The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898: Volume 32, 1640: Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century.Aduarte, Diego
History
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898: Volume 32, 1640: Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century.
Aduarte, Diego
Demarcation line of Alexander VI; Missions -- Philippines; Philippines -- Discovery and exploration; Philippines -- History -- Sources
Father Fray Bartholome Martynez afterward erected on the same site a
sumptuous and handsome church, which was intentionally made large and
capacious, that there might be room in it for the many whom he hoped to
baptize; and beautiful, that the very magnificence of the edifice might
give some sign by its appearance of whose it was. In order that it
might please the Chinese better, it was constructed entirely after the
manner of the best buildings in China, out of wood, the pieces framed
together with joints, without any nails in the entire frame. This
was accomplished, in spite of the fact that the number of pieces
which entered into the frame came to more than three thousand. They
were wrought with marvelous skill, and with superior craftsmanship;
indeed, before they began to be put in place they were all shaped,
with their joints so fitted that, although the architect at the time
of erecting the building happened to be unable on account of illness
to rise from his bed, and had to give his directions from it as to
what had to be done, yet everything was found to be so exact that
his presence was not needed. Everything was fitted exactly as it was
planned and worked out by the designer from the beginning. This is
something which aroused great admiration in the Spanish architects
who saw it, and they were amazed, and with reason. It is reckoned
a matter worthy of the wisdom given by God to Solomon that the same
thing is recounted of the temple which he built, as is narrated in
holy scripture. The architect was a heathen, very old and infirm;
but God prolonged his life until this work was finished. Afterward,
as his illness grew worse, he asked for holy baptism; and, having
received it devoutly, he died happy in being a Christian, and was
buried in the church which he had built for God.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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