Bartoleme Las Casas [pp. 829-851]

Bartoleme Las Casas.
ence or gratuitous suspicion. All
the surroundings must be explained.
In writing his biography some insight
into the learning of that period and
into the state of science at the time
should be gained, especially in the
departments of history, of moral phi losophy, of the civil law, of the canon
law, and international jurisprudence.
Not even the lighter literature, includ ing the popular poetry, the drama,
and romances, can with safety es cape observation. Above all, being
at the era of the revival of learning,
along with the first improvements in
the art of printing, the changes made
in modern languages are to be noted.
In these transformations, the signi ficance of many words and phrases
was often doubtful. Sometimes they
had to be taken according to their
old meaning; sometimes again in the
new. When astrology was banished,
its theory was discarded; but at
least two thirds of its terms were retained: when alchemy suffered the
same fate, its vocabulary, as well as its
crucibles, retorts, and alembics, were
transferred to the chemical laboratory: when the practice of medicine was
relinquished, physicians took possession of its expressions for comments,
and wrote out their prescriptions in
many of its hieroglyphics. These mutations were progressing when Columbus was sailing due west in search of a
route to the east. WNhether words were
to be interpreted according to science,
or according to suppositions which
had prevailed before science, was
often a difficult question to solve.
Illustrations would indicate how
far research must go to understand
the times and transitions taking
place. It is needless to add, that
nothing of the kind has been noted;
nor, from appearances, will it ever
be thought of. His writings have
been glanced at to elucidate some
point controverted, and then hastily
thrown aside. What was learned,
moreover, was in a confused mass
of facts and dates, which were dif ficult to comprehend, and more dif ficult to reduce to a consistent
form. The consequence has been
that, instead of a knowledge of the
learning and science at the period
when he lived, to enlarge the circle
of their literary reputations, they
have embarrassed some historical sub jects, and well will it be for them if
they have not endangered their lau rels. It would seem that many who
have treated of Las Casas, or even
'touched upon his character, have
fallen into some mistake, error, or
curious blunder. Nor is their num ber confined to writers of an inferior
order; it embraces some names re nowned in Europe and America for
justly merited historical excellence.
They learned a few facts; they gues sed the rest; and their guessing,
like all loose conjectures in general,
leads to false conclusions, with the
consequent danger therefrom.
Las Casas commenced his History of the Indies in 1527, when he
was in his fifty-third year; he concluded it in I559, when he was in his
eighty-fifth. He had in his possession some valuable documents obtained from Columbus; but beyond
these he relied for the most part on
his own knowledge of events, along
with accredited rumors and reports
in circulation. In his will he directs
that the Historia shall not be made
public for forty years after his decease. But reasons exist for the belief that it was read by Philip the Second, in the Escorial; and it is certain Antonio de Herrera availed himself of its information before the year
i6oo, when he completed his Description of the Indies of the West.
The Historia by Las Casas still remains in manuscript in the Royal
Academy of Madrid. Herrera, being
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