Although the zeal for the good of souls with which the religious came to these regions was universal in its scope, and included all those races who were ignorant of their God and served the devil, they were always most especially influenced by everything that concerned the conversion of the great kingdom of China. This is incomparably greater in population and higher in the character of its people, who have greater intelligence and more civilization. It is therefore the greater grief to see them so blind in what most concerns them, and so devoted to their blindness that of nothing do they take such heed as to close the doors of their souls against the light; for they believe that there is no truth of which they are ignorant, and no race that is further advanced than they. Perhaps this pride and presumption is the cause why the Lord has left them so long in their errors, a suitable punishment for those who, puffed up by the benefits of nature, despise those of grace--imitating in this the Father of Pride, who in this way lost all his good and made himself incapable of regaining it. But since this race, being men, are capable of recognizing their error, there is always hope that by the aid of the Lord they will bethink themselves. The desire of converting them was the greatest and most important motive that the founders of this province had for coming to it; and when they arrived they set about with all their hearts learning the language, without being too much afraid of it. Up to that time, though many had desired to learn it, no one had yet been able to conquer its great difficulty; thus it had been impossible to minister to the Chinese or to teach them in their own language. The Lord favored the friars' designs, seeing that, although these designs were in so uncommon a matter, they did not spring from presumption but from fervent wishes for the good of those souls, and from perfect confidence that, since the Lord required these people to be baptized, He would provide the language in which they might be ministered to. It was in this faith, without hesitating at any labor, that on the first Epiphany, which was in 1588, father Fray Miguel de Venavides was able to baptize solemnly three Chinese, though he had already baptized many others who asked for baptism at the point of death. This was within six months of the time when the religious set foot on this land. The bishop was greatly delighted, because he had greatly desired and striven for this end, without being able to attain it before, and now saw his desires accomplished. Still, he did not even then assign to them the ministry to the Chinese without having first invited to undertake it each one of the three religious orders that were in the country when our order came; and without having received the response from all of them that they were unable to supply religious to learn that language, and to minister to this race in it. He then, with all this justification, gave to them