Ponce de la Fuente, above all, charmed his hearers not only by the beauty of the doctrine which he proclaimed, but also by the purity and elegance of his language, and by the overpowering bursts of his eloquence. Those who heard it exclaimed, 'A miracle!'[60] Ponce was a great observer, and this both by nature and by choice. He took his stand as it were upon a height, and set himself to consider attentively all that presented itself to him--physical phenomena, moral affections, and human affairs.[61] By means of his learning, his experience, and his knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, he was able to contemplate as from an elevated position all things human and divine. He had also an accurate judgment, a quality of the first importance to a preacher. He had a sense of the just value of things; discretion not only guided him in all his actions, but also inspired all his words. This explains the popularity which he ere long enjoyed. In his view the tact of the orator should teach him to avoid whatever would uselessly shock the hearer, and to seek after every thing which could bring souls to salvation. On the days when he preached, Seville cathedral presented the finest spectacle. His service was usually at eight o'clock in the morning; and the concourse of people was so great that as early as four o'clock, frequently even at three, hardly a place in the church was left vacant.[62] It was openly asserted in Seville that Ponce de la Fuente surpassed the most illustrious orators of his own age and of the age which had preceded it.[63] In spite of the extraordinary popularity which he enjoyed, he had remained one of the simplest of men, free from the love of money, without ambition, satisfied with frugal diet, with a small library, and not caring for that wealth for the sake of which certain public pests, said one of his friends, ravaged the church of God. He had given proof of this by refusing the rich canonry of Toledo. During many years Seville, more fortunate in this respect than any other town in Spain,[64] heard the pure Gospel of Christ proclaimed. Besides the service in the cathedral, there were meetings of a more private character in some of the houses. The abundant harvest which the fertile soil of Spain afterwards yielded was the fruit of these laborious sowings.[65] De la Fuente, Egidius, and Vargas, men as remarkable for their doctrine as for their life, were the first great sowers of the good seed in the Peninsula. 'They deserve,' said one of their good friends, 'to be held in perpetual remembrance.' Who can tell what might have happened in Spain if the work of these three associated Christians could have been longer carried on? But on a sudden Egidius found himself deprived of his two companions in arms, and this in most diverse ways.