of the pioneers assembled by the bishop for this province. The number of these, as has been stated, was thirty. When they reached Nueva España, many died and others fell sick. The rest of them, daunted by the voyage which they had already taken, and attracted by the agreeable climate of Mexico, remained there. The good bishop was unable to persuade any of them to come to these regions except father Fray Christobal, who, like an immovable column, was always firm in his opposition to these temptations, never abandoned the company of the bishop, and remained constantly at his side – not only in this tempest, in which all the others fell away, but in all the other and greater tempests which afterwards fell upon them. He was greatly aided in this by the conformity that there was in the natures of the two men. They were both grave and prudent, intrepid of soul in the performance of the right, and fearful of everything that not only might be evil, but might even seem so. Above all, they were of one mind in their efforts to attain virtue – devout, chaste, charitable, religious; zealous for the honor of God, in themselves and in others; and ready for this cause to undergo hardships or dangers of any kind. Hence, though the dangers through which they had gone had conquered all the others and discouraged them, father Fray Christobal was always firm and faithful to his promise; and he accomplished it by persevering with constancy in that which he had begun, even until death. This he did to his own great good and to that of his neighbors, serving the Lord not only as one good religious, but as if he had been many. He was like another Aod [i. e., Ehud], working with both hands, and having spirit, courage, and industry for every undertaking of importance that offered itself. He carried on together the offices of vicar-general and of missionary to Bataan, at a day’s journey from Manila, where he was obliged to reside. Withal, he filled the functions of these two positions, which seemed incompatible, with such perfection and vigilance, that he has left for each one of them eternal fame behind him. As if this was but little in itself, whenever any military expedition was undertaken he accompanied the soldiers, in the capacity of chaplain, as if he had been the most unoccupied person in the province. He gave his greatest energies to the office of vicar-general, which he filled with the greatest justice and watchfulness, and in which he offered a very edifying example. He was greatly loved by the good and feared by the bad; for his only purposes were to do good to all, to adjust their disputes, and to make friendships, or to unmake them when they were bad. He defended and protected the Indians, as being a race in the greatest need of defense and protection. When it was necessary, he chastised them, but like a loving father. Hence he was much loved by them, and was feared both by them and the Spaniards – even by the Spaniards in official positions, because, when there was a question as to making restitution for the honor of God, he pardoned no one. The zeal which he displayed in rooting out vices and scandalous sins was extraordinary. He never hesitated at any labor in this cause, however great it might be; he never feared any danger which appeared in the prosecution of his holy purpose, not even the danger of death. He was at one time threatened with death itself; for a desperate man entered his very room with the purpose of taking his life, at a time when he was careless and not expecting any such evil intention. But the Lord, to whom he left his defense, protected him; and the malevolent man was unable to carry out his purpose and to conquer the constancy of Fray Christobal. The latter knew that whatsoever hardship or death befell him in this way would surely be for his own greater glory; and hence, certain that no evil could happen to him that was really an evil, he did his duty with courage in opposing all the wicked, fearing no one, but feared by all. This was the case not only when he was present in the city or village where people were living scandalously, but even when he was at a distance from them; because without any warning he would appear, like a ray of light, in any place where he was needed. He would be at night in the city, and in the morning ten or twelve leguas away, following the track of those who were living in concubinage. When they seemed to themselves to be most safe, he caught them in flagranti delicto. He used to take out wicked women from any house, no matter how prominent it was, and no matter to what insults he might be exposed. Nothing of this kind daunted him, or held him back, or harmed him; nay, it did him much good, for, armed with patience for any wrong to himself, he was able to overcome any opposition to his holy zeal, and came out always victorious and with the upper hand. He knew the women of evil life so well that they were not able to escape him, or to conceal themselves from him. The punishment which he gave them was very appropriate, because he shut them up in a secure place and forced them to work to earn their living; and this, on account of their licentiousness and idleness, was the worst punishment that could be inflicted upon them, while for the holy purposes of Fray Christoval, it was the most efficacious remedy which could be applied. By being shut up they were kept from the sins which were caused by their being at large; while by their bodily labor they paid for something of what they wasted in their idleness. Hence in the time of this father this wretched class of people fled to the mountains, without daring to appear in the city. The Spaniards feared and hesitated to do many things which after his days began to be very common. All of these actions of the father were accompanied by such prudence, purity of life and manners, and by such love and such good works for the people, that although at the time those who were blinded and carried away by their passions suffered greatly, and were very angry with the man who interfered with their vices, still afterwards, when their minds became calmed, they could not fail to recognize the goodness of father Fray Christobal. He even gained the hearts of these people, and forced them to love and esteem them. Wherever he went, he received information from the most honorable people of what needed a remedy; and being sure that they were persons who would not deceive him, he immediately applied the remedy, with the least possible cost to the delinquents. He knew them all very well, and knew how to treat them. Hence with some he used no more rigorous means than looking at them, and letting them know that he was acquainted with their faults; and this was enough to bring about their improvement, which was what he purposed and desired. But when more severe measures were requisite, he was not slow or hesitating in employing them. Accordingly he was very useful to God in his office by attacking many sins and scandals, and by preventing others (which is an act of higher prudence). For the juridical acts which he performed as an ecclesiastical judge he accepted no fees, and he moderated as much as possible the fees of the officials of his jurisdiction. Since he understood the language of the Indians, he had no need of an interpreter, a matter of great importance and the means of avoiding much injury, deceit, and expense in the suits of the Indians. Since their means are very small, it is very easy to distort justice by bribing them, unless the activity of the judges prevents this evil. Even when this does not happen, the expenses of suitors are always very large. The vicar-general was desirous of avoiding these expenses, and therefore employed no interpreter, as in everything he took care that all might plead and gain their rights at small expense. This is an evidence that the great fear which he caused was not due to the fact that he was quarrelsome or litigious, but because he was zealous for the honor of God and the good of the souls that were in his care. So long as the bishop was in the islands, he had some comfort and defense; but as soon as the bishop had gone to España the father, being the sole governor of the bishopric (which at that time included all the islands), could not fail to suffer from the great increase of his labors, and greatly feel the want of the bishop’s support. The thing to which he gave the greatest amount of attention and in which he found the greatest difficulty, was the prohibition to the Chinese heathen of the comedies that they performed, and to Spanish men and women attendance on those comedies, on account of the manner in which they were performed, which was full of superstition and idolatry. Up to the time when our religious had come, there was no one who understood their language and customs, so no one paid any attention to this point. The Chinese felt sure that no one but themselves could understand their comedies, and performed them as in China, full of superstitions and idolatries. This was found out by Father Juan Cobo when he had learned their language, letters, and customs. He gave notice thereof to the vicar-general, who ordered the comedies to cease, as being superstitious. The Chinese were greatly grieved, and so were the Spaniards – the latter because, although they did not understand the comedies, they enjoyed seeing them for the sake of the actions and representations which the Chinese make in a very realistic way; and the Chinese, because they are devoted to this kind of entertainment. So every one, including the governor, was opposed to the vicar-general. He, because he did not understand the evil in the thing, took the side of the Chinese; but the vicar-general was certain that these comedies were an offense to the Lord, as well for the reason stated as because they were performed by night, and many other evil results used to follow. They were attended at night
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