excellent gift of penetrating the souls of those who heard him with a divine fire[50] which animated all their deeds of piety and fitted them to endure lovingly the cross with which they were threatened. Christ was with him in his ministry, says one of those who were converted by him; and this divine Master himself engraved, by the virtue of his Spirit, the words of his servant on the hearts of his hearers.[51] Valerio was the layman of the Reformation; Egidius became its minister. [Sidenote: PONCE DE LA FUENTE AND VARGAS.] He was not long alone. During his residence at Alcala, three students were observed to be united in close friendship with each other. These were John Egidius, Constantine Ponce de la Fuente, and Vargas. Now these two old fellow-students arrived at Seville. The Castilian, Constantine Ponce de la Fuente, was born at St. Clement, in the diocese of Cuença. The inhabitants of these districts concealed under an aspect of coldness a free and boisterous gaiety. Ponce de la Fuente was certainly one of these people. He had a caustic humor, was a lover of pleasure, and ardent in all that he did. His youth had been somewhat dissipated, and for this he was afterwards reproached by his enemies. But he possessed also good sense and a moral disposition, which soon led him to embrace a more regular life, even before he was acquainted with the Gospel. He never lost, however, his cheerfulness and his wit. He was animated by a strong desire to gain solid knowledge, and at the same time he felt great aversion to the pedantry and barbarism of the schools. In some respects he was like Erasmus. He was a son of the Renaissance, and, like his master, enjoyed ridiculing the ignorance of the monks, the fooleries of the preachers, and the hypocrisy of the pharisees. Although he had not the genius of the great man of letters, in some points he surpassed him. There was more depth in his faith and more decision in his character. Contradictory qualities met in his nature. He would hurl in all directions his satirical darts, and yet he was full of benevolence and generosity, and was always ready to give assistance to any one. It was, moreover, said of him that no one ever loved or hated him moderately. His acquaintance with the human heart, his knowledge of the egotism and the indifference which are found even in the best men, made him very scrupulous in the selection of his friends. But he deeply loved the few to whom he was attached; and with his great acquirements he combined a free and cordial manner.