He had a great aversion to making war upon a Christian prince, which he was never known to do during the whole of a long reign. His qualities as a governor were superior to the century in which he lived; he commanded a collection to be made of the ancient laws and customs, he gave a great impetus to national literature, commanding all public documents, formerly published in Latin, to be published in the vulgar tongue; and finally, during his reign, the custom of summoning the deputies of the principal towns to the cortes was firmly established. He faithfully fulfilled his promises to the vanquished Moors, and was careful to see that the priests laboured to convert them. In this he showed greater zeal than in extending his kingdom.[c] That he was a just, a pious, an able, and a paternal ruler, as well as a valiant soldier, is undoubted; but his justice sometimes degenerated into revenge; and his persecution of heretics--especially at Palencia, where, with his own royal hands, he condescended to set fire to the fagots on which they perished--proves either that his disposition was naturally cruel, or that the very demon of bigotry had smothered within him the best feelings of humanity. It was probably to this latter circumstance, more than to his prayers, his fasts, and his frequent use of the discipline, that, in 1671, he was canonised by Clement X.[b] ALFONSO THE LEARNED (EL SABIO) AND HIS SUCCESSORS [Sidenote: [1252-1275 A.D.]] When Ferdinand the Saint died, after a long and glorious reign, he was succeeded by his eldest son, Alfonso X, surnamed the Learned,[30] a prince who concerned himself less with the enlargement of his kingdom than the cultivation of science, and who, in emulation of the old court of the caliphate of Cordova, valued culture and learning more highly than military renown. Although the contentions with the Moors did not quite cease and Castile not only asserted her supremacy over Granada, but also fitted out a fleet to carry out the crossing into Africa which had been already meditated by Ferdinand, yet the mind of Alfonso preferred to dwell on intellectual matters, on observations of the heavens, and researches into the historical past of his native country. A prince of various knowledge, and penetrated with the love of study, he encouraged art and science with much generosity, shared the tasks of the learned, and sought to accomplish works during his lifetime which might win greater glory in the eyes of posterity than feats of war and arms.