Spain, above every other country, has been afflicted and degraded by the court of inquisition. We have seen that it was introduced into its provinces at an early period, and several persons were publicly burnt, A.D. 1302, in Arragon, by Father Bernard; and one of the spectacles of burning heretics, A.D. 1325, was sanctioned by the presence of King James and his two sons. About A.D. 1356, Nicholas Eymerick, inquisitor-general of Arragon, wrote a book of rules, as “The Guide of Inquisitors;” and this was the chief directory, though the Inquisition greatly declined, until the union of the crowns of Arragon, Castile and Leon, Asturias and Granada, by the marriage of Ferdinand V. of Arragon, with Isabella, queen of Castile, A.D. 1474. Spain being thus united under one government, the “Modern Inquisition” was established, in a new form, for the discovery of Moors and heretics, but especially Jews. This people, by diligence in trade, had acquired great wealth; they were celebrated for their learning, and some of them had risen to the highest offices in the state. Yet, even from the first, they were subjected to insult, on account of their religion, by the professors of Christianity. Many of the Jews, however, professed to be converted to the faith of Christ, and intermarried with the Spanish nobility; but no sooner had Ferdinand and Isabella ascended the throne, than the Romish prelates appealed to them, as Catholic princes, to give their sanction to an increased activity and power of the Inquisition. Isabella was unwilling to become thus guilty of the blood of her subjects; but Ferdinand was led by the priests, and the queen at length yielded to their bigoted counsels. Pope Sixtus IV., therefore, A.D. 1471, at her request, granted a bull, enjoining the arrest and punishment of heretics and apostates. Gentle means were employed for two years, as was desired by Isabella; but it was then reported by the priests, that these were insufficient; and, A.D. 1480, Michael Morillo and John de San Martin, both Dominicans, were constituted inquisitors, with various subordinate officers. Seville was the seat of their first operations. In their progress, they were furnished by the governors of provinces, according to royal orders, with whatever they required; and the citizens, though opposed to the institution, yielded to the royal commission. They issued their first edict, January 2nd, 1481; and many, dreading the vengeance of the Inquisition, fled from the city. The Spanish nobles were commanded by the inquisitors to seize the emigrants as heretics; their property was confiscated, and such numbers were arrested that they were obliged to provide a larger prison. On a tablet of this building was engraved the following, in barbarous Latin:--