakes and
exposed to the rigors of winter by night and by day; the ears and the
noses of others were cut off. Others were branded on the brow with hot
irons. Men and women were being put to shame by being exposed naked,
and chaste women were threatened with being sent to the brothels. Some
were put in sacks of straw, dragged about the streets and derided;
and others were hung up in panniers and baskets. Others suffered
confiscation of their goods, and were banished, all people being
forbidden to give them food or lodging. These last were, for the most
part, noble and rich persons who had been brought up in luxury. [7]
The religious, laying aside their habits, went in secret throughout
Japon, animating and strengthening the persecuted Christians to suffer
for the Lord. Among these religious there were three of our order.
In this extremity of persecution confraternities were formed, for the
mutual support of their members. They took pledges to be faithful,
and were likely to be of great use because the Japanese, being a
people who think much of their honor, would be ashamed to lapse
from such agreements and promises. They made many processions, and
subjected themselves to severe disciplines. On the second of June,
Safioye was visited by all the superiors of the religious orders,
whom he received with courtesy and a great show of kindness. As soon
as they had returned to their convents, he sent them word from the
emperor that they should prepare all the members of their order to
go to Macan or Manila in the following autumn; and an inspector was
sent to see that the mandate was carried out. All the officials of
the city of Nangasaqui were compelled to sign a paper to the effect
that they would not conceal any religious or secular clergymen, or
show them favor, or assist them to remain in Japon. It was pitiful
to see the Japanese Christians as the time for the departure of the
religious approached. On the fourteenth of October, our religious
tore up the crosses which had been erected, and burned them,
together with other things from the church, that they might not be
profaned by the heathen. After partaking of the holy sacrament on
the following day, they put out the lamps and left the altars. They
put on board the ships the relics and the bodies of the saints, and
most of the ecclesiastical ornaments and things from the sacristies,
though of these they left some to the Christians who were to remain
in hiding. They were able to take only a few of the bells. On the
twenty-fifth, they were ordered to leave the city for the port of
Facunda, till their ships should be ready. After they had set sail,
certain priests returned in small boats. There were five secular
priests out of seven. Six of the ten Franciscan priests remained,
and seven out of the nine priests of our order. Of three Augustinian
fathers, one remained. Of seventy priests of the Society, eighteen
or twenty remained. [8] More would have returned to land if it had
not been for the failure of one of the boats agreed upon. The names
of the fathers who remained are given in all cases, except in that
of the Jesuits. After the departure of the clergy, the profanation
of the churches was begun. The fathers disguised themselves as well
as they could, and went out upon their mission. Many of them were
obliged to remain in Nangasaqui and its vicinity, because the greater
number of Christians were there. They traveled secretly, however,
all over Japon. They labored chiefly at night, and suffered greatly,
being obliged to travel much, and lacking food and sleep.]