The inquisition in the Spanish dependencies: Sicily—Naples—Sardinia—Milan—the Canaries—Mexico—Peru—New GranadaLea, Henry Charles
History
The inquisition in the Spanish dependencies: Sicily—Naples—Sardinia—Milan—the Canaries—Mexico—Peru—New Granada
Lea, Henry Charles
Inquisition
Under these elaborate instructions the search was duly made and the
reports, if truthful, would indicate that literature and art were not
extensively cultivated by the English traders. Nothing dangerous was
found, though of course, as regards English books, the investigators had
to accept the word of the owners. In one house they describe, as hanging
on the walls of a room, very ugly half-length portraits of a strange
collection of worthies--Homer, Apelles, Philo Judæus, Aristotle, Seneca,
Pliny, two of Gustavus Adolphus and one without a name. It is perhaps
significant that nowhere was there a Bible, a prayer-book or a work of
devotion. The houses of two Portuguese traders were similarly
inspected, where were found pictures of saints and of damsels with
exuberant charms; also of Barbarossa and of some other pirates.[345]
Possibly supervision of this kind may have continued for, on June 7,
1663, Richard Guild was summoned to the tribunal to describe six English
books and four pamphlets, found in possession of Edward Baker, when
among them there proved to be several controversial works as to
Presbyterianism and the Independents. So, in 1670, Captain Joseph
Pinero, a Portuguese, who was building a ship, was denounced for the
more dangerous offence of having some Jewish books, but diligent search
failed to discover them.[346]
Books, however, were not the only objects of censorial animadversion. In
1671 some plates and jars with figures of Christ, the Virgin and the
saints, sold by Juan Martin Salazar of Ycod, were apparently deemed
irreverent, as subordinating the divine to the commonplace of daily
life, and Fray Lucas Estebes was ordered to go to his shop, with
alguazil and notary, and break the stock on hand, at the same time
ascertaining the name of the seller and of all purchasers. Soon after
this, in 1677, an edict was issued ordering the surrender of some
snuff-boxes, brought by an English vessel, which were adorned with two
heads--one with a tiara and the legend _Æcclesia perversa tenet jaciem
diaboli_, and the other of a philosopher and the motto _Stulti sapientes
aliquando_.[347]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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