Of Padre Anello Oliva little appears to be known aside from the fact that he was born in Naples and became a member of the Society of Jesus. His principal work is entitled _Vidas de varones ilustres de la Compañía de Jesús de la provincia del Perú_. The sub-title describes the contents more fully, announcing that the first of the four books treats of the kingdom and provinces of Peru, the Incas, the discovery and conquest by the Spaniards; and that the three other books describe the lives of the Jesuits written, as one critic informs us, solely with the object of preserving the memory of the Jesuits the most distinguished in the virtues and in the observation of the rules of the Society, in order that they might serve as examples to their successors; but offering no interest to the historian, since they are limited, for the most part, to referring to the manner in which these distinguished Jesuits succeeded in reaching a high degree of perfection, and to eulogizing the merit which they attained.[142] [Sidenote: _Histoire du Pérou_] In 1857 M. Ternaux Compans published the first book of Oliva’s _Vidas_ in a French translation made from the unpublished manuscript, under the title, _Histoire du Pérou_. This book of Oliva’s work forms in some sense an introduction to the lives of illustrious men. The persons whose biographies made up the body of the work were Ruiz Portillo, José Acosta, Baltasar Piñas, Juan Sebastián, Rodrigo de Cabrevo, Juan de Atienza, Estevan Páez, Juan de Frías Herrán, Gonzalo de Lyra, and Juan Romero. The first book was printed in Lima from the original Spanish manuscript in 1895. [Sidenote: Grandezas de Lima] [Sidenote: Ojeda’s opinions] Long and dull years of isolation in the dependencies and ignorance of the conditions of the older countries led the colonists to exaggerate or overestimate what they saw in the cities of South America. If they celebrated the accession of a king of Spain, it seemed to them that nowhere else had there been seen such magnificence. In writing, therefore, of the capital of Peru, Diego Ojeda Gallinato very naturally entitled his book _Grandezas de Lima_. This book, Mendiburu says, is extremely rare even in Spain, and that he had not been able to obtain a copy of it. But other writers who had used it give some notions of Ojeda’s opinions, particularly of the inhabitants of Peru, who appeared to him, especially those descended from Spanish ancestors, discreet, liberal, energetic, and possessed of most active minds; and what most excited admiration was to see how early intelligence dawned in the children.[143] [Sidenote: Velasco’s _Arte de sermones_]