It was inevitable that the labors of these evangelical men should arouse at Seville a lively opposition. The more the hearers of the three evangelists were rescued by their preaching from the darkness of ignorance, and the more they shook off the dust of the middle ages, so much the more they esteemed the noble men to whom they were indebted for the light, and the less respect they felt for the troop of hypocrites who had so long destroyed their souls by their teaching.[57] Consequently the palace of the Inquisition resounded with complaints, and nothing but threats was to be heard in the castle of Triana, situated in a suburb of Seville, in which the tribunal of the holy office was established. The evangelists, however, had friends so numerous and so powerful that the inquisitors did not dare at present to attack them. They turned their attention to the other preachers, endeavored to awaken them, and implored them to defend the faith of Rome, now so terribly shaken. And, in fact, the priests attached to ancient superstitions ere long arose as out of a long sleep and warmed their torpid zeal. The fire of Rome, well-nigh extinct, was rekindled. There were two camps in Seville. Over the cathedral floated the banner of the Gospel; in almost all the other churches was raised the flag of the papacy. A contemporary asserts that it was the flag of Epictetus, and he thinks that these priests were rather inferior to the Stoic philosopher.[58] 'Unstring your rosaries and your beads more frequently,' said the priests; 'get many masses said; abstain from meat; go on pilgrimage; have such and such dresses, such an aspect, and other poor things of the like kind.'[59] 'A fine mask of piety,' people used to say; 'but if you examine these things more closely, what do you find?' At the cathedral, on the contrary, the preachers urged their hearers to read the Holy Scriptures; they set forth the merits of a crucified Saviour and called upon men to place all their trust in him. The evangelical preachers were fewer in number than the others, but around them were gathered the best part of the population. Gradually the books of the Roman service were laid aside and gave place to the Gospel. Many hearts were attracted by the Word of God. The religion of form lost many of its adherents, and the religion of the spirit gained them. Among these were several inmates of the convent of the Hieronymites, in San Isidro del Campo. But for the Inquisition, the Reformation would have transformed Spain, and secured the prosperity and welfare of its people. [Sidenote: ELOQUENCE OF DE LA FUENTE.]