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v1_499-529latin 1549E
499. Eo tempore triginta ex nostris in India variis in locis versabantur. Itaque hoc apud se, experientia magistra, statuisse testatur, quod per ipsos indigenas fides Christiana ac religio conservari, immo nec ipsa Societas nostra possit, quodque tamdiu ibi essent duraturae quamdiu qui superstites essent ex nostris viverent, vel alii ex Europa submitterentur; nec enim ad institutum Societatis apti esse neophyti illarum regionum videbantur. Ex his autem triginta initio hujus anni aliqui Goae, alii in regione Comurini, aliqui Caulani, Bazaini, alii Socotora, alii Malacae residebant; et in singulis locis aliquis erat, qui caeteris praeficeretur, cuique illi libenter obedirent. Et quia digni erant quibus ipse Pater Franciscus confideret, existimabat sine detrimento Societatis se posse ad Japoniam iter propositum instituere. Optabat tamen in quatuordecim vel quindecim arcibus vel praesidiis praecipuis lusitanorum, quas habent in ora maritima Indiae, nec enim ad interiora continentis eorum ditio multum penetrabat, aliquos de Societate nostra residere, et in singulis concionatorem unum et catechismi lectorem esse, ut tam Christianis quam his, qui de novo ad fidem accederent, per Dei verbum et Sacramentorum ministerium subvenirent. Et quia in magnis ignorantiae tenebris omnes illi infideles, quos noverat, versabantur; qui eis ad fidem vel vitam Christianam reducendis vacarent, non tam doctrina, quam obedientia, patientia, humilitate, charitate, castitate et perseverantia praestantes esse debere; sed prae caeteris, castitatis et humilitatis donum esse necessarium testatur. Et, si quis, ut Collegio Goënsi vel aliis praeesset, mitteretur, ab ipso Societatis Generali Praeposito et cum ipsius auctoritate mittendum esse, qui obedientia ac humilitate magna sit praeditus, ne in eo signum aliquod superbiae notari possit; deinde ut amabilem se iis, quibuseum versatur, et non rigidum et qui servili timore alios in officio continere velit. Et parum ad aedificationem cessisse scribit quod Doctor Antonius Gomez a P. Simone cum ea auctoritate sit missus, ut in compedes ferreos conjicere et vinctos in Portugallia mittere posset quos ipse judicaret cum aedificatione non versari. Eo enim tempore nullum Pater Franciscus aliis vinculis quam charitatis retinendum esse censebat; unde aliquos ad Societatis institutum parum idoneos, quamvis libenter in Societate illi mansissent, ab ea dimisit; quos autem idoneos judicabat, cum charitatis significatione eos tractandos et in Societate confirmandos, cum in tam multis laboribus Deo servirent, judicabat; et Societatem Jesu, Societatem amoris et unionis animorum, non rigoris et servilis timoris esse existimabat. Patrem autem Antonium Gomez, quod potius ad concionandum et alia Societatis ministeria quam ad gubernandum idoneum esse judicabat, Dium vel Ormuzium mittere, et P. Gasparem ejus loco Collegio Goënsi praeficere constituebat.
499. At this time thirty of ours were working in various places in India. Therefore, by experience ours learned that the Christian faith could not be preserved by the natives themselves, nor could our Society by itself, and that they would persevere as long as ours remained there and continued to live, or others were sent from Europe; for the neophytes of that region did not seem suitable for the Institute of the Society. Now of these thirty at the beginning of the year some were in Goa, some in the region of Comorin, some in Caulani, Bazain, others in Socotra, some in Malacca. And in each place there was someone who was in charge of the other, and they willingly obeyed him. And because those Fr. Francis put his trust in were worthy, he thought that without damage to the Society he could carry out his plan of going to Japan. He wanted some members of our Society to live in the fourteen or fifteen citadels or main fortresses of the Portuguese, which they maintain on the shoreline of India, for their authority does not penetrate very far into the interior of the continent. And in each one he wanted there to be one preacher and a teacher of catechism, that they might assist through the word of God and the ministry of the sacraments both the Christians and those who have embraced the faith recently. And because all those infidels, whom he knew, were living in a great darkness of ignorance, those who were engaged in bringing them to faith or the Christian way of life had to be outstanding, not so much in doctrine as in obedience, patience, humility, charity and perseverance. And if someone was sent to preside over the College in Goa or over others, and is sent by the Superior General of the Society with his authority, he should be endowed with great obedience and humility, so that no sign of pride could be detected in him. And then he should show himself to be amiable with whom he lives, and not rigid or like someone who wants to rule over others with servile fear. And he writes that it contributes little to edification that Doctor Antonio Gomez was sent by Fr. Simon with authority so that he can chain the feet and send back as prisoners to Portugal those whom he might judge to act without edification. For at that time Fr. Francis thought that no one should be kept there by any other bond than that of charity. Therefore he dismissed from the Society some individuals less suited for the Institute of the Society, even though they really wanted to remain in it. However, those he judged to be suitable, he thought should be treated with acts of charity and so confirmed in the Society, since they would be serving God in so many ministries. He thought that the Society of Jesus is a society of love and union of hearts, not a society of harshness and servile fear. He judged that Fr. Antonio Gomez was suited more for preaching and other ministries of the Society than for governing, and so he decided to send him to Dium or Ormuz and to put Fr. Gaspar in his place as the Superior of the College in Goa. [1. Ignatius Simoni, de adjuvando Francisco Xaverio, de Collegiis Cranganori et alibi per Indiam instituendis ; de patentibus litteris, quibus Xaverius Indiae Provincialis declaratus fuerat, 11 Octobris 49.
Ignatius to Simon, on helping Francis Xavier, on establishing Colleges in Cranganore and elsewhere in India; on the official letter by which Xavier was declared to be the Provincial of India, October 11, 1549.]
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500. Itaque cum Paulo Japonensi, qui octo mensibus loqui, legere et scribere lusitane didicerat et in spiritualibus Exercitiis profecerat, et cum aliis duobus aut tribus adolescentibus japonensibus Goae institutis, Aprili mense ex India Japoniam versus navigare omnino decrevit, quamvis prius Goam per Bazainum, ubi erat novus Gubernator, se conferre voluit, ut ab eo quaedam, quae opportuna erant ad negotium religionis in his locis promovendum, ubi nostri residebant, impetraret; tres etiam vel quatuor ex nostris in subsidium aliorum, qui in Malucis inter magna pericula Deo serviebant, submitteret. Petebat etiam a P. Ignatio, ut litteras suis filiis, qui in India sparsi erant, scriberet, spiritualibus documentis ac doctrina eos instruentes, ut quasi in filiorum exulantium usum testamentum hujusmodi conderet; et cum genibus flexis has litteras scripsisset, orationum ac sacrificiorum suffragia ab eo petit. Commendat prae caeteris, ut magnum Dei servum, Antonium Criminalem, qui paulo post hoc eodem anno per martyrium ad Dominum migravit, et tales in Indiam mitti petit. Commendat et Patrem Henricum Enriquez, qui propter linguao quam didicerat, peritiam, duorum operariorum vices implebat. Misit etiam hujus anni initio Patrem Nicolaum Lancillotum aegrotantem in arcem Caulani, qui locus coelum valde salubre habet, et ibi ut Collegium ad puerorum indigenarum et a lusitanis relictorum a Rege erigeretur, et aliquibus reditibus dotaretur, curaverat. Regi etiam Portugalliae scripsit ut Patrem Simonem ad hujusmodi Collegia constituenda, et ad novos christianos fovendos, ne ab ejus ministris, dum eis praesunt, opprimerentur, et demum ad religionis conservandae ac promovendae negotia, Regia auctoritate instructum, quo suam etiam Rex ipse conscientiam exoneraret, in Indiam mitteret; id enim Patrem Simonem vehementer optare intelligebat. Eidem etiam Patri Simoni scribit ut Christianis Insulae Socotorae, qui a quibusdam saracenis magna servitute premebantur, auxilium a Rege impetraret; cum enim classis lusitanica, quae singulis annis ad illa loca mittebatur, in Indiam redire vellet, minimo negotio et sine ulla impensa ex illa Insula saracenos dejicere poterat, qui insulanis arma ademerant, et filias eorum sibi sumebant, et ad Mahometi perfidiam ducebant. Petit etiam ut singulis annis ex Lusitania aliqui sacerdotes veniant, cum illi, qui in India admittebantur, nec spiritu nec litteris sic erant instructi, ut extra Collegia mitti ad laborandum in vinea Domini possent.
500. Therefore, he decided to travel in April from India to Japan with Paul, the Japanese boy who had learned how to speak, to read and to write Portuguese in eight months, and with two or three other Japanese youths trained at Goa, although he wanted to go first to Goa through Bazain, where the new Governor was, in order to obtain some things from him, which were useful for the promotion of religion in places where ours resided. He also sent three or four of ours to help the others who were serving God in the Molukus in the midst of great dangers. He also asked Fr. Ignatius to write a letter to his sons, who were spread out in India, instructing them with spiritual advice and teaching in order to establish as it were a testament for the use of his sons in exile. And since he wrote this letter on bended knees, he also begged him for suffrages of prayers and sacrifices. Among other things, he commends as a great servant of God, Antonio Criminalis, who soon thereafter in this same year became a martyr for the Lord, and he asks that such men be sent to India. He also commends Fr. Henry Enriquez who, because of his knowledge of the language he had learned, took the place of two missionaries. At the beginning of this year he also sent Fr. Nicholas Lancelott, who was sick, to the fortress of Caulani, which has a healthy climate, and so that he might take care of the College erected there by the King for native boys and those abandoned by the Portuguese, and was supported by some income. He also wrote to the King of Portugal that he should send to India Fr. Simon in order to establish Colleges of this kind, and to win over new Christians, so that they will not be oppressed by his ministers, when they rule over them; and finally he should be provided with the Royal authority with regard to the preservation and promotion of religion, so that the King himself can ease his conscience in this matter. For he understood that Fr. Simon very much wanted to do this. He also writes to Fr. Simon to ask for help from the King for the Christians on the Island of Socotra, who are oppressed with great servitude by the Saracens; for when the Portuguese fleet, which was sent each year to those places, wanted to return to India, with little effort and without any cost they could have expelled the Saracens from that island, who had disarmed the local natives and taken their daughters for themselves, and forced them into the perfidy of Mohammed. He also asks that each year some priests should come from Portugal, since those who were admitted in India were not trained in spirit and in learning to such an extent that they could be sent outside of the Colleges to work in the vineyard of the Lord.
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501. Et quia Rex Portugalliae in usum Collegii Bazaini tria millia ducatorum annui reditus, ad lusitanorum filios et indigenarum ineo instituendos, dederat, et quidem sub cura Societatis nostrae, quamvis tunc ob paucitatem operariorum non est id onus susceptum, petit ut jam, quandoquidem nostri eam provinciam susceperant, ipsis Collegium cum suis reditibus assignari juberet. Idem de Collegio Goënsi Simoni commendat, ut scilicet, illius reditus Societati, quae jam administrationem exercebat redituum et numerosam ibi juventutem instituebat, solide assignarentur. Alia etiam Collegia institui et litteras a Rege ad Episcopum Goënsem per quemdam fratrem Vinceptium ordinis Sancti Francisci Capuccinorum scribi curaret, ut post mortem ipsius, Collegium satis pulchrum, quod in arce Changranoris instituerat, et in quo centum fere lusitanorum et indigenarum filios instituerat, Societati relinqueret. Quamvis ad hoc satis illi propensi videbantur, cum et nostrorum operam Changranori requirerent, sicuti anno praeterito Bazaini expetierant. Movebat autem Patrem Franciscum ut hoc Collegium Societati assignari post vitam fratris Vincentii ad Dei gloriam fore judicaret, quod fere sexaginta Christianorum loca eorum, qui Sancti Thomae dicuntur, arcem illam circunstant, in quibus egregius fructus, cum plurimarum animarum proventu, consequi poterat. Alios etiam religiosos ordinis Divi Francisci, qui nostris erant amicissimi, serio commendat, qui Maluci et Malacae ad instituendos earum regionum pueros similia Collegia nominatim a Rege institui per litteras tentarunt; quae omnia fere eodem tempore sunt consequuta.
501. Now because the King of Portugal had given three thousand ducats as an annual income for the College in Bazain for the instruction of the sons of the Portuguese and of the natives in it, and indeed as under the care of our Society, although then that burden was not accepted because of the lack of workers, he asks that now, since ours have formed a province, he should command that the College with its income be assigned to it. He recommends the same thing to Simon concerning the College in Goa, namely, that its income should be certainly assigned to the Society, which now was running the College and educating there a large number of youths. He took care also that other Colleges be established and that a letter should be written by the King to the Bishop of Goa brought by a certain brother Vincent of the Capuchin Order of St. Francis, so that after his death such a beautiful College, which he had founded in the fortress of Changrana, and in which he had placed almost a hundred sons of the Portuguese and natives, would remain in the hands of the Society. Although they seemed to be well disposed to this, they also needed our help in Changrana, just as in the previous year they had asked for in in Bazain. But it moved Fr. Francis so that he judged it to be for the glory of God that this College turned over to the Society after the life of Brother Vincent, because almost sixty villages of those Christians, who are said to come from St. Thomas, surround that fortress, in which excellent fruit can be gathered along with the progress of many souls. He also seriously commends other religious of the Order of St. Francis, who were friendly towards ours, and who in Moluku and Malacca in order to instruct the boys of those regions tried by their letters to have similar Colleges established by the King; and at that time almost all of them were built. [2. Vide annot. Infra sub n. 534.
See the note below at number 534.]
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502. Mense igitur Aprili Goa profectus est Pater Franciscus cum Patre Cosmo Torrensi et alio fratre nostro laico, Paulum Japonensem cum duobus ejus famulis adducens. Postremi hi tres scilicet, Paulus ejusque famuli, non solum in catechismo sed in spiritualibus etiam Exercitiis, quibus cum magna sollicitudine et proliciendi desiderio vacaverunt, versati sunt, et insignia Dei dona in illis sunt assequuti. Rogabat Pater Franciscus Paulum in quibus orationibus aut meditationibus majorem spiritus consolationem experiretur; ille vero respondit quod in passione Domini; in qua hi tres japonenses, dum in exercitiis praedictis exercerentur, magnam commotionem et cum multis lacrymis non minorem consolationem acceperant. Cum etiam eumdem interrogaret quid ex his, quae in lege Christiana intellexerat, magis ipsi placebat, respondit ille eum sociis hoc esse confessionem et communionem; et addebant neminem esse qui rationi obediret, qui. si cognosceret Christi legem, eam non admitteret. Audivit etiam Pater Franciscus dicentem cum multis suspiriis hunc Paulum: O Japonenses miseri, qui pro deis Dei creaturas adorant, quas in hominum obsequium Deus creaverat. Et cum interrogaret quam ob rem id diceret, respondit suae provinciae homines Solem ac Lunam adorare, quos Deus, ut servirent tidelibus Christi ad diem et noctem illuminandam condiderat, ut homines, hoc beneficio lucis adducti, Deum glorificarent et filium ejus Jesum Christum.
502. Therefore, in April Fr. Francis departed from Goa with Fr. Cosmo Torrensi and one of our lay brothers, and accompanied by Paul, the Japanese man, with his two assistants. These last three, namely, Paul and his companions, were well versed not only in the catechism, but also in the Spiritual Exercises, which they made with great care and a desire of making progress, and they obtained notable gifts of God through them. Fr. Francis asked Paul in which prayers or meditations he experienced greater spiritual consolation; he replied that it was in the passion of the Lord, in which these three Japanese, while they were making the Exercises, received great feeling of affection and no less consolation with many tears. And when he asked the same man what pleased him more in the things which he understood about the Christian way of life, he responded with his companions that it is confession and communion; and they added that there is no one who obeys reason, who, if he should know the law of Christ, would not accept it. Also Fr. Francis heard this Paul saying with many sighs: “O you miserable Japanese, who adore as gods the creatures of God, which God made to serve men.” And when he asked him why he said that, he said that the people of his province worship the Sun and the Moon, which God made to serve the faithful of Christ to illuminate the day and the night, so that men, being helped by this gift of God, might glorify God and his Son Jesus Christ.
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503. Ultima die mensis Maii Malacam pervenerunt, ubi litteras invenit P. Franciscus a mercatoribus lusitanis, qui in Japonensibus insulis versabantur, quibus ei significabant quemdam Principem christianum fieri velle, qui nuncium ad Indiae Gubernatorem mittebat ut ad declarandam eis Christi legem aliquos sacerdotes mitteret; quosdam etiam subdebant mercatores lusitanos in quodam palatio, ubi nullus incolarum habitabat, hospitio exceptos fuisse, qui sentiebant se impelli et vestes eorum contingi et tamen neminem attingentem vel impellentem videbant; et tandem noctu cuidam eorum horrenda quaedam daemonis visio apparuit, et cum clamaret ille perterritus, lusitani cum armis praesto fuerunt, et intelligentes a daemone illum fuisse perterritum multas cruces in circuitu domus posuerunt; mane etiam illius loci dominus illi significavit domum illam a daemonibus habitari, et quonam remedio utendum esset contra eos interrogavit; illi responderunt se aliud praesentius nescire quam Christi crucem, et ita ipsimet japonenses, lusitanos imitati, multas cruces in circuitu illius loci possuerunt. Constituerat P. Franciscus Regem primarium Japoniae adire, et legatione apud ipsum Christi nomine fungi, Evangelium regni Dei illi significando, et magno animo et spe hanc navigationem ad Dei gloriam et animarum salutem suscipiebat, ac optimum successum suorum laborum sperabat; et inter terrores qui undecumque objiciebantur, ante oculos habebat dictum quoddam Patris Ignatii, quod scilicet, hujus Societatis homines elaborare multum deberent ut superarent et longe a se rejicerent omnes eos timores, qui homines a spe et confidentia in Deum impediunt, et quod ad id media opportuna deberent adhibere, quamvis non in mediis sed in Deo anchoram fidei et spei figerent; nam donum Dei talis fiducia est, sed quod Dominus his conferre solet, qui seipsos vincere student. Multos in inferno esse scribit, qui, cum viverent, alus salutis causa fuerunt, et quod ipsi humilitate interiori carerent et sibi ipsis propter falsam aliorum existimationem confiderent, perierunt; neminem autem esse in inferno eorum qui, dum viverent, mediis usi sunt, quibus interiorem humilitatem consequerentur.
503. On the last day of May they arrived at Malacca, where Fr. Francis received a letter from the Portuguese merchants, who had visited the Japanese islands. The letter said that a certain Prince wanted to become a Christian, and that he sent a message to the Governor of India that he should send some priests to proclaim to them the law of Christ. He also said that some Portuguese merchants had received hospitality in a certain palace, where none of the natives dwelt; they felt that they were being struck and their clothes were touched, and still they saw no one hitting or touching them. And then during the night a horrible vision of a demon appeared to one of them, and when he cried out in fear, the Portuguese came immediately with weapons, and understanding that he had been terrified by a demon, they placed crosses round about in the house. In the morning the Lord of that place told them that the house is inhabited by demons, and he asked them what remedy should be used against them. They responded that they knew nothing more powerful than the cross of Christ, and so the Japanese themselves, imitating the Portuguese, placed many crosses round about in that place. Fr. Francis decided to go to the King of Japan, and to act in the name of Christ as a legate to him by pointing out to him the Gospel of the kingdom of God. With great determination and hope he began this navigation for the glory of God and the salvation of souls, and he hoped for the excellent success or his labors. And among the dangers threatening him on all sides, before his eyes he kept this saying of Fr. Ignatius, namely, that the men of this Society must work hard to overcome and push far from them all those fears, which turn men away from hope and confidence in God, and that they should use the proper means to achieve this, although they will place the anchor of their faith and hope not in the means used but in God. For such confidence is a gift of God, but that God is wont to confer it on those who strive to overcome themselves. He writes that there are many persons in hell who, while they were living, were the cause of salvation for others, and that they themselves perished because they lacked interior humility and had confidence in themselves on account of the false opinion of others. But he also said that none of those are in hell who, while they were living, used the means to acquire interior humility.
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504. Admonebant autem japonenses socii non exiguum offendiculum japonensibus Bonzis fore (sic vocant eorum sacerdotes) si nostros carnibus aut piscibus vesci viderent, a quibus ipsi abstinent, vel certe se abstinere fingunt; et ita ad evitandum scandalum, si opus esset, ab hujusmodi rerum esu abstinere constituerat. Profecti sunt autem ipso die Sancti Joannis Baptistae Malaca, ut in Japoniam navigarent, et quorumdam gentilium sinarum navem ingressi sunt qui, cum mercatores essent, Duci Malacae promiserant se in Japoniam nostros esse transmissuros; et prospero quidem vento utebantur; sed ut gentiles inconstantes esse solent, coepit navis dominus in proposito deducendi nostros in Japoniam frigescere, et in insulis, quae occurrebant, sine causa haerere incipiebat. Duo autem animum Patris Francisci male habebant; alterum, quod venti et temporis commoditas, quam dabat Dominus, e manibus elabebatur, et si montio illa cessasset, apud Sinas hiemandum erat, et alia montio sequentis anni exspectanda; alterum, quod navis plena erat impiis idoli cujusdam sacrificiis, quae non cessabat navis dominus cum aliis gentilibus offerre, et pro suo more sortes mittebant, et interrogabant an prosperum ventum in Japoniam essent habituri necne, et quamvis variae, ut ferebant, sortes egrederentur, una egressa est, quae dicebat prosperum ventum fore et exspectandum non esse; et ita solventes anchoras laeti navigabant, illi in suo idolo, nostri vero in Christo confidentes, in cujus obsequium hoc iter susceperant. Sed cum pergerent illi sortilegi suum idolum consulere, sors exiit quod in Japoniam quidem essent perventuri, sed Malacam non redituri. Hic omnino constituit dominus navis apud sinas subsistere, et sequentem annum exspectare. Urgebatur Pater Franciscus magno zelo contra daemonem, qui honorem Deo debitum sibi vindicabat, et navigationem in Japoniam per suas sortes duci navis dissuadebat; et tota illa nocte dedit ei Dominus intimum sensum circa res multas, ac praecipue circa terrores, quos daemones, cum a Deo id permittitur, incutere solent, et circa remedia, quibus utendum est, quorum summa ea est; magnum animum, dum hujusmodi terrores ille incutit, contra daemonem ostendere, de se animo diffidendo et spem omnem in Deo constituendo, et vehementer cavendum esse ne daemoni cor timidum ostendatur. Rogavit etiam Dominum ut augeret poenas illi daemoni, qui tanquam Deum se adorari faciebat; unde valde infensum daemon illi se ostendit, et objiciebat ei saepe quod Deum rogaverat contra ipsum et tempus jam adesse, quo talem injuriam ulturus esset. Sed cum nihil amplius daemon possit quam Deus permittit, id curandum est ne confidentia in Deo posita relaxetur, et qui de se ipsis praesumunt facile superantur, quamvis in rebus minoribus victoriam aliquando sint consequuti; et ipsi pusillanimes in magnis periculis ac laboribus fortiores illis sunt, si in Domino confidant; unde diligenter humilitati studendum esse ait, et sibi omnino diffidendum, ut totum spei fundamentum ad pericula gravia et labores superandos in Deo collocetur; nullus siquidem debilis est, qui bene gratia utitur, quam illi dat Dominus.
504. Now the Japanese companions warned that it would be no little offense to the Japanese Bonzes (that is what they call their priests), if they saw ours eating meat or fish, from which they abstain, or certainly seem to abstain; and so, in order to avoid a scandal, if it was necessary, he decided to abstain from eating these things. On the feast of St. John the Baptist they departed from Malacca in order to sail to Japan, and they entered into the ship of some gentile Chinese who, since they were merchants, promised the Duke of Malacca that they would transport ours to Japan. And they had a favorable wind; but since the gentiles are wont to be inconstant, the captain of the ship began to grow cold about the agreement to bring ours to Japan, and without any reason he began to delay in the islands which were on the way. But two things disturbed the mind of Fr. Francis; the first was that the favor of the good winds and time, which the Lord was giving, was being wasted, and if that “montio” [3. Montio ; Italice monsone hispanice monzon, anglice monsoon, ex malayo mûsim aut hindostanico mausim, mausam, est ventus, qui per dimidiam anni partem tenet constanter contrariam in flando directionem ei quam per aliam dimidiam tenuit. Monzon proprie dicitur de ventis maris indici; nam similes oceani maris, quod Europam et Americam alluit, dicuntur alisios.
Montio: in Italian monsone, in Spanish monsoon, in English monsoon, in Malayan mûsim, in Hindustani mausim, mausam, is a wind which through half of the year blows constantly in one direction and in the other half blows in the opposite direction. Monsoon properly is said about the winds in the Indian Ocean.] ceased, it was necessary to spend the winter in China, and so wait for another montio of the following year. The second was that the ship was full of impious sacrifices to idols, which the captain of the ship did not cease to honor with other gentiles, and according to their custom they cast lots and they asked whether or not they were going to have favorable winds to Japan. And although they received various answers, one came out which said that there would be a favorable wind and that they should not wait. And so after weighing anchor they set sail joyfully, as they trusted in their idol, while ours trusted in Christ, in whose service they were undertaking this journey. But since the soothsayers continued to consult their idol, the lot came out that they would surely arrive in Japan, but that they would not return to Malacca. So the captain of the ship absolutely decided to remain in China, and to wait until the next year. Fr. Francis urged with great fervor against the demon, who claimed for himself the honor due to God, and by his oracles persuaded the ship’s captain not to sail to Japan. And during that whole night the Lord gave him an intimate sense concerning many things, and especially concerning the terrors which the demons are wont to inflict, when it is permitted by God, and concerning the remedies that must be used, the best of which is this: to show great strength of mind against the demon, while he is inflicting terrors of this kind, by not relying on oneself and by placing all hope in God, and it is absolutely necessary not to show any timidity in the face of the demon. He also asked the Lord that he increase the punishment for that demon, who wanted to be adored as if he were God. Therefore the demon showed himself to be very hostile towards him, and he reproached him often that he had asked God often to act against him and now is the time when he was going to avenge this injury. But since the demon can do nothing more than what the Lord permits, it is necessary not to abandon the confidence placed in God; and those who rely on themselves alone are easily overcome, even though in small things they may at times win a victory; and the pusillanimous in great dangers and labors are stronger than they, if they have trust in the Lord. Hence he says that one must strive diligently for humility, and to have total mistrust in oneself, so that he places the whole foundation of his hope in God in order to overcome grave dangers and difficulties. For no one is truly weak, who uses well the grace that God gives to him.
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505. Cum ergo ad insulas sinarum prope civitatem Cantonem pervenissent, omnes illi in Portu Cantonis hiemare constituerant. Pater Franciscus nihilominus cum sociis ducem navis urgebat ad quod promiserat Duci Malacae praestandum; alioquin se id scripturum minabatur. Sic rursus anchoras solventes Chinchaeum versus navigarunt, qui alius est Chinarum portus, in quem cum jam ingressuri essent ut hiemarent (jam enim accedebat montionis ventorum finis), ecce navigium quoddam ad eos accedit et significat illo in portu piratas esse, et quod de ipsis actum erat, si portum ingrederentur. Cum etiam navigia Chinchaeorum ad unius leucae spatium distantia cernerent, et navis dux sibi extrema timeret et ventum prosperum versus Japoniam haberet a puppi et omnino contrarium, si Cantaonum vellet redire, coactus est contra suam et suorum et daemonis etiam voluntatem in Japoniam pergere; quo ipso die Assumptionis Beatae Virginis hujus anni 1549, et quidem cum alium portum ingredi non potuissent, recta Cangoximam, quae patria erat Pauli Japonensis, quo nostri pervenire cupiebant, pervenerunt; ubi tam consanguinei Pauli quam reliqui nostros perhumaniter exceperunt.
505. Therefore when they arrived at the Chinese islands near the city of Canton, they all decided to spend the winter in the port of Canton. Nevertheless, Fr. Francis with his companions urged the captain of the ship to do what he had promised to the Duke of Malacca; otherwise he said that he would write to him about this. So again weighing anchor they sailed towards Hong Kong, which is another port in China, [3. Sic; alibi fere semper Sinae, arum.
Sic; elsewhere almost always Sino-, Sinarum.] into which they were about to enter in order to spend the winter there (for now the monsoon winds had stopped), and behold, another ship approached them and told them there were pirates in that port, and that they would be captured if they entered that port. Then when they saw that the Hong Kong ships were only about one mile away, and the ship’s captain was very much afraid and he had a favorable wind towards Japan from behind, and a contrary wind if he wanted to return to Canton [4. Sic; superius et alibi Canton, Cantonem.
Sic; above and elsewhere Canton, Cantonem], he was forced to sail toward Japan against his own will and the will of his crew and the demon. And so on the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin in this year of 1549, and indeed when they could not enter another port, they arrived directly at Cangoxima, which was the home town of Paul, the Japanese man, and the place where ours wanted to go. There both the relatives of Paul and others received them very graciously.
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506. Japonensium ingenia et mores prae caeteris omnibus, inter quos Pater Franciscus versatus erat, ei maxime probabantur. In genere loquendo affabiles, non maligni, honoris rationem miram habentes et, ut plurimum, pauperes sunt, sed paupertatem nec nobiles nec ignobiles erubescunt, sed qui nobiles sunt, perinde honore afficiuntur, licet pauperes sint, atque si divites essent; et nullius dotis magnitudine adduci posset nobilis ut ignobilem foeminam in uxorem duceret, nam id contra suum honorem esse judicant et honorem pluris quam divitias faciunt. Urbanitate inter se certant; de armis gloriantur; in illis multum confidunt; tam nobiles quam ignobiles post quatuordecim aetatis annos ensibus et pugionibus utuntur; injurias minime ferunt nec verba, quae contemptum sapiunt; ignobiles magnum honorem nobilibus exhibent; ipsi autem nobiles pro magna gloria habent principibus inservire, cum quibus submisse admodum se gerunt, non tam quod punitionem timeant, si aliter agerent, quam quod contra suum honorem id fore judicant. In cibo moderati sunt, in potu largiores; vinum ex oryza bibunt, cum vitibus careant; ludis nunquam utuntur, quia contra suum honorem existimant id esse, quandoquidem qui ludunt, quod alienum est cupiunt, unde ad furtum accedere videntur; juramentis parum utuntur; si quando jurant, per solem jurant; maxima eorum pars legere et scribere novit; unicam uxorem singuli habent; pauci latrones inveniuntur, cum capite muletentur qui id perpetrant et severe admodum in hoc vitium animadvertunt; optima voluntate praediti videntur et ad facienda, quae ad Deum pertinent, sunt valde propensi, et tunc praecipue cum de illis aliquid intelligunt; fideliores homines nunquam se vidisse Pater Franciscus testatur; non adorant idola in animalium figuris; quosdam antiquos homines, qui more philosophico inter eos vixerunt, colunt; mulli eorum solem, alii lunam adorant; rationi valde obediunt, et quamvis inter eos vitia et peccata sunt, cum de eorum turpitudine ratio redditur, eam agnoscunt, et quod ratio dictat, probant. Pauciora peccata in saecularibus quam in eorum sacerdotibus aut bonzis inveniuntur; nam hi etiam his peccatis, a quibus natura abhorret sunt obnoxii, nec ipsi id negant, et omnibus constat; sed quia res depravata con suetudine latissime patet, non id homines abominantur; quamvis dum reprehenduntur illi, alii homines libenter id audiunt et reprehensionem probant; ipsi vero bonzi rident nec erubescunt; et tamen illis filii nobilium erudiendi traduntur; unde considerandum est quod consuetudo peccandi etiam in pessimis vitiis sic vires naturae corrumpit, ut etiam ab his non abhorreat. Et cum tales vitiis bonzi sint, mirum est quanto in pretio ab aliis habeantur.
506. The character and morals of the Japanese were approved very much by Fr. Francis above all others with whom he had been associated. Generally speaking, they are affable, not malicious; they have a high regard for honor and, for the most part, they are poor, but neither the nobles nor those of low birth are ashamed of their poverty. But those who are nobles, although they are poor, are treated with just as much honor as if they were rich; and a nobleman could not be induced to marry an ignoble woman, no matter how large the dowry might be, for they judge that to be beneath his honor and they have a higher regard for honor than they do for riches. They struggle among themselves over politeness; they glory in weapons and have much confidence in them; both nobles and those of low birth after fourteen years of age use swords and daggers; they do not tolerate injuries or words, which show contempt. Those of low birth show great honor to the nobles; but the nobles consider it a great honor to serve the princes, to whom they choose to submit themselves, not because they fear punishment, if they were to act otherwise, but because they judge that it would be against their sense of honor. They are moderate in food, but more disposed towards drink; they drink wine made out of rice, since they do not have vines. They never play games, because they think it is contrary to their honor, since those who play desire what another person has, so it seems to them to be something like theft. They are sparing in the use of oaths; if they do swear, they swear by the sun. Most of them know how to read and write; each man has only one wife. Few thieves are found, since those who do it are beheaded, and there are very severe warnings about this vice. They seem to be endowed with good will and they are very much inclined to do what pertains to God, and then especially when they understand something about it. Fr. Francis testifies that he has never seen more faithful men. They do not adore idols in the shape of animals; they honor certain ancient men, who lived among them like philosophers. Many of them adore the sun, others the moon; they are very obedient to reason, and although there are sins and vices among them, when they have to give an account of their turpitude, they admit it, and they approve what reason demands. Fewer sins are found among the lay people than among their priests or bonzes; for, the latter are subject to those sins which nature abhors, and they do not deny it, and everyone knows about it. But because this depraved matter is a very widespread custom, the men are not detested because of it; although when they are reprimanded, other people gladly hear about it and approve the reprimand. The bonzes themselves laugh about it and are not ashamed; nevertheless, the sons of the nobles are entrusted to them for their education. Hence one must consider that the custom of sinning, even regarding the worst vices, so corrupts the powers of nature that it does not even shrink back from them. And even though the bonzes practice such vices, it is astonishing in what high regard they are held by others. [5. Ignatius Simoni Rodericio, de informatione quam de rebus Japonicis scripserat Xaverius, 18 Januarii 49.
Ignatius to Simon Rodriguez, on the information which Xavier wrote about the Japanese culture, January 18, 1549.]
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507. Quemdam prae caeteris insignem et venerandum, nomine Ninxit, familiariter est alloquutus P. Franciscus, quem dubium esse circa animae immortalitatem invenit. Hic ipsi Patri Francisco valde afficiebatur, sicut et alii tam bonzi quam laici, qui vehementer mirabantur a sex millibus leucarum eum venisse ut de rebus ad Deum et ad salutem ipsorum pertinentibus cum eis ageret; et a Deo missum esse eum dicebant. Et magna ad conversionem porta aperta ipsi fuisset, si linguam japonensem tenuisset, quam tamen jam discere incoeperat, et decem praecepta legis utcumque declarabat. Paulus Japonensis sincerum se ac fidelem amicum se exhibuit. Loci illius, qui patria erat Pauli, Dux, et qui magistratus justitiae administrandae curam gerebat, ac populus totus benignitatem nostris non vulgarem ostendebant; nec Paulum, quod Christianam fidem suscepisset, reprehendebant, quin potius eum majori in pretio habebant, et tam consanguinei quam alii et praecipue Dux ipse honore eum peculiari afficiebant, et libenter cum eo conversabantur, qui res Indiae apud japonenses ignotas vidisset. Multa de moribus ac virtute lusitanorum Dux percontabatur, quibus omnibus sic Paulus respondit, ut abunde sibi satisfactum esse Dux prae se ferret.
507. Fr. Francis spoke familiarly with a distinguished and venerable man named Ninxit, whom he discovered had doubts about the immortality of the soul. This man was strongly influenced by Fr. Francis, as were others among the bonzes and lay people, who were very astonished that he had come six thousand miles in order to deal with them about things pertaining to God and their salvation; and they said that he was sent by God. And a large door would have been opened for him for their conversion, if he knew the Japanese language, which however he had already started to learn, and everywhere he proclaimed the Ten Commandments. The Japanese man Paul showed himself to be a sincere and faithful friend. The Chief of that place, which was Paul’s native land, who was also in charge of the administration of justice, and also all the people showed uncommon kindness towards ours; nor did they reprehend Paul, because he had adopted the Christian faith, but rather they held him in high regard, and both his relatives and others and especially the Chief himself treated him with special honor, and eagerly conversed with him, who had seen things in India unknown to the Japanese. The Chief asked many questions about the morals and virtue of the Portuguese, to all of which Paul responded in such a way that the Chief showed himself to be completely satisfied.
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508. Erat Dux, cum primum eum Paulus est alloquutus, in arce quadam quinque leucas Cangoxima distante. Tulerat secum Paulus devotam imaginem Beatissimae Virginis, quam nostri ex India portaverant, cujus aspectu mirum in modum Dux recreatus est, et statim genua flexit coram Christi et Virginis Matris ejus imagine, reverenter et ipse adorans et suos omnes, qui circumstabant, adorandum excitans. Cum autem eam vidit Ducis mater, vehementer eam est admirata, et postquam Paulus ad nostros Cangoximam rediisset, nobilem quemdam virum misit ut curaret aliam similem imaginem ex illa deductam; quod tamen quia colores deessent, fieri non potuit. Petiit etiam Ducis mater ut scripta ad se transmitterentur ea, quae christianorum Religio tradit, quod Paulus diligenter exsequutus est. Is etiam sollicite suis diu noctuque praedicans, matrem suam, uxorem, filiam, multos ex consanguineis et amicis ad fidem Christi convertit; et collegialibus nostri Collegii Goënsis hoc ipsum significans, ut perseverandi gratiam impetrent neophytis, eorum orationes postulat, et multa se sperare de japonensium conversione affirmat; quae spes illi cum Patre Francisco communis erat, qui intellexisse se testatur quam singulari Dei beneficio sit affectus, quod ad Japoniam ipsum deduxisset, et ratione sperandi in ullis creaturis adempta, totam fidem ac spem in se transferendi occasionem dedisset.
508. When Paul first spoke with the Chief he was in a fortress about five miles from Cangoxima. Paul had brought with him a beautiful image of the Blessed Virgin, which ours had brought from India, and when he saw it the Chief was deeply moved, and immediately he bent his knee before the image of Christ and his Virgin Mother, while reverently honoring it and urging all those surrounding him to pray. Now when the mother of the Chief saw the image, she admired it very much, and after Paul had returned to ours in Cangoxima, she sent a nobleman to have a copy made of the image; however, this could not be done, because the necessary colored paints were not available. The mother of the Chief also asked that the writings be given to her which the Christian religion hands on, and Paul carried this out very carefully. Also by preaching solicitously day and night to his mother, wife, daughter and others, he converted many of his relatives and friends to faith in Christ. And by pointing this out to the students of our College in Goa that they should ask for the grace of perseverance for the neophytes, he asks for their prayers, and he says that he has great hope for the conversion of the Japanese. He had this hope in common with Fr. Francis, who says that he knew what a singular gift he had from God, because he had brought him to Japan, and having removed the reason for placing hope in any creatures, he had given him the occasion of placing all his faith and hope in Him.
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509. Et quidem, quod ad cibos attinet, mensuram excedendi ablatum esse periculum affirmat, cum nec occidant nec edant animalia, quae alunt, japonenses; piscibus aliquando vescantur et oryza ac tritico, non multo tamen; herbis largius utantur et paucis quibusdam fructibus; et tamen sani mirum in modum homines vivunt et satis multi senes cernuntur. Itaque in japonensibus facile id discitur ipsa experientia, quod quasi proverbialiter dicitur, scilicet, paucis naturam esse contentam. Sed et nostri sanitate integra fruebantur. Bonzis japonensium, cum propter peccata potius essent abominandi, abstinentia, qua utuntur a carnibus et quidem semel tantum quotidie herbis ac fructibus et oryza vescendo, miram illis auctoritatem conciliat; vinum illis etiam est prohibitum. Ab hujusmodi hominibus persecutionum fructum sperandum esse Franciscus laetabatur; nam ab aliis saecularibus hominibus non esse multum sibi timendum, nisi a bonzis impellerentur, existimabat; ac vivere nostros ajebat magna cum spe regionem illam juvandi, si tamen in Christo et in ejus sacratissima Matre et in novem angelorum choris ac praecipue in eo archangelo, cui regni japonensis cura a Deo commendata esset, et aliis custodibus angelis hominum japonensium, fiducia collocetur; ideo orationes Societatis obnixe petit, ut ne propter peccata ipsorum desinat Deus cooperatores ipsos sui efficere ad conversionem japonensium.
509. Indeed, regarding what pertains to food, he says that the danger of exceeding moderation was taken away, since the Japanese neither kill nor eat the animals they raise; sometimes they eat fish or rice or wheat, but not very much; they make more use of vegetables and a few fruits; nevertheless, amazingly the people tend to be very healthy and quite a few old people are seen. Therefore, among the Japanese it is easily learned from experience what is said as a proverb, namely, that nature is content with a few things. But ours also enjoyed excellent health. The Japanese Bonzes, who should be detested because of their sins, since they abstain from meat and eat fruits, vegetables and rice only once a day, enjoy an amazing authority; wine is also prohibited for them. Francis rejoiced in his hope for the fruit of persecution from men of this kind; for, from other secular men there was not much to be feared, he thought, unless they were driven to it by the bonzes. And he said that ours live with a great hope of helping that country, if confidence is placed in Christ and in his holy Mother and in the nine choirs of angels, and especially in the archangel, to whom the care of the kingdom of the Japanese has been committed by God, and in the other guardian angels of the Japanese people. Therefore, with all his might he asks for the prayers of the Society that God may not, because of their sins, stop sending fellow workers to help with the conversion of the Japanese.
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510. Constituerat Pater Franciscus Meacum, quae civitas est primaria regni Japoniae, ubi Rex et alii Principes viri sedent, quamprimum adire; sed eum applicuissent Cangoximam jam venti, quibus Meacum erat navigandum, cessaverant; et dum contrarii regnabant, Cangoximae debuit subsistere ad quinque vel sex menses. Distat Meacum inde trecentis leucis; multa de ea et quidem magna audiebat, sed donec eam vidisset et universitates alias Japoniae (quae quatuor vel quinque sunt circa Meacum, scholasticis frequentes, et alia insignis, Banda nomine, satis remota), continebat se ne scriberet Summo Pontifici et academiis Europae, postea id facturus, ut ad Christi gloriam et animarum salutem promovendam operarios undecumque destinaret, nec solum in Japoniam, sed etiam in regnum Sinarum , multo majus, cum transitus illuc ex Japonia sit facilis, si Rex Japoniae, qui sincerus amicus tunc erat, suas litteras ad securitatem adjungeret. Duos jam tunc bonzos cum pluribus japonensibus in Indiam ad nostrae religionis mysteria discenda profiscisci scribit. Addit etiam quod ipso die Sancti Michaëli sacro Ducem Cangoximae convenit, a quo humanissime fuit exceptus, qui admonuit ut bene libros illos servaremus quibus Christianorum lex continebatur, addens quod si ea vera esset ac bona lex, aliquid esset consequuturum, quod daemoni valde displiceret; et post paucos dies suis omnibus subditis potestatem fecit, ut quicumque vellent, Christianam religionem susciperent.
510. Fr. Francis decided to go as soon as possible to Meaca, which is the main city of the kingdom of Japan, where the King and the other nobles live. But when they arrived in Cangoxima, already the winds, which were necessary in order to sail to Meaca, had ceased to blow; and while the contrary winds were dominant, it was necessary to remain in Cangoxima for five or six months. It is about three hundred miles to Meaca; he heard many good things about it, but until he had seen it and the other universities of Japan (there are three or four in Meaca with many students, and another famous one called Banda, which is far away from there) he restrained himself from writing to the Sovereign Pontiff and to the academies in Europe. But he was going to do it so that he would send workers from all over in order to promote the glory of Christ and the salvation of souls. And he should send them not only to Japan, but also to China, and even more so, since the journey to there from Japan is easy, if the King of Japan, who then was a sincere friend, added his letter of approval. He writes that at the time two bonzes with several Japanese men had departed for India in order to learn the mysteries of our religion. He also adds that on the feast day of St. Michael he met with the Chief of Cangoxima, by whom he was received very courteously. He admonished him that we should preserve very well the books in which the law of Christians is contained, adding that if it is a true and good law, something would surely follow, which would be very displeasing to the devil. And after a few days he gave permission to all his subjects that, whoever wished to do so, could accept the Christian religion.
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511. Dum Cangoximae versaretur Pater Franciscus, declarationem quamdam articulorum fidei nostrae in japonensium linguam conversam curavit ut imprimeretur (ars enim haec imprimendi apud japonenses antiquissima est) ut latius patere possit Dei cognitio, etiam illis in locis, ad quae nostri non possent accedere; qua in re perutilem operam Paulus praestabat Scripsit autem quinta die Novembris hujus anni in Indiam Pater Franciscus ut Balthasar Gagus cum aliis in Japoniam venirent.
511. While Fr. Francis was staying in Cangoxima, he arranged that an explanation of the articles of our faith was translated into Japanese so that it could be printed (for the art of printing was very ancient among the Japanese) so that the knowledge of God could be spread far and wide, and also to those places, which could not be reached by ours; in this matter Paul provided excellent help. Now Fr. Francis wrote on the fifth day of November of this year to India directing that Balthasar Gagus should come to Japan with some others. [6. Continentur haec, quae de Xaverii in Japoniam profectione dicta sunt, et alia non pauca in ejus ad Ignatium, Rodericium, et alios datis hoc anno litteris et in historicis, quae sequenti anno 1550 ad universae Societatis domos Roma missae sunt.
These things that are said about the journey of Xavier to Japan, and not a few other things, are contained in his letters sent to Ignatius, Rodriguez, and others during this year, and in the historical letters, which were sent in the following year, 1550, from Rome to all the houses of the Society.]
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512. Hoc anno 1549, magnum in India progressum catholica Religio fecit. Antequam ex India recederet Pater Franciscus omnia loca ubi nostri residebant, pro officii sui ratione lustravit, ac nostros ubique et consolatus est et instruxit; sed post ejus discessum P. Antonius Gomez in Provinciam Malavarin ipso mense Aprili ad Regem Thanor se contulit, nec nisi medio Septembri (est autem id veris initium in India) inde rediit. Propensus fuerat Rex Thanor jam a puero erga lusitanos et quibus poterat eos favoribus prosequebatur, et quibusdam etiam, quamvis parum efficacibus, desideriis ad fidem Christi suscipiendam movebatur. Demum cum Duce civitatis Challae ac domino Joanne Juarez, qui Vicarii officio ibidem fungebatur, et cum Cosmo Joanne, qui Goënsis Collegii praecipuus auctor fuerat, ad Christi fidem suscipiendam venit; occulte tamen id fecit nec signa brachmanum exteriora relinquebat; quamvis crucifixi imaginem a fratre Vincentio, de quo supra, acceptam absconditam in pectore gerebat. Id autem Regis erat consilium, ut prius quam se christianum profiteretur, primarios regni sui naides (hoc nobilitatis nomen praecipuum est) paulatim ad Christi fidem adduceret; illis enim Christi fidem suscipientibus, totus populus eam, ut sibi persuadebat, suscepisset. Scripsit hic litteras ad Indiae Episcopum, ut ad suum Praelatum, et inter caetera hoc ab eo postulavit ut aliquem cx Patribus apostolicis (sic enim Societatis nostrae religiosos vocabat) ad se mitteret.
512. In this year of 1549 the Catholic religion made great progress in India. [7. India fuerat praeponenda Japoniae. (Nota in ora paginae.)
India was placed before Japan. (A note at the beginning of the page.)] Before Fr. Francis departed from India, by reason of his office he contacted all the places where ours reside, and he consoled and instructed our members everywhere; but after his departure Fr. Antonio Gomez in the month of April went to the Province of Malabar to see the King of Thanor, and he could not return from there until the middle of September (that is the beginning of spring in India). Already from his youth the King of Thanor was favorable to the Portuguese; he granted favors to some of them, and he even had the desire, although it was not efficacious, to embrace the faith of Christ. But at length, along with the Chief of the Challa and Lord John Juarez, who performed the office of Vicar there, and with Cosmo John, who was a principal founder of the College in Goa, he came to accept the faith of Christ; but he did it secretly, and he did not give any external signs of it to the Brahmins, although he wore hidden in his breast a crucifix he had received from his brother Vincent, who was mentioned above. This was the deliberation of the King, namely, that before he professed himself to be a Christian, he would gradually lead to the faith of Christ the leading “naides” [8. Inferius et saepius alibi nayres.
Below and often elsewhere it is spelled nayres.] of his kingdom (this was the special name of the nobility). For, when they accepted the faith of Christ, then all the people would accept it. He wrote a letter to the Bishop of India, as if he were his own Prelate, and among other things he asked him to send to him some of the apostolic Fathers (for that is what he called the religious of our Society).
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513. Visum est autem et Episcopo et Indiae Gubernatori a Patre Antonio Gomez eam esse provinciam suscipiendam; unde contulit ille se ad Regem Thanor, nomine Joannem, qui vir magni animi et inter finitimos magnae auctoritatis, magnae etiam in re militari virtutis et usus erat. Ejus quidem fratri natu majori successionis jure, regnum debebatur; sed quia non eo judicio praeditus erat ut regni administrationi idoneus haberetur, ad hunc Joannem regni Thanor administratio et regius honor delatus est. Hunc Pater Antonius Gomez dum in fide instruit et in ecclesia ex palmis ibi confecta, quae fidei Christianae sunt, docet, id effectum est ut multi ex finitimis ad Christi fidem amplectendam moverentur. Adiit Antonius Camurinum, qui Princeps apud eas nationes eo loco pene est quo apud nos Imperator; adiit et Regem alium, ex cujus reglone piper comportatur; adiit et Regem Cochini, et alium quem Lambarin nominant, et alios Principes viros, ex quibus non pauci spem ipsi fecerunt futurum ut brevi ad Christianam Religionem accederent.
513. However, it seemed to the Bishop and the Governor of India that the province should be taken over by Fr. Antonio Gomez. Therefore he went to the King of Thanor, whose name was John; he was powerful and among his neighbors a man of great authority, and he was also a very successful military man. Now the kingdom really belonged by right of succession to his older brother, but because he did not have good judgment so that he was suitable to govern the kingdom, the administration of the kingdom of Thanor and the royal office was turned over to this John. When Fr. Gomez instructed this man in the faith, and in a church there made out of palm-branches, and taught him the basics of the Christian faith, the result was that many of the neighbors were moved to embrace the faith of Christ. Antonio went to Camurin, which among the nations in that place is almost the most distinguished, as among us where the Emperor lives. He went to another King in whose territory pepper is produced. He also visited the King of Cochin, and another place which the call Lambarin, and other powerful men; not a few of them gave him hope that soon they would accept the Christian religion.
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514. Sed redeundo ad Regem Thanor, dum fidei mysteria docetur, cum, divino lumine ejus animum illustrante, multas ante Christi crucifixi imaginem lacrymas funderet et suae constantiae specimen eximium praeberet, judicavit Pater Antonius ad Christianae Religionis amplificationem et dignitatem fore, si omnibus egregie Christi religio innotesceret. Unde eum hortatus est ut Goam veniret et omnibus suae fidei veritatem ostenderet. Promisit Rex id se facturum et tempus, quo venire vellet, designavit; quo tempore, cum triremes a Gubernatore essent missae, ut eum ad navigationem paratum adducerent, multa se obtulerunt quae cum ab instituendo hoc itinere impedirent. Nam simul atque ejus voluntas Goam proficiscendi civibus, quibus erat valde charus, innotuit, ipsum cum alio quodam Principe viro Regem adeunt, et a proposito itinere omni ratione deducere nituntur, nequaquam tanti Regis dignitatem ferre dicentes, si, proprio regno relicto, Lusitanorum potestati se committeret, et, si pedem ex regno moveret, futurum esse minabantur ut contra cum arma assumerent; quae omnia ab eis magis amoris vi quam benevolentia aliqua dicebantur. Postremo cum se parum proficere viderent, Regem suum in arcem includunt, custodias disponunt, et ne ulla ratione elabi possit curant. At Rex, promissionis memor, noctu per muros descendere constituit; et, prius Christi nomine invocato, accepit longam fasciam, qua Indiae gentes caput operiunt, et cervi cornibus, quae forte ibi invenerat, alligat; deinde cornua in superioris muri partem figens, per fasciam se demittens, unum atque alterum murum superavit; sed non potuit eadem facilitate tertium transire, quod esset altior, propterea se ex editiore loco ejecit; et quamvis pedem et caput laesisset, nihil tamen moratus, ad littus contendit; et cum labore defatigatus esset et nando ad triremes, quae paulo longius aberant, transiret, in magno vitae periculo fuit; sed lenunculo incolumis a nostris est exceptus. Ubi illud observatum etiam est, quod Christi imaginem nunquam reliquit. Ubi autem ipsius subditi Regem abesse senserunt, extemplo ad littus simul cum eo Principe, de quo superius mentionem feci, convolant, humi procidunt, et lacrymis ac gemitu doloris magnitudinem ostendunt. At cum Rex iratus eos videre nollet, a triremis praefecto rogatus est ut suos alloqueretur; quos humi procidentes ac ex more ipsum adorantes benigne tandem Rex excepit et dimisit, multis beneficiis eosdem prosequutus. Haec et alia tam constanti animo Rex perpessus est, ut jucundissimum sibi esse pro Christo haec subire incommoda, et ad pericula graviora adeunda se paratum profitebatur.
514. Now after returning to the King of Thanor, while he was learning the mysteries of the faith, since, because the divine light was illuminating his soul, and he shed many tears before the image of Christ crucified and he had given an outstanding example of his constancy, Fr. Antonio judged that it would contribute to the spread and dignity of the Christian religion, if the Christian religion were made known clearly to all. Therefore, he urged the King to go to Goa and so manifest the truth of his faith to all. The King promised that he would do it, and he designated the time when he wished to go. At that time when the triremes were sent by the Governor so that they might take him when he was ready to sail, many objections were raised, which impeded him from making this journey. For as soon as his intention of going to Goa became known to the citizens, who loved him very much, they went to see the King with a certain Prince, and they tried with many reasons to dissuade him from making the journey. They said it is not in accordance with the dignity of such a King if, having left his own kingdom, he were to put himself under the power of the Portuguese, and, if he moved one foot outside the kingdom, they made the threat that they would take up arms against him. All these thing were said by them more from the power of their love than from benevolence. [9. Sic ; videtur tamen potius esse debere malevolentia.
Sic; but it seems rather that it should be malevolence.] Finally when they saw they were making no progress, they put their King in a stronghold, placed guards around it so that he could not escape. But the King, remembering his promise, decided to escape at night through the walls; and, first of all after invoking the name of Christ, he took a long cord with which the people of India cover their head, and he tied it to the branch of a tree which he found there by chance. Then tying it to a bar at the top of the wall, and letting himself down with the cord, he was able to get over two walls; but he could not get over the third one with the same ease, because it was higher; because of this he threw himself from a higher place, and although he injured a foot and his head, still without delay he made his way to the seashore. And since he was tired from his ordeal and was swimming out to the triremes, which were rather far from the shore, he was in great danger of his life, but he was picked up by ours safely in a small boat. Here it should be observed that he never abandoned the image of Christ. But when his subjects learned that the King was gone, following his example they run together to the seashore with the Prince mentioned above, throw themselves on the ground and show the magnitude of their sorrow with tears and sighs. But when the angry King does not want to look at them, he is asked by the captain of the trireme to speak to his subjects; finally the King receives and kindly dismisses them as they lay on the ground showing him the usual respect, and he bestowed on them many gifts. The King suffered these and other things with such constancy that he professed that it was a joy for him to suffer these troubles for the sake of Christ and that he was prepared to bear even graver dangers.
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515. Pervenit ergo Goam incolumis sexto calendas Novembris; ubi honorifice admodum ab Episcopo, Gubernatore Indiae et omnibus demum ordinibus est exceptus, et, quamdiu Goae fuit, magnis sumptibus Gubernatoris, spectaculis etiam ad Dei honorem editis, fuit recreatus; ut caeteri Reges intelligerent christianos homines de ipsorum salute. etiam sine ulla privatorum commodorum spe sollicitos esse, cum sua tam liberaliter in ipsorum gratiam impendant. Vestitus Christianorum more (nam vestes et alia multa dona Gubernator ei paraverat), et de rebus ad animae salutem pertinentibus cum Episcopo prudenter agens, petiit ad eodem Confirmationis sacramentum, quod in ecclesia Collegii nostri magna cum solemnitate accepit. Et cum vigesima secunda Octobris Goam esset ingressus et aliquot ibi dies exegisset, in regnum suum rediit; et ut Goae suae pietatis magnum specimen dederat, ita in itinere dedit liberalitatis; nam magnos is habebat thesauros; quocumque autem ibat, ejus exemplo omnium animi mirifice in eum commovebantur. Regina, ejus uxor, baptismo accepto, domina Maria vocata fuit; quidam etiam Dux Challensis Regis et alius vir primarius Christi fidem susceperunt. Lambarinus ille Princeps, de quo prius mentio facta est, scripsit ad Patrem Antonium se in proposito constanter permansurum. Parabat etiam Episcopus et Gubernator Indiae, et cum eis idem P. Antonius, profectionem in regnum Thanor post Regis discessum, ut eos populos ad Christum adducere curarent
515. Therefore he arrived safely at Goa on November 6. There he was received with much honor by the Bishop, the Governor of India, and all the officials, and, as long as he was in Goa, he was entertained at large banquets by the Governor, and also by dramas staged for the honor of God, so that the other Kings understood that Christians are solicitous about their salvation, even without any hope of some private advantage, since they act so generously in their favor. Having been clothed in a Christian way (for the Governor had given him clothing and many other gifts), and after speaking seriously with the Bishop about things pertaining to the salvation of his soul, he asked the Bishop for the sacrament of Confirmation, which he then received in our church with great solemnity. And when he had arrived in Goa on October 22 and had spent several days there, he returned to his own kingdom; and as he had given a good example of his piety in Goa, he did the same with his generosity on the journey; for, he had great riches, but wherever he went, by his example the minds of all were favorably disposed towards him. The Queen, his wife, having been baptized, took the name of Mary. Also a certain general of the King of Challensis and another important man embraced the faith of Christ. That Chief of Lambarin, who was mentioned above, wrote to Fr. Antonio that he would remain constant in his intention. Also the Bishop and the Governor of India, and with them Fr. Antonio, prepared to travel to the kingdom of Thanor after the departure of the King, so that they could bring those peoples to Christ.
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516. Ea provincia Thanor in medio est totius Indiae, ad modum plana, oryza et palmis abundat, et hyeme tanta est aquae vis, ut cubiti altitudinem aliquando superet. Ea in regione varia sunt hominum genera; Nayres caeteros honore praecedunt; apud eos studia rei militaris vigent. Alterum est genus brachmanum, qui idolorum sacrificia procurant et magno etiam in honore habentur; et ii, sicut etiam Nayres, regiam domum ingrediuntur, quamvis in eadem sedere inurbanum censetur; latomi, fabri, et id genus artifices ignobiles apud eos habentur. Palmeta colunt alii; alii piscatores sunt, quos machuas vocant; alii agros colunt, et ii spoleae vocantur; extrema haec hominum genera penes servorum numerum habentur; impune cuivis licet eos occidere, injuriis premere et in servitutem redigere. Ilae gentes parvo aluntur, nam major pars victus eorum in foliis quibusdam, quae hederae haud sunt dissimilia, et fructu simili nuci muscatae consistit. Tantum ab umbilico deorsum versus, aethiopum more, teguntur. Coelum est salubre; terra pinguis. In urbe ipsa Thanor ecclesia fuit a Rege Joanne aedificata et ante urbem ingens crux posita. Ditio Regum eorum, qui superius nominati sunt, plusquam trecentas leucas orae maritimae tenet. Cum Pater Antonius in his locis versaretur, magnum bellum et controversiae inter hos Principes erant, quas ut tolleret, plusquam ducentas leucas pedibus confecit, ut discedendi ab armis et aequis conditionibus pacem componendi auctor eis esset.
516. [10. Haec praeponenda sunt (In ora paginae). — Similia iterantur saepius ad finem usque rerum hujus anni. Non enim in eis servavit Polancus ordinem, quem prioribus annis servaverat; quod nullus lector non videbit.
These things should have been stated earlier (At the beginning of the page).Similar things are repeated often right up until the end of this year. For Polanco did not preserve the order in them, which he had observed in the previous years; there is no reader who will not see this.] The province of Thanor is in the middle of India, the land is very flat; it abounds in rice and palms, and in the winter the power of the rainfall is so great that sometimes it exceeds a foot. In that region there are various kinds of people. The Nayres precede all others in honor; the practice of military arts thrives among them. Another is the class of the Brahmins, who offer sacrifices to idols, and they also are held in honor; and they, like the Nayres, have access to the royal house, but to sit in it is thought to be rude. Stonecutters, carpenters and workers of that kind are considered among them to be men of low birth. Some cultivate palm trees; others are fishermen, whom they call machuas; others are farmers, and they are called spoleae; these latter kinds of men are considered to be among the number of servants; anyone can kill them with impunity, inflict injuries on them, and reduce them to slavery. These people are nourished with very little, for the major part of their food consists of leaves, which are something like ivy, and a fruit similar to chestnuts. They cover themselves only from the waist down, like the Ethiopians. The weather is healthy and the land is fertile. In the city of Thanor a church was built by King John, and outside the city he set up a huge cross. The sovereignty of the Kings mentioned above covers an area more than three hundred miles from the seacoast. When Fr. Antonio was working in these places, there was a big war and controversies between these Princes. In order to stop this, he walked more than two hundred miles in order that he might be for them the author of laying down their arms and establishing peace under just conditions.
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517. Inde Cochinum venit, ubi duos menses olim P. Franciscus Xavier edocendis christianis et audiendis confessionibus consumpserat. Ultimo autem, cum in Japoniam proficisceretur, ibi cum suis comitibus subsistens concionatus erat. Est in ea urbe populus lusitanorum frequens. Ubi ergo P. Antonius eo se contulit, eum obnixe rogant ut Collegia nostrae Societatis ibi erigi permittat. Cum ille acquievisset, agrum palmis consitum cum egregio Beatae Mariae dicato templo Societati attribuunt, et ut quod reliquum erat operis conficeretur, sexcentos fere aureos in commune conferunt, et brevi, quod aedificandum erat, confectum est, ubi ex nostris quinquaginta commode habitare possent; quamvis tunc perpauci erant in universa India, et ab omnibus arcibus lusitanorum operarii merito expetuntur, cum doctrinae penuria magnopere laborent.
517. From there he went to Cochin, where formerly Fr. Francis Xavier had spent two months teaching the Christians and hearing their confessions. But for the last time, when he was about to depart for Japan, he preached there. There are many Portuguese people in this city. Therefore, Fr. Antonio went there, since they were asking strenuously that he would permit Colleges of our Society to be established there. Since he was pleased at this, they offered to the Society a field full of palm trees with a beautiful church dedicated to Blessed Mary, and that what remained of the work might be completed they added almost six hundred gold pieces. Thus in a short space of time the building was completed, and fifty of ours could live there suitably, although then there were very few of ours in India, and priests were rightly sought by all the fortresses of the Portuguese, since they suffered very much from a lack of Christian teaching.
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518. In parte illa, quae Comurini caput dicitur, missus est P. Paulus Do Valle cum duobus fratribus; nam hoc ipso anno P. Antonius Criminalis armis impiorum confossus fuerat. Unus is ex primis patribus fuit, qui Patrem Franciscum in Indiam sequuti sunt, non quidem eodem sed sequenti anno, cum Patre Nicolao Lancilotto in Indiam perveniens. Is, cum Goae aliquandiu substitisset in Collegio nostro Sancti Pauli, in maritimam oram Comurini ex praecepto Patris Francisci se contulit, cujus regionis christiani et numero et probitate caeteros, qui in India erant, facile superabant. Quatuor ergo annos propemodum in ea regione Pater Antonius exegerat, et, cum reliquis de nostra Societate praefectus esset, super sexaginta leucarum spatio adjacentia mari oppida multa, mira sollicitudine percurrebat, ut incolarum commodis et utilitati inserviret, et salutem eorum spiritualem curaret. Et, cum sterilis sit regio et magnae paupertatis, cumque rebus ad vitam necessariis careret, et bellis etiam finitimorum Principum premeretur, magnas difficultates majori animi constantia superabat, et saltem singulis annis, nudis fere semper pedibus, et humi dormiens, et tenuissimo victu praeditus, omnia loca lustrabat. Nec tantum pastoris officio fungebatur, sed et eorum lites et controversias, cum nullus alius esset judex, suo arbitrio dirimere conabatur; quae omnia summa integritate et morum suavitate, quae hominem amabilem omnibus reddebat, praestabat. Nostris etiam, quibus praeerat, exemplum totius obedientiae, castitatis, et zeli animarum se praebebat. Cum ergo hic in extrema parte illius provinciae pacem inter quosdam dissidentes reconciliare et oppressos a militibus Christianis indigenas, qui ad ipsum ut Patrem confugiebant, defenderet, et aliis spiritualibus functionibus daret operam, vidit quidam praefectus militum lusitanorum, cum paucis quibusdam militibus in praesidio cujusdam tractus maris constitutus, quosdam brachmanes, nescio qua injuria affectos, qui, relicto suo pagode (sic vocant idolorum templa) fugientes, populos vicinos ad arma capienda provocarunt; et cum aliquot millia hominum Regi Bisnagae subditorum (badagas vocant) congregassent, nec opinantes lusitanos adorti sunt; et quamvis ad navigia illi se receperunt, ictibus tamen sclopetarum aliquot ex eis vulnerarunt, ex quibus quatuor vel quinque obierunt.
518. To that area, which is called the head of Comorin, Fr. Paul de Valle was sent with two brothers. For, in this year, Fr. Antonio Criminalis was wounded by the weapons of the impious. He was one of the first Fathers who followed Fr. Francis to India, and he arrived there with Fr. Nicholas Lancellott not in the same year but in the following year. When he had spent some time at Goa in our College of St. Paul, in obedience to Fr. Francis he went to Comorin, where the Christians of this region easily surpass both in numbers and in uprightness the others who are in India. Therefore, Fr. Antonio worked in this region for almost four years, and, since he was the Superior of the other members of our Society, over a space of more than sixty miles along the seacoast with wonderful solicitude he visited many towns in order to serve the needs of the inhabitants and to provide for their spiritual salvation. Since the region is barren and very poor, and since it lacks the things necessary for life, and it is also plagued with the wars of the neighboring Princes; with personal constancy he overcame great difficulties, and at least once a year, he visited all the places, almost always walking barefoot, sleeping on the ground and surviving on little food. He not only performed the office of pastor, but with his authority he tried to resolve quarrels and controversies, since no other judge was available. He did all of these things with great integrity and kindness, which made him loved by all. Therefore, when in a remote part of the province he tried to preserve the peace among certain dissidents and to defend some natives who were being oppressed by Christian soldiers, and he assisted them in other spiritual matters, a certain prefect of the Portuguese soldiers, located in a fortress near the sea with only a few soldiers, saw some Brahmins who had been injured in some way. Having abandoned their pagoda (that is what they call their temples of idols) they fled and provoked their neighbors to take up arms. And when they had assembled several thousand men subject to the King of Bisnaga (they call them badagas), they attacked the Portuguese, who were unaware of the danger. And although they fled to their boats, some of them were wounded by shots from guns, and four or five of them died.
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519. Interim Pater Antonius in oppido vicino, Remancore dicitur, sollicite curabat ut pueri et mulieres cum bonis suis ad navigia se conferrent; et quamvis ipse facile potuisset incolumis ad praedictas naves se recipere, noluit tamen in maximo utriusque vitae descrimine eos relinquere, quos sollicite et baptizandos et instituendos in doctrina et vita christiana curaverat. Si enim aliud praestare non posset, precibus saltem et exhortatione in fide confirmare se posse putabat. Mansit ergo inter illos, et quocumque modo poterat ut saluti suae consulerent, praecipue pueros ac foeminas, urgebat ad naves conscendendas. Interim equites adsunt et omnia intercludunt, ne ad navigia posset amplius transmeare. Irruentes ergo illi in christianum ejus populi quemdam, in oculis Patris Antonii eum confoderunt, quem ipse ad Christi religionem converterat, et cujus opera in aliis docendis ( nam idoneus ad id erat ) utebatur. Hunc ut interfectum vidit, genua flectens, oratione eum et se Domino commendavit. Et cum primi equites genibus flexis et sublatis in coelum manibus mortem exspectantem vidissent, a sanguine ejus abstinuerunt, pileo tamen de capite ejus sublato. Cum paulo post plures ex hostibus irruerent, eadem vultus et animi tranquillitate orationi vacabat; at illi hominem sublevant, interfecturis similes, sed eo incolumi relicto, ulterius pergunt. Tertia jam accedebat turma, ex qua unus, quem ex cidari, quam gestabat in capite, saracenum fuisse existimant, hasta sinistrum ejus latus vulnerat; accedunt alii, et virum Dei veste spoliant; ille, qui paupertatis amore semper flagraverat, eos in exuenda veste adjuvit, quasi de misera hac vita ne id quidem morienti superesse vellet; indusium etiam et consertum ab eo abstulerunt; et sic nudus ac vulneratus surrexit, et in proximam ecclesiam, ubi eo die rem divinam fecerat, properabat. Sequebantur aliquot ex badagis a tergo, quos ubi sensit, conversus et genua flectens ad orationem, vulnus in pectore accipit; et extracta manibus hasta, denuo in ecclesiam pergit, sed rursus hasta percussus in genua demum procumbit, haud oblitus vetusti sui moris; nam, licet in activae vitae functionibus occupatus, quotidie tamen vicies, nonnunquam etiam tricies, ad orandum genua flectebat; et demum humi cecidit, et jacenti caput est amputatum et cruentum ac lacerum in edito loco est suspensum, ut lusitani, qui in navibus erant, id viderent; et compluribus ex foeminis ac pueris captis, ad pagodem quasi gratias acturi de victoria se contulerunt. Christiani autem collacrymantes ejus corpus sepelierunt, et quia parum alte humum effoderant, die sequenti nepos praefecti classis profundius idem curavit sepelire. Hunc vitae exitum habuit Antonius Criminalis, italus natione, Parmensis, qui ut primitiae martyrum, qui multi eum erant consequuturi ex eadem Societate, Deo oblatus est. Vir fuit, et in rebus agendis ad animarum utilitatem strenuus, et nihilominus contemplationi valde deditus, et, quod raro solet accidere, in utroque genere insignis erat; et dignam tali vita mortem obiise existimatus est.
519. Meanwhile, Fr. Antonio in a neighboring town, called Remancore, arranged carefully that the women and children with their possessions should betake themselves to the ships; and although he could easily and safely have gone out to the ships, still he did not want to abandon them in the great danger of both lives, for whom he had worked so hard to baptize and to instruct in Christian doctrine and way of life. For if he could not do anything else, he thought he could at least strengthen them in the faith by his prayers and exhortations. Therefore, he remained with them, and in whatever way he could he urged them, especially the women and children, to go out to the ships in order to save themselves. In the meantime, horsemen arrived and stopped everything, so that no one could go out to the ships. Then they seized one of the Christian men and stabbed him right in front of Fr. Antonio — a man whom he had converted to the Christian religion and who had assisted him in teaching others (because he was suitable for that). When he saw that the man was killed, he fell on his knees and while praying he commended him and himself to God. And when the first horsemen saw him on his knees and with his hands raised to heaven expecting death, they did not kill him, but they removed the cap from his head. A short time later when they attacked many of the captives, he continued praying with the same tranquility of soul and visage. But they held up the man, as if they were about to kill him, but leaving him unharmed, they went on their way. Then a third group came, of whom one, whom they thought [11. Nunc primum intelligimus quid sibi velint illa verba uno de una toca, quae in hoc loco habet NIEREMBERG, Ideas de virtud en algunos claros varone s de la Compañí a de Jesús, pág. 43, et in nuper editis Bilbai Varones ilustres de la Compañía de Jesús, t. II, pág. 638. Eadem habet LUCENA, Vida de San Francisco Xavier, lib. VII, c. 17; et sermo est de cidari seu zidari, hispanice turbante, quo signo saracenus esse, qui prior Antonium vulneravit, agnitus est.
Now for the first time we understand what the words mean, uno de una toca, which Nieramberg has in this place, Ideas de virtud en algunos claros varones de la Compañia de Jesus, page 43, and in the recently published Bilbai Varones ilustres de la Compañia de Jesus, vol. II, page 638. Lucena has the same thing, Vida de San Francisco Xavier, book VII, ch 17, and he is talking about the turban by which the man was recognized, who first wounded Fr. Antonio.] was a Saracen from the head-dress he wore, pierced his left side with a spear; others approached him and took the clothes away from the man of God; he, who was always inflamed with the love of poverty, helped them to remove his clothing, as if he wished to have not even that in his departure from this miserable life. They also stripped him of his underwear; then he stood up naked and wounded, and he hastened to the nearby church, where that day he had celebrated the holy Mass. Several of the badagas followed him, and when he heard them he turned around and knelt in prayer and he received a wound in the breast. He pulled out the spear with his hands and finally arrived at the church, but having been struck again with a spear finally he fell on his knees, not forgetting his old custom. For, although occupied with the duties of the active life, still every day he got on his knees to pray twenty times, and occasionally also thirty times. Finally he fell on the ground, and while he was lying there his head was cut off, and it was suspended in a high place all bloody and mangled so that the Portuguese, who were in the ships, could see it. And many of the captive women and children went to the pagoda to give thanks as it were for the victory. However, the weeping Christians buried his body, and because they dug only a shallow grave, on the next day the nephew of the admiral of the fleet had his body buried in a deep grave. Antonio Criminalis ended his life in this way; he was an Italian from the city of Parma, who was offered to God as the first fruit of many martyrs, who were going to follow from the same Society. He was a man vigorous in doing things for the help of souls, and nevertheless he was very dedicated to contemplation, and, something that rarely happens, he was outstanding in both areas; and he is thought to have met a death worthy of such a life.
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520. Post ejus mortem qui de nostra Societate in ea provincia versabantur, Patrem Henricum Enriquez sibi praefecerunt, tum propter morum ejus eximiam probitatem, tum ob linguae, quam didicerat, peritiam. Horum patrum opera in maritimis illis locis, quae ad Christi gloriam et hominum spiritualem profectum pertinebant, egregie curabantur. Christiani frequentes ad ecclesias accedebant, et si quando in morbum aut difficultatem aliquam incidissent, cum eleemosynis in usum pauperum ad eas ecclesias confluebant, propter quas a bellorum periculis incolumes esse sibi persuadebant; et tantopere eas reverentur ut in suis controversiis, quas cum Indis habent, ecclesias cum ipsis adeant et eorum juramento stent; et nonnulli eventus demostrarunt quanta sit jurisjurandi vis, cujus religionem etiam ab hominibus impiis Deus requirat. Nam aliquoties indi, qui jurejurando lusitanos fraudaverant, cum in graves morbos mox incidissent, restituerunt quod fraude sustulerant. Pueros etiam aegrotos ad ecclesias adducebant ut nostri pro eis orarent. Hoc anno neophyti Comurinenses peccatorum confessionem instituere coeperunt et mirum est quantum in emendatione vitae profecerint qui eo Sacramento adjuti sunt. Horum exemplo, a P. Henrico, qui illos audierat, ut ipsorum peccata etiam audire vellet efflagitabant caeteri, filios se, non peregrinos, esse affirmantes. Multae tamen occupationes ne omnium desideriis, licet sanctis, mos geri possit efficiunt. Solliciti sunt admodum illi homines ac diligentes in baptizandis infantibus; in gravioribus autem morbis fratres nostros accersunt et Dei misericordia ac ipsorum fidei merito sanitatem saepe recuperant; Sanctae Mariae nomen frequenter invocant; idola summo odio prosequuntur, et suos instructores ex animo diligunt. Quidam indorum ejus regionis magistratus quemdam ex nostris, Balthasaris Nugnez nomine, in vincula conjicere volebat. Convenerunt finitimi christiani cura pueris, seque pro Balthasare morituros affirmabant; itaque timens magistratus ille pueros, se in fugam conjecit. Optime ii pueri de se sperare faciunt, dum a teneris annis sanctis christianae Religionis institutis assuescunt, quod non perinde ipsorum parentibus facile est, qui cum lacte impietatem imbiberunt. Ad discendam hujus gentis malavaris linguam multum adjumenti contulit Henrici Enriquez labor, qui ab aliquot mensibus sine interprete jam loquebatur et in artem praecepta ejus linguae redegerat; ea vero reliquos fratres juvit plurimum, qui etiam intra paucos menses sine interprete se locuturos sperabant. Differt autem plurimum illine ipsi an eorum interpres loquatur, qui saepenumero verba invertit, mutat, relinquit, et minori cum efficacia pronunciat. Catechismum, qui a Patre Francisco in linguam ipsorum erat conversus, quibusdam in locis, ubi interpres erraverat, emendavit. Tunc autem lexicon parabat Henricus cum interpretatione facili et ad gentis illius ingenium accommodata, quam nostri quotidie recitabant ad neophytorum instructionem, qui exemplis et verbis atque omni opera nostrorum mirum in modum confirmantur et proficiunt. Non poterat tamen in tam multis oppidis sex vel septem hominum nostrorum diligentia, licet maxima esset, efficere ut multi infantes sine baptismo ex hac vita non decederent. Sex numero nostri sunt, sed ad ducenta hominum millia Christianam ibi fidem susceperunt; unde messis multa, operarii pauci.
520. After his death the members of our Society living in that province chose Fr. Henry Enriquez as their Superior, both because of the excellent probity of his life and because of his knowledge of the language which he had learned. The works of these Fathers in those places on the seacoast, which pertained to the glory of God and the spiritual progress of the people, were carried out admirably. Many Christians came to the churches, and if at times they got sick or were in some difficulty, they flocked to the church with alms for the help of the poor, and because of this they were convinced that they were safe from the dangers of wars. And they have such respect for them that in the controversies, which they have with the Indians, they go to the churches with them and they abide by their oath. And some events demonstrate the great power of an oath — an act of religion that God requires also from impious men. For sometimes the Indians, who have deceived the Portuguese with an oath, when they soon fall into a grave illness, have restored what they took by deceit. They also bring sick children to the churches so that ours will pray for them. In this year the Comorin neophytes began to confess their sins, and it is astonishing how great the change for the better was in the life of those who were helped by this Sacrament. Because of their example, others begged Fr. Henry, who had heard their confessions, also to hear their confessions, since they said that they were his children and not foreigners. But his many occupations made it impossible for him to fulfill all their desires, even though they were very holy. These people are very solicitous and diligent with regard to the baptism of infants; in serious illnesses they come to our brothers and by the mercy of God and the power of their own faith often they recover their health. Frequently they invoke the name of Holy Mary; they show great hatred for idols, and from their heart they love their teachers. A magistrate in that region of India wanted to bind one of our members in chains, whose name was Balthasar Nugnez. The local Christians gathered together with their boys and said that they would die for Balthasar. Therefore, the magistrate fearing the boys, fled away from the place. These boys give good reason to hope in them, since from their tender years they have been instructed in the teachings of the Christian religion, which is not so easily the case for their parents, who were nourished with the milk of impiety. In order to learn the language of these people, the work of Henry Enriquez offered very much help, since in a few months he learned how to speak it without the help of an interpreter. And it makes a big difference whether he or their translator speaks, since often the latter changes or omits some words, and pronounces them with less forcefulness. The catechism, which had been translated into their language by Fr. Francis, he corrected in some places, where the translator had erred. And then Henry prepared a dictionary with clear translations and accommodated to the nature of those people, which ours recited daily for the instruction of the neophytes, who in a wonderful way are strengthened and make progress by the examples and words and all the works of ours. But the diligence of six or seven of our men in so many towns could not bring it about that many infants, when they died, were able to be baptized. There were six of our priests, but there were two hundred thousand Christians to care for; hence the harvest was great, but the laborers few.
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521. Pater Nicolaus Lancilottus, valetudinis gratia Caulanum missus cum duobus sociis, non solum ipse meliuscule valere coepit, sed per praedicationem conversioni infidelium cum egregio fructu vacare. Collegium ibi etiam puerorum indigenarum est institutum, quos Nicolaus docebat; et ex Lusitanis plurimi ejus doctrina in officio continebantur.
521. Fr. Nicholas Lancillott, having been sent with two companions to Caulanus for the sake of his health, not only began to feel much better, but by his preaching with great fruit he brought about the conversion of pagans. Also a College was established there for the native boys, whom Nicolas taught; and many of the Portuguese were helped in their duties by his teaching.
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522. In oppidum Divi Thomae Pater Cyprianus missus fuerat, et praedicatione et Sacramentorum ministerio tam lusitanis quam indigenis perutilem operam navabat, magnamque in eo lusitanorum praesidio auctoritatem habebat, quam ad ipsorum et indigenarum utilitatem convertebat; et concordiam inter dissidentes multos conciliabat. Ea in civitate martyrio Sanctum Thomam fuisse coronatum traditur. Ducentas et quinquaginta leucas Goa distat.
522. Fr. Cyprian was sent to the city of St. Thomas, and with his preaching and the administration of the sacraments he gave much assistance both to the Portuguese and the natives, and he enjoyed great authority in the fortress of the Portuguese, which he used to assist them and the natives. And he brought about peace and harmony among many dissidents. There is a tradition there that St. Thomas was crowned with martyrdom in this city, which is about two hundred and fifty miles from Goa.
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523. Bazainum missus fuerat P. Melchior Gonzalez, cui duo fratres adjuncti erant et magnum incolarum affectum erga se et Societatem excitaverat. Locus ille valde idoneus est tam ad Lusitanos in sanctis institutis Christianae Religionis continendos quam ad infideles ad fidem convertendos, et utrique quotidie majores in virtute faciebant profectus. Ea urbs tum fertilitate et magna rerum copia abundat, tum agris clementia insigni fruitur; aedificia habet pulcherrima, templa magna sub terra cum fornicibus, columnis ac sacellis ex ipso saxo extructis, puteos etiam aquae dulcissimae. Urbem fluvius ab insula quadam dividit, quae Divae Mariae templum eadem forma constructum habet, et quadringentos incolas Christianos, qui ad rem divinam et conciones in eam ecclesiam conveniunt, ubi et infantes baptizantur et matrimonia etiam conjunguntur. In hac ergo civitate Bazaino cum P. Melchior versaretur, evocatus est a quodam religioso ordinis Sancti Francisci, qui ei curam puerorum instituendorum cum reditibus a Rege Portugalliae ad id assignatis tradere voluerat; sed cum ejusdem ordinis superiores quemdam religiosum in idem Collegium mitterent, qui alteri suppetias ferret, noluit intercedere Pater Melchior, sed potius loco excedere, ut alibi in vinea Domini laboraret. At Gubernator, qui ejus urbis affectum erga Melchiorem et Societatem cognoverat, id non permisit, et omnino ut Bazaini Melchior maneret constituit, et ex reditibus Regiis mediam partem illis religiosis cum pueris reliquit, quos P. Melchior instituerat, et ut alia media pars Societatis esset, ut novum Collegium pro aliis pueris indigenis erigeretur. Dedit autem Gubernator, Georgius Cabral, situm quemdam ac domum Patri Melchiori valde bonum, quem ille mille quingentis aureis comparavit; et ita proprium ibi Collegium habuit Societas; quod Collegium Jesu vocatum est, et uberem ex eo fructum capere civitas coepit. Reditus annutis octingentorum ducatorum applicatus est, qui in pauperum subventionem, quamdiu pauci nostri erant, expendebatur; quamvis enim donari reditus trium millium pardaorum (qui fere duo millia et quingentos ducatos conficiunt) Rex jussisset, Gubernator duo millia tantum dedit, et media eorum pars, octingentos ducatos valens, ut dixi, nostris est applicata. Pueri autem praeter catechismum et ea quae ad mores pertinent, tum legere, tum scribere, nonnulli etiam grammaticam discunt, et dum hi Lusitanicam linguam acquirunt, possunt et nostri eorum linguae assuescere.
523. Fr. Melchior Gonzalez was sent to Bazain; two brothers went with him and he aroused great affection for himself and the Society. That place is very suitable both for keeping the Portuguese in the holy rites of the Christian religion and for converting infidels to the faith, and both of them daily made more progress in virtue. This city abounds both in fertility and in a great abundance of things, and it enjoys very healthy air; it has beautiful buildings, large temples with arches, columns, and chapels made out of stone, plus springs with fresh water. A river separates the city from an island, which has a church built in the same way dedicated to St. Mary, and four hundred Christian inhabitants, who convene in this church for Holy Mass and sermons; there the infants are baptized and marriages are performed. Therefore in this city of Bazain, when Fr. Melchior was working, he was summoned by a certain religious of the Order of St. Francis, who wanted to turn over to him the task of training boys along with the income designated for that by the King of Portugal; but when the Superiors of the same Order sent a religious to the same College in order to assist the other one, Fr. Melchior did not want to get involved in it, and so he departed from that place to work in the vineyard of the Lord elsewhere. But the Governor, who knew about the affection of this city towards Melchior and the Society, did not permit that, and determined absolutely that Fr. Melchior should remain in Bazain. From the royal income he designated half for those religious with the boys, whom Fr. Melchior had instructed, and the other half to the Society so that it could establish a new College for the native boys. Then the Governor, George Cabral, gave a good piece of land and a house to Fr. Melchior, which he purchased for fifteen hundred gold pieces, and so the Society had its own College. The College was named for Jesus, and the city began to get abundant fruit from it. An annual income of eighteen hundred ducats was applied to it, which was spent in order to help the poor, since ours were few in number. For although the King had ordered that an income of three thousand pardaorum (which is equal to about 2500 ducats) be given, the Governor gave only two thousand, and part of that, with a value of about eighteen hundred ducats, as I have said, was applied to our work. But the boys, besides the catechism and the things pertaining to morals, learn both to read and to write, and some even learn the grammar, and then when they learn Portuguese, ours can also become accustomed to their language.
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524. Collegium Goae inter caetera, ut antiquius ita et nobilius est. Saraceni et indi ante nostrorum in Indiam adventum duo millia aureorum contribuebant, ut ipsorum templa reficerentur, et sacrificia procurarentur; eam pecuniae summam cum aliis duobus aureorum millibus Rex Joannes Collegio Divi Pauli, vel Sanctae Fidei (utroque enim modo dicitur) largitus est. Itaque habet annua quatitor aureorum millia, quae partim ad Collegium juvenum indorum, qui ad fidem convertuntur, et ibi sustentantur, atque instituuntur, destinata sunt, partim ad Collegium nostrorum ibidem in separato loco habitantium, qui hoc anno plures quam viginti erant; quorum major pars ex nobilibus erat et ibidem admissa fuit, et studiis dabat operam.
524. The College in Goa is both older and more distinguished that the other ones. Before the arrival of ours in India the Saracens and Indians contributed two thousand gold pieces in order to restore their temple, and to provide sacrifices. King John bestowed that sum of money along with another two thousand gold ducats on the College of St. Paul, or the College of Holy Faith (for it has both names). Therefore it has an annual income of four thousand gold pieces, which were designated partly for the College of Indian youths, who have converted to the faith and are supported and taught there, partly for the College of ours living there in a separate place, who this year were more than twenty in number. Most of them were from the nobility and had been admitted there, and they were engaged in studies.
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525. Praeter hoc duplex Collegium, hospitale Collegio adjunctum est, ubi aegrotantes neophyti et alii etiam gentiles curantur, et ex dictis reditibus omnia illis necessaria suppeditantur; et nostri non solum praesunt, sed inserviunt etiam huic hospitali. Et quia ad tam multiplices expensas et ad Collegii aedificium reditus praedicti non sufficiebant, ea munera quae Indiae Reges ad Portugalliae Regem mittebant, in subsidium Collegii a Rege Joanne fuerant assignata, et superiore anno mille aureis existimata fuerunt; et ex Portugallia idem Rex hoc anno duo millia ducatorum in subsidium Collegio dari jussit. Brevi tempore viginti novitii a Patre Antonio Gomez Goae admissi sunt, et ex eis aliqui optima indole praediti.
525. Besides these two Colleges, a hospital was located next to the College, where sick neophytes and also other gentiles are taken care of, and are provided with everything necessary from the income mentioned above; and ours are not only in charge, but they also serve in the hospital. And because the said income was not sufficient for so many expenses and for the building of the College, the gifts which the Kings of India sent to the King of Portugal were assigned by King John for the support of the College, and in the previous year they were thought to be about a thousand gold pieces; and during this year the King ordered that two thousand ducats from Portugal should be given for the support of the College. In a short space of time twenty novices were accepted by Fr. Antonio Gomez, and some of them were endowed with excellent talent.
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526. Agebat autem idem Antonius de genere Brachmanium ex insula Goa ejiciendo, nam aliis gentilibus magnum impedimentum praestabant ne ad Christi fidem converterentur. Aliqui tamen quotidie ex eadem insula per baptismum ad Ecclesiam Dei accedebant, quibus Pater Paulus operam suam praestabat, et in audiendis confessionibus et in cura etiam hospitalis praedicti utilem operam navabat. Fabricae etiam Collegii praeerat, multis fratribus habitationem parare studens. Ipse autem Antonius, antequam Goa ad Regem Thanor proficisceretur, dum ibi in quadragesima concionatur et variis pietatis operibus vacat, spiritualem multorum profectum promovit, et quod antea in India usitatum non fuerat, nocte de Passione Domini concionatus est et prae fletu et suspiriorum magnitudine vix in fine audiri poterat. Post reditum etiam in Insulam Goae diebus dominicis in cathedrali Ecclesia, ac diebus Mercurii in templo Misericordiae, suas conciones cum frequenti auditorio et fructu magno est prosequutus. Malacae Pater Franciscus Perez cum duobus sociis versabatur, ubi praeter praedicationem et catechismi expositionem, magnam etiam puerorum indigenarum multitudinem instituendam curabat. Cum eo pervenisset Pater Franciscus Xavier, quatuor, quos secum duxerat, fratres ad Malucas insulas misit; unus ex eis erat Emmanuel de Morales, alter Alphonsus de Castro, duo reliqui Joannes Fernandez et Franciscus Gonzalvus.
526. But the same Antonio strove to have the Brahmins expelled from the Island of Goa, for they presented a big impediment to the other gentiles so they could not be converted to the faith of Christ. However, every day on the same island some people came to the church of God for baptism; Fr. Paul came to their assistance, and he was very diligent in hearing confessions and working in the hospital. He was also in charge of the building of the College and of preparing the dwelling for many brothers. Now Fr. Antonio, before he left Goa to see the King of Thanor, while he was there preached during Lent, and was busy with various works of piety. He encouraged the spiritual progress of many people, and he did something uncommon in India, namely, at night he preached on the passion of the Lord, and at the end he could hardly be heard because of the magnitude of the weeping and sighing. Also after his return to the island of Goa, on Sundays in the cathedral and on Wednesdays in the church of Mercy he continued giving his sermons to a large audience and with much fruit. Fr. Francis Perez with two companions was working in Malacca, where in addition to his preaching and explanation of the catechism he provided for the instruction for a large number of native boys. When Fr. Xavier came there, he sent four brothers, whom he had with him, to the Maluku Islands. One of them was Emmanuel de Morales, another was Alphonse de Castro, and the two others were John Fernandez and Francis Gonzalvus.
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527. Versatus fuerat Emmanuel in variis regnis Malavarium, et magnam hominum multitudinem in regno de Travancor et Paravarum et Charearum et Machuarum, ad Christi fidem converterat. Inter hos paravae ingenio pollent ac judicio mujori, unde libenter lusitani cum eis versantur; et satis divites sunt; et fere sexcenti ex eis ad Christi fidem accesserunt. Signa etiam per eum non pauca fecit Dominus in sanitate compluribus reddenda per orationem; fuit etiam, qui jam pro defuncto haberetur et conclamaretur, et cum ibi orationes consuetas ille recitasset, non solum viventem sed cibo etiam utentem reliquit, quod tam gentilibus quam Christianis admirandum merito visum est. Fuit quidam ex gentilibus, qui templum quoddam ibi constructum incendere voluit, et, cum sanus esset, statim mortis signa in se persensit; et quamvis diceret suis expensis velle se novam aedificare ecclesiam pulchriorem, nihil illi profuit, et horrenda morte confectus est, propter suum peccatum id se pati testatus. Alius quidam gentilis quemdam ex nostris stricto gladio aggressus est quod impediebat ne idolo cuidam templum conficeretur, sed subita morte et ipse muletatus est. Hujusmodi et alia Dei judicia et Christianos animabant et gentiles merito terrebant. Flagellis idem Emmanuel caesus et in servum venditus est et alia non pauca pertulit. Hic ergo unus fuit ex illis, qui ad Malucas missi fuere; et opportune hoc subsidium eo mittebatur, nam Pater Nunius Ribeirus, unus ex his, qui anno superiore missus eo a Patre Francisco fuerat, mortem obierat.
527. Emmanuel had worked in various kingdoms of Malabar, and he had converted to the faith of Christ a great multitude of people in the kingdom of Travancor and Paravar and Charear and Machuar. Among these the Paravarians have great talent and good judgment, and so the Portuguese freely associate with them; and they are also quite rich, and almost six hundred of them embraced faith in Christ. Also the Lord showed not a few signs through him in returning health to many persons through his prayers. There was also a certain man who was already considered to be dead and was bewailed, and when he had recited the usual prayers over him, he left him not only living but also eating food; this was rightly seen as something amazing to both the gentiles and the Christians. There was a gentile who wanted to set fire to a church that had been built there, and, even though he was healthy, suddenly he felt signs of death in himself; and although he said he wanted to build a new and more beautiful church at his own expense, that did him no good, and he suffered a horrible death, after he testified that he was suffering this because of his sin. Another gentile attacked one of ours [12. eumdem Emmanuelem (Alia manu superscriptum ).
The same Emmanuel (added to the text by another hand).] with a drawn sword because he prevented him from putting an idol in the church, and he also was punished with a sudden death. These and other judgments of God of the same kind encouraged the Christians and put fear in the gentiles. The same Emmanuel was scourged and sold into slavery and endured many other things. Therefore, he is just one of those who were sent to the Maluku Islands; and this help was sent there at the right time, for Fr. Nunius Ribeirus, one of those who had been sent there the previous year by Fr. Francis, had died.
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528. Ille ipse est, qui in insulis Amboini anno proxime elapso multos infideles ad Christum, ut diximus, convertit, tribus illis vel quatuor mensibus, quibus classis Lusitanorum ibidem haeserat. Annum fere cum dimidio ibi [in Malucis] est versatus inter labores et pericula gravissima; nam bis aut ter naufragium passus evasit ( ab una enim insula aliam atque aliam transeundum erat ); in terra vero, ubi pane ex radicibus quibusdam confecto et oryza victitabat, a saracenis graves persecutiones est passus; saepe enim eum occidere nixi sunt, et aliquando domum, in qua divertebat, incenderunt ut eum concremarent; pretium etiam obtulerunt cuidam ( qui postea christianus est factus ) ut eum de medio tolleret ferro vel veneno, quod in illis locis abundat; unde fama est quod ex veneno ei propinato mortem obierit. Ipso enim die Assumptionis Beatissimae Virginis Mariae hujus anni 1549, in quo sacrum devote celebraverat, statim a prandio gravissima febri et stomachi doloribus vexatus est, et post septem dies cum magna fide et spe, crucifixum manibus tenens, spiritum suo Creatori reddidit; et ejus corpus in ecclesia quadam Beatae Virgini sacra sepultum fuit, quam ipsemet magno cum labore construxerat. Supra millia hominum eo sesquianno baptizaverat, et tam hi quam alii christiani Amboini pro Patre protectore ipsum habuerunt apud lusitanos; et vir sanctus habebatur ab omnibus, qui vehementer mirabantur tantam in eo sollicitudinem ac fervorem tam in baptizandis atque instituendis christianis quam in eis a saracenis defendendis; et tantam charitatem eis impendebat, ut saepe ei accideret sine vestibus domum redire, quas pauperibus Christianis dederat. Confessiones etiam lusitanorum maximo cum labore audiebat, et saepe, cum propter suam ipse aegritudinem christianos visitare non posset, eum in sede quadam ad eos visitandos deducebant. Fuit nota et Conimbricae et Goae (ubi primum Missae sacrificium celebravit) ejus probitas, quae felicem hunc exitum promeruit et in brevi consummatus tempora multa ex plevit.
528. He is the one who, in the previous year on the Ambon Islands, converted many infidels to Christ, as we have said, during the three or four months when the Portuguese fleet stayed there. For almost a year and a half he worked there [in the Maluku Islands] amidst grave dangers; for, two or three times he survived after a shipwreck (for he had to go from one island to another); then on the land, where he lived on bread made from certain roots and rice, he suffered grave persecutions from the Saracens. For they tried often to kill him, and once they set the house on fire where he was staying in order to burn him to death; they also offered money to a certain man (who afterwards became a Christian) to kill him either with a sword or with poison, which is abundant in these places. Hence the word is that he died from some poison he drank. For, on the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in this year of 1549, after he had devoutly celebrated Mass, immediately after lunch he was troubled by a high fever and pains in his stomach, and after seven days with great faith and hope, while holding a crucifix in his hands, he gave up his spirit to his Creator. And his body was buried in a church of the Blessed Virgin, which he himself had built with great effort. In that half year he had baptized more than a thousand persons, and both these and the other Christians of Ambon considered him as their Father Protector among the Portuguese. He was held to be a holy man by all, and they greatly admired in him his solicitude and fervor both in baptizing and instructing Christians and in defending them from the Saracens. And he showed them such charity that it happened to him often to return home without his clothes, which he had given to some poor Christians. He also spent much time hearing the confessions of the Portuguese, and often, when because of his own sickness he could not visit the Christians, they would carry him in a chair so that he could visit them. His uprightness was known both in Coimbra and Goa (where he celebrated his first Mass), which merited for him this happy end of his life, and although he died young, he filled up much time.
v1_499-529latin 1549E
529. Pater Joannes de Beyra, qui aliis praeerat in insulis Mauri, in quibus magno cum labore suam operam illis gentibus impendebat, in gravem incidens morbum, Malucum delatus est. Variis gentibus et linguis insulae Malucae habitatae sunt; coelum est temperatum, et major pars insularum salubri coelo et fertili etiam solo fruitur; sed ipsa frigiditas in paupertatem indigenarum cedit, quia agriculturae laborem ad vina, et frumenta, et alios fructus colligendos non impendunt. Quamvis ipsi gentiles essent, sectam Mahometi nihilominus admiserant non pauci, et quia unicam tantum arcem Rex Portugalliae in insula Ternate, quam Malucum vocant, habebat, nec poterat admodum late ejus favor patere ad novos christianos protegendos, ideo minus eorum multitudo crevit; qui enim convertebantur, statim propter Christum a saracenis persecutionem pati incipiebant, et propter eorumdem timorem multi ad christianam Religionem non accedunt, quia ad eos defendendos arma lusitanorum procul esse vident. Ubi autem frui possunt lusitanorum favore intra sexaginta vel septuaginta leucas, multum proficitur, tam in reducendis gentilibus ad fidem, quam in eisdem ac eorum filiis docendis, et a gentilibus ritibus revocandis; et si non timerent fortunis spoliari a suis regibus, multo plures essent conversi.
529. Fr. John de Beyra, who was in charge of the others on the Mauri Islands, where with great effort he gave help to those peoples, became gravely ill and was taken to Maluku. The Maluku Islands were inhabited by various peoples with different languages. The weather is mild, and a major part of the islands enjoys a healthy climate and fertile soil; but the frigidity [13. Non clare liquet an frigiditas an fertilitas scriptum sit.
It is not clear here whether the word here is frigidity or fertility.] itself contributes to the poverty of the natives, because they do not work at farming in order to produce wine and grain and other fruits. Although they were gentiles, still not a few accepted the sect of Mohammed, and because the King of Portugal had only one fortress on the Island of Ternate, which they call Maluku, his power could not extend so far in order to protect the Christians, and so their number increased very little. For, those who were converted immediately began to suffer persecution from the Saracens because of Christ, and so on account of fear of them they did not embrace the Christian religion, because they saw that the military might of the Portuguese was too far away to defend them. But when they could enjoy the favor of the Portuguese within sixty or seventy miles, that helped a lot, both in bringing the gentiles to the faith, and in teaching them and their children, and to separate them from their pagan superstitions. And if they did not fear being deprived of their possessions by their own kings, many more would have been converted.
