read the writings of Luther, or of some of his adherents; and though he left his native country at an early period, his works, several of which were published in Spanish, contributed greatly to the spread of the Reformed opinions.

Rodrigo de Valer was a native of Lebrixa, about thirty miles from Seville, and spent his youth in those idle and dissipated habits which were common among the nobility and gentry of Spain. His attention was engrossed by the love of dress, horses, and sports; and at Seville, which was his favourite residence, he shone in the first rank among young men of fashion and gallantry. All of a sudden he disappeared from those places of amusement which he had frequented, laid aside his splendid equipage, and, shutting himself up in his closet, devoted himself to reading and meditation. In his youth he had acquired a slight knowledge of the Latin language. He now procured a copy of the Latin Vulgate, the only translation of the Bible allowed in Spain; and having made himself master of the language, he soon became so well acquainted with the contents of the Scriptures, that he could repeat almost any passage from memory, and explain it with wonderful promptitude. Thus he was led to adopt a system of doctrine similar to that of the German Reformers, and to lay the foundations of a Protestant Church in Seville.

Valer was now desirous of imparting to others those impressions of divine truth which had been made on his own mind. With this

view, quitting his solitary life, he courted the society of the Clergy and the Monks. He set before them the general defection from primitive Christianity, both in faith. and in practice, which then prevailed among all classes; the corruption of their own order, which had spread infection over the whole community; and the necessity of applying a speedy and a thorough remedy to these evils. His representations were uniformly accompanied by appeals to the sacred writings as the supreme standard

in religion, and by an exhibition of the principal doctrines which they taught. These, his favourite topics, he did not hesitate to introduce in the public walks, and in other places of concourse. The surprise excited by his first addresses was soon followed, in most instances, by indignation and disdain. It was not to be borne, it was said, that a layman, and one who had no pretensions to learning, should presume to instruct his teachers, and to inveigh against doctrines and institutions which were reverenced by the Church, and sanctioned by its highest authority. Whence had he his pretended knowledge of the Scriptures? Who gave him a right to teach? What were the signs and the proof of his mission? To these questions Valer replied, it was true that he had been brought up in ignorance of divine things; but he had derived his knowledge, not from the polluted streams of tradition and human inventions, but from the pure fountain of revealed truth, through the teaching of that Spirit by whose influence living waters are made to flow from the hearts of those who believe in Christ; that there was no reason to suppose that these influences are confined to persons of the ecclesiastical order, especially when that order was so deeply depraved; that private and illiterate men had convicted a learned Sanhedrim of blindness, and had called a whole world to the knowledge of salvation; that he had the authority of Christ for warning them of their errors and vices; and that none would require a sign from him, but a spurious and degenerate race, whose eyes could not bear that light which laid open and reproved their works of dark

ness.

It was not to be expected that Valer would be allowed long to pursue such a course. He was brought before the Inquisitors, with whom he maintained a keen dispute on the Church, the marks by which it is distinguished, justification, and similar points. On that occasion some persons of considerable authority, who secretly favoured his sentiments, exerted themselves in his

behalf. Their influence, joined to other considerations, with the circumstance that his Judges either believed, or wished it to be believed, that he was insane, procured for him a milder sentence than is usually pronounced by that tribunal; and he was dismissed with the loss of his property. After this he

yielded so far to the importunity of his friends, as to abstain from a public declaration of his sentiments for a short time; during which he explained in private the Epistle to the Romans. But his zeal soon burst through this restraint. Resuming his former reproofs of the reigning errors and superstition, he was a second time denounced to the Inquisition, which condemned him to wear the coat of infamy, called the san-benito, and to be imprisoned for life. When conducted to the church of St. Salvador, in Seville, to attend public service on festival days, instead of exhibiting the marks of sorrow expected from persons in his situation, he would address the audience after the sermon, and warn them against the erroneous doctrine delivered by the Preacher, whenever he thought it contrary to the word of God. To rid themselves of so troublesome a man, the Inquisitors at length had him confined in a monastery at San Lucar, near the mouth of the Guadalquiver; where, secluded from all society, he died at the age of fifty, about the year 1541. His san-benito, which was hung up in the metropolitan church of Seville, long attracted notice, on ac. count of its extraordinary size, and of the inscription which it bore: "Rodrigo Valer, a citizen of Lebrixa and Seville, an apostate and a false apostle, who pretended to be sent of God."

The most distinguished among the converts of Valer was Juan Gil, commonly called Dr. Egidius. He was born at Olvera, in Arragon; educated at the University of Alcala; and, after obtaining the highest academical honours, became Professor of Divinity at Siguenza; and was afterwards chosen to the office of Canon-Magistral, or Preacher, in the cathedral church of Seville.

Here he became acquainted with Valer; who, perceiving his good dispositions, pointed out the defects of his mode of preaching, and exhorted him, as the sure remedy, to give himself to the diligent perusal of the word of God. Egidius followed this good advice, and soon became the most acceptable and useful Preacher in Seville. Instead of dry, abstruse, and unprofitable discussions, he brought forward the great truths of the Bible; making powerful appeals to the consciences, and affectionate addresses to the hearts, of his auditors. In this work of enlightening the citizens of Seville, Egidius was assisted by two men of superior talents, who had been his fellow-students at the University,-Dr. Vargas, and Constantine Ponce de la Fuente. These three concerted a plan, according to which they might co-operate in advancing the common cause. Vargas read lectures to the more learned, in which he expounded the Epistle to the Romans, and the Book of Psalms; while Constantine occasionally assisted Egidius in the pulpit. Their zeal, while it awakened the suspicions, provoked the diligence, of the Clergy, who were still devoted to the ancient superstition; and the citizens were divided in their attachments between the two classes of Preachers. Those of the one class urged the necessity and importance of repeating prayers at certain stated hours, of frequently hearing mass, of visiting consecrated places, of fasting, and making confession regularly to the Priest; while they exhorted those who aimed at higher degrees of sanctity, to dedicate their property to pious uses, or, renouncing the world, to withdraw into monasteries and nunneries. The Preachers of the other class either passed over these things entirely, or showed their inefficacy; exhorting their hearers to rely not on their own works, but on the merits of Christ; and to prove the genuineness of their faith by obedience to the commands of God; and, instead of recommending rosaries and scales of devotion, they dwelt on the advantages to be

derived from a serious and daily perusal of the sacred writings. The eloquence, prudence, piety, and irreproachable morals of Egidius and his two associates, made powerful impressions on the multitude; and the adherents of the Reformed doctrine at Seville continued to increase. The Inquisition, indeed, had for some time fixed its jealous eyes on the three Preachers; nor were there wanting persons ready to accuse them, especially Egidius. Surmises unfavourable to his orthodoxy were circulated, spies were set on his conduct, and secret consultations held as to the surest method of effecting his ruin. About this time he was deprived of his two trusty associates, -Vargas being removed by death, and Constantine being called into the Netherlands.

So great, however, was the reputation of Egidius, that his enemies were afraid to proceed against him; and, in 1550, the Emperor Charles V. nominated him to the vacant bishopric of Tortosa, which was one of the richest benefices in Spain. This distinguished mark of royal favour inflamed the resentment of his enemies, and they determined to proceed to extremities. They openly charged him with heresy, and predicted that his elevation to a bishopric would be the greatest calamity that Spain had ever known. He was formally denounced to the Inquisition, and very soon after was thrown into its secret prisons. The charges against him related to the doctrine of justification, assurance of salvation, human merits, plurality of mediators, purgatory, auricular confession, and the worshipping of images. He was also accused of having favoured Rodrigo de Valer on his trial, and of having opposed the erection of a crucifix in the place of one which had been accidentally burned. The friends of Egidius now became alarmed for his safety; and through their influence the Inquisitors were induced to pursue a more moderate course than they otherwise would have done. It was arranged, finally, that he should draw up a paper containing his sentiments on the disputed

points, expressed in his own words, which should be read in the cathedral at Seville, in the presence of the Inquisitors. This having been done, sentence was at length passed on Egidius, declaring him violently suspected of the Lutheran heresy, and condemning him to abjure the propositions imputed to him; to be imprisoned for three years; to abstain from writing and teaching for ten years; and not to leave the kingdom during that period, under pain of being punished as a relapsed heretic. He appeared among the criminals condemned to penance at Seville, in 1552. His term of imprisonment having expired in 1555, he paid a visit in the following year to Valladolid, where he found a number of converts to the Reformed doctrine. His spirit was refreshed by what he saw of the grace of God in that city; and, after spending some time among his brethren, and exhorting them to be constant in the faith, he returned to Seville, where he died soon after, of a fever. He left behind him several composi tions in his native tongue, none of which have been printed. Among them are commentaries on Genesis, on some of the Psalms, and on the Epistle to the Colossians; also a treatise on bearing the cross, written in prison. His bones were subsequently taken from their grave, and committed to the flames; his property confiscated; and his memory declared infamous, by a sentence of the Inquisitors, finding that he had died in the Lutheran faith.

The progress of the Reformed doctrine was promoted at Valladolid by the martyrdom of Francisco San Roman, which took place in that city in 1544. This young man was a native of Burgos; and, being engaged in mercantile pursuits, went to the Netherlands. In 1540, being on business at Bremen, and being desirous of knowing something about that doctrine which was so much condemned in his native country, he went to one of the churches, and heard James Spreng, formerly Prior of the Augustinian monastery at Antwerp, but who had embraced the opinions of Luther. The sermon

made so deep an impression on San Roman, that he called on the Preacher, by whom he was introduced to some of his pious and learned friends; and by their conversation he profited greatly. In the letters which he wrote to his employers at Antwerp, San Roman alluded to the change which his religious sentiments had undergone, and lamented the blindness of his countrymen. In consequence of this, he was arrested, on his return to that city, by certain Friars, to whom his letters had been communicated; and several Lutheran books, and satirical prints against the Church of Rome, being found in his possession, he was thrown into prison. After a rigorous confinement of eight months, he was released at the solicitation of his friends, who represented that his zeal was now cooled, and that he would be duly watched in his native country. Going some time afterwards to Ratisbon, where the German Princes were then assembled, he obtained an interview with the Emperor Charles V., and begged him to use his royal power in restraining the Inquisitors and Priests, who sought, by every species of violence and cruelty, to prevent the entrance of the true and saving doctrine of Jesus Christ into Spain. Some of the Emperor's Spanish attendants were so incensed at his applications, that they would instantly have thrown him into the Danube, had not their master interposed, by ordering him to be reserved for trial before the proper Judges. Having been cast into chains, and conveyed, in the retinue of the Emperor, to various places, he was at length landed in Spain, and delivered to the Inquisition at Valladolid. When brought before the Inquisitors, he frankly confessed his belief in the great doctrine of the Reformation, that salvation

comes to man, not by his own works, merit, or strength, but solely from the mercy of God, through the sacrifice of the one Mediator, Jesus Christ; and he pronounced the mass, confession to the Priest, purgatory, the invocation of saints, and the worshipping of images, to be blasphemy against the living God. His zeal continued to the last; and he bore a protracted imprisonment with the utmost fortitude and patience. He resisted all the importunities used by the Friars to induce him to recant. At the place of execution he refused to purchase a mitigation of punishment by making confession to a Priest, or bowing to a crucifix. When the flames first reached him, on his being fastened to the stake, he made an involuntary motion with his head; upon which the Friars in attendance exclaimed that he was become penitent, and ordered him to be brought from the fire. recovering his breath, he looked them calmly in the face, and said, "Did you envy my happiness?" Whereupon he was thrust back into the flames, and almost instantly suffocated. The novelty of the crimes with which he was charged, joined with the resolution which he displayed on the scaffold and at the stake, produced a sensible impression on the spectators. Expressions of sympathy for his fate, or of astonishment at his opinions, led to conversations, in which those who had embraced Protestant views easily recognised one another. The most timid among them were now provoked to emulation; and, within a few years, they formed themselves into a church, which met regularly in private, for the purpose of religious instruction and worship.*

W. P. B.

On

* See M'Crie's "History of the Progress and Suppression of the Reformation in Spain."

THE success of the Christian religion, notwithstanding the many determined efforts which were made for its destruction, affords an argument, which infidels have never been able to answer, of its heavenly origin, and of the divine power which protected and blessed it. In this respect the Christian faith has given the stamp of its divinity to the events of its early history. The giant power which crushed the serpents that insinuated themselves into the cradle of the infant church, betokens a more than mortal descent. Or, to have recourse to an illustration from Scripture, rather than from mythology, as it was said of our Saviour himself, in reference to the miracles he wrought, "If this man were not of God, he could do nothing;" (John ix. 33 ;) so it may be said of his religion,-that the victories it achieved cannot be explained unless we suppose the author was God. And were there no other reason, the remains of ancient Christianity would be well worthy of our diligent study, as making us masters of an argument which may be addressed to those who set themThe selves against the truth. younger Turretine considers the records of Christian antiquity as presenting an unanswerable argument to the infidel. For it is impossible, says he, that so many and so distant nations, with no enticements fitted to captivate the popular mind, and in the face of the most formidable obstacles, should have renounced the religion of their ancestors, and submitted their necks to the yoke of Christ, without a miraculous interference from hea

that such a change could be effected without a miracle, this itself, in the words of Chrysostom, would be the greatest miracle.†

Attempts, indeed, have frequently been made to do away the force of the argument from the rapid diffusion of Christianity, by representing the early converts as almost wholly drawn from the lowest dregs of society, debased by ignorance and vice; while the ornaments of the age-the Plinys, the Senecas, the Tacituses, the Galens-overlooked or rejected the Christian system, their language or their silence equally discovering their contempt for the growing sect which in their time was diffusing itself over the Roman empire. Now, in opposition to this statement, it may be remarked, that nothing can be more contrary to the fact, than that the first churches were filled with individuals of dissolute character. We have the testimony of the most determined enemies of Christianity in early times, that the only crime

+ Vultis atheos, vultis deistas, vullis omnes Christo adversantes, ad saniorem mentem revocare? Præsti sunt nostræ antiquitates. Præstò sunt ipsa, tam cita, tam lata, Christianæ rei incrementa. Nam quòd tot gentes, tamque dissitæ, tam nullis allectæ illecebris, tam multis contra obstaculis pressæ, et a patriis sacris abduciæ sint, et Christo Regi colla subjecerint, id sine Deo, sine miraculis, evenire neutiquam potuit. Et si evenisse supponatur id ipsum est, teste Chrysostomo, (Εἰ σημείων χωρὶς ἔπεισαν, πολλῷ μείζον τὸ θαῦμα φαίνεται. — Chrysost. in 2 Cor. ii., hom. 6.,) miraculorum longe maximum. (Orat. Academ., p. 9.)

"After the example,' you (Mr. Gibbon) say, of their divine Master, the Missionaries of the Gospel addressed themselves to men, and especially to women, oppressed by the consciousness, and very often by the effects, of their vices."

*"Elements of Church History. Vol. I. Comprising the external History of the Church during the first three Centuries. By David Welsh, D.D., F.R. S. E., Professor of Divinity and Church History, New-College, Edinburgh; formerly Regius Professor of Divinity and Church History in the University of Edinburgh. Thomas Clark, Edinburgh."

tion of the matter: it may catch the applause of the unlearned, embolden many a stripling to cast off for ever the sweet blush of modesty, confirm many a dissolute veteran in the practice of his impure habits, and suggest great occasion of merriment and wanton mockery to the flagitious of every denomination and every age; but still it will want that foundation of truth which alone can recommend it to the serious and judicious." (Bishop Watson's Apology, p. 62.)