Thus far we have described the method of proceeding observed in the inquisition; and if we attentively consider it, and compare it with the usual method of proceeding in all other courts, we shall find it to be a series and connection of injustice and cruelties, and subversive of all laws, both divine and human.
The Papists usually recommend to their own people this tribunal as an holy one, and call the inquisition the holy office. But if we consider it thoroughly, we shall find it is all disguise, by which they endeavour to palliate and cover over the villany and injustice of this court. I will not now undertake to shew that the causes which are managed before this tribunal are not subject to human judgment, but belong to the tribunal of God, and his son Christ: for God only, the supreme Lord of all, who can save, and can destroy, can prescribe the laws of salvation and damnation: He only, as omniscient and searcher of hearts, can pronounce an infallible judgment of every one’s faith, which lies concealed in his mind, and which he may dissemble by words or actions, and hath admitted no man as partner with himself in this power. From hence it evidently follows, that it is a sacrilegious violation of the divine majesty and laws, in that the pope of Rome arrogates to himself the judgment of the faith, prescribes laws of believing to the faithful, erects the tribunal of an inquisition, sends every where inquisitors as judges delegated by him, who, in his name, and by a power granted by him, are to inquire into the faith of all, and punish those who are not in all things obedient to the pope. Nor will I here examine that villainous doctrine, by which they teach that heretics are to be deprived of all power, so that faith is not to be kept with them; subjects are not bound by their oath of allegiance and fidelity: that the husband or wife, for the heresy of either, is freed from the laws of matrimony, and even children from obedience to their parents: for it is fully evident, that this doctrine subverts all laws, divine and human.
I will only, in a few words, represent the principal iniquities and instances of injustice of this tribunal; in which, as to the reason and method of proceeding in favour of the faith, it differs from the laws and customs of all other courts; whereby things evidently unjust in other tribunals, are in this accounted just. I shall not indeed mention all, but the chief only, and most remarkable instances, as specimens of the rest.
I. The first is, that the inquisitors, by publishing an edict of the faith, oblige all, under the penalty of excommunication, to inform before them of every one of whom they suspect of heresy, for the slightest cause; so that not only a relation is bound to accuse his relation, a brother his brother, and by this information to bring him into danger of being burnt, the most horrible of all punishments; but even a wife her husband: yea, what destroys all the laws of nature, a son, according to the opinion of many doctors, is bound to inform against his father, if a secret heretic.
II. A second instance of injustice, is their condemning a person defamed only for heresy, to make canonical purgation, i. e. to purge himself with seven, more or less, compurgators; so that if he fails in one, two or three, he is accounted guilty, for thus the life and torture of any one depends on the will and pleasure of another.
III. A third is, that in this office every one, though excluded by other courts, is admitted for a witness, a mortal enemy only excepted.
IV. To this may be added a fourth, that the names of the witnesses are not shewn to the prisoner, nor is any circumstance discovered to him by which he can come to the knowledge of the witnesses.
V. A fifth instance of injustice is, that if two unexceptionable witnesses, who yet must ever be liable to exception, because unknown to the criminal, testify of different facts, yea, sometimes if there be one only, yea, if but a mere report, they think it enough to order to the torture.
VI. A sixth instance is, that they would have persons informed against become their own accusers: for as soon as ever any one is thrown into jail, he is bound by an oath to declare the truth.
VII. A seventh instance is, that the inquisitors use various arts to draw out a confession from the prisoners, by making them deceitful promises, which, when they have got the confession, they do not believe themselves obliged to fulfil; that so the prisoner being destitute of all human assistance and comfort, and seeing no end to his miseries, may, through the art and fraud of the inquisitor, have no possible way left to defend himself, and yet in the mean while these wretches affect the appearance of justice, and grant the criminals an advocate and proctor to manage their cause. But in this the prisoner is miserably deceived.
VIII. And this is an eighth specimen of their injustice, because the advocate granted to him is given him only to betray him. For he may not choose such an advocate as he himself approves of, nor is it lawful for the advocate to defend the prisoner, unless he would be accounted as a favourer of heresy; but the inquisition itself assigns him his advocate, bound to them by an oath, whose principal business is to persuade the criminal to confess the crime he is accused of, not to use any methods of defence not practised in the court of the inquisition, and immediately to quit his defence, if he cannot defend him according to the laws of the inquisition.
IX. A ninth is, that when the crimes cannot be proved against the prisoner, he is not absolved from the crime of which he is accused, but only from prosecution; and all the declaration that is made, is that the crime against him is not proved by proper witnesses; and this sentence is never taken for an adjudged case. So that he who is once informed against to the inquisition, although he be innocent, and his crime cannot be proved according to the received manner of the inquisition, though indeed, according to that manner, all crimes of which there is but the least suspicion may be easily proved; yet he is never blotted out of the inquisitors book or index, but his name is there preserved in perpetual remembrance of his being a suspected person, that if he should happen to be informed against for heresy at any other time, these latter informations added to the former may amount to a real proof; and that although he is dismissed from jail by the sentence of the judge, he may never be able to live in safety, but that being always suspected by the inquisitor, he may be arrested for the same crime which ought to have been forgotten, upon the fresh information of some vile and wicked fellow.
X. A tenth, and that not the least instance of injustice, is their readiness to put persons to the torture, and that to discover a secret crime, lying concealed in the mind; yea, that they will use the torture so much the sooner, because the crime is more concealed than other crimes.
XI. The eleventh is, their putting persons to the torture upon half full proof of the crime. This half full proof is faultering, defamation, and one witness of his own knowledge, or when the tokens are vehement and violent. All these things are subject to the pleasure of the judge. So that if any one falls into the hands of a cruel inquisitor, and faulters in his answer, or is informed against by one witness, who declares he was present at the action or words he gives information of, he cannot possibly escape the torture, nor consequently the punishment of the crime he is accused of, considering the violence of the torments. Nor is this all; but as there may be some facts occasioned not so much by heresy concealed in the mind, as by carnal concupiscence or rashness, they will have such to be tortured for their intention, and force them by torments to confess they had an heretical intention in their mind.
XII. A twelfth is, that when they prepare themselves for the torture, they gravely and seriously admonish the criminal to speak nothing but the truth, and to confess nothing that is not agreeable to truth to avoid the tortures. By this means they put on the appearance of sincerity, as though they sought nothing but the naked truth, that when the torture is finished they may be very secure that the tortured person hath confessed a real crime, because they have seriouslyseriously and gravely admonished him to say nothing contrary to truth. In the mean while they suppose, that the crime objected against him is real, and endeavour to force from him a confession by torture, and threaten to double his torments unless he confesses; so that if he denies the crime, his torments are aggravated; if he confesses it, his torments are soon ended. Hence it appears, that their design is not honestly to find out the truth by torture, but that they suppose the crime is real, although according to the laws of the inquisition it be only half proved, and then extort a confession of it.
XIII. A thirteenth is, that whereas in other courts the number is certainly fixed how often the torture may be repeated, they have invented a method of torturing persons very often, without offending against the law, which provides that the tortures shall not be repeated above twice or thrice. If, for instance, they make use of the lesser tortures, and the prisoner confesses nothing, they afterwards make use of more grievous ones, then proceed to such as are more cruel, till at different intervals of time they have gone through all the several kinds of tortures. And this they do not call a repetition, but only a continuation of the torture; so that if any one hath been several times tortured, but with a different kind of torture each time, and hath thus at certain distances gone through all the kinds of torture, according to the opinion of these merciful casuists, he ought to be accounted as tortured only once.
XIV. A fourteenth is, that when they deliver condemned persons to the secular arm, they intercede for them, that their punishment may be so moderated as to prevent shedding of blood, or danger of death. And in the mean while, if the magistrate is not ready to burn the heretics, or delays the punishment, they oblige him, under penalty of excommunication, to execute the sentence. The superstitious wretches are afraid they should becomebecome irregular, by delivering a criminal to the secular magistrate without intercession, and yet are not afraid of becoming irregular, by compelling the magistrate under penalty of excommunication to murder those whom they have condemned. Can any thing be more evident, than that this is nothing more than acting a part, and an affectation to be thought by the people to have no hand in the murder of which they are really the authors?
XV. The last instance I shall mention, appears in their ridiculous process against the dead, whose relations and heirs they cite, to appear on such a day to defend, if they can and will, the memory of the dead. Whereas they themselves have made it a law, that if any one appears in defence of an heretic, he shall be accounted as a favourer of heretics himself, and condemned as such, and have no advocate or procurator to defend himself. So that they cite all persons to defend the memory of the dead, and yet deter all persons from such defence by a most grievous punishment, appointed against the favourers of heretics. So that all this is like their intercession for criminals, mere imposture and sham. Then they provide an advocate to manage the cause, bound to them under an oath, and he publicly declares he cannot defend the memory of the deceased. So that as no one undertakes his defence, the accusations against him are reckoned just, the proofs legal, and the deceased is condemned for heresy. But what greater instance of injustice can there be, than to condemn a person as convicted, whose defence no one dares undertake, without running the hazard of his fortune and life.
If any one considers these things, which I have mentioned as specimens only, he will find no sanctity in the court of the inquisition; but must acknowledge, that in the whole method of proceeding there is nothing but injustice, fraud, impostures, and the most accursed hypocrisy; by which the inquisitors, under the feigned pretence of sanctity, endeavour to disguise the villany of their proceedings, that so they may maintain their dominion over the miserable common people, and keep them all in subjection to themselves. And though they do every thing that is wicked and vile, yet they would have all adore them for the venerable character of sanctity.
It is needless to mention here more instances of their cruelty: I shall say all in a few words. The miseries of the jail, in which the prisoners are generally confined by themselves for several years, shut up in darkness, without being allowed any human converse, are so great, the cruelty of their torments so severe, and their punishments so exquisite, that they greatly exceed the cruelty of all other courts: for persons are not only burnt alive, but their mouths gagged, so that they have not the liberty to groan or cry out in those most horrible tortures; and by thus stopping up their mouths, they are in such an agony, as that they are almost strangled. But their cruelty towards the penitent and converted is most detestable: for whereas the church ought, with open arms, to embrace penitents, in imitation of the shepherd who carried the lost sheep on his shoulders, and brought it home to the sheepfold, these wretches enjoin the most grievous punishments on those whose lives they spare, which with them are only wholesome penances. For they condemn them either to wear the infamous Sambenito, or to imprisonment, or the gallies, whereby their very life is oftentimes a punishment to them; whilst others are denied the very hopes of life, especially the relapsed, who are condemned to death without mercy, though they convert themselves. And yet the sacraments are given to those who are reconciled to the church when they desire it; and thus before they are put to death they become members of the church, put in a state of salvation, and by the priests themselves most certainly assured of an heavenly crown. Can there be any greater cruelty, and more abhorrent from the spirit of Christianity, than to punish with death an erroneous person who repents, detests his error, and is now reconciled to the church? But the ecclesiastical sanctions must be satisfied, and the authority of the church preserved entire, though the laws of Jesus Christ, and the commands of the gospel are trampled under foot.
All these iniquities are committed according to the very laws of the inquisition. Many things are indeed, in the execution of this office, left to the pleasure of the inquisitors, which power they often villainously abuse, as appears from their daily practice, and innumerable instances; for it was the common complaint of all nations against the inquisition, what Thuanus tells us[281] was the complaint of the Neapolitans: “That the perverse and preposterous form of trials increased the horror, because it was contrary to natural equity, and to every legal method in carrying on that jurisdiction. Add to this the inhumanity of their tortures, by which they violently extorted from the miserable and innocent criminals, that they might deliver themselves from their torment, whatsoever the delegated judges would have them confess, though generally contrary to truth. And for this reason it was justly said, that it was invented not for the sake of defending religion, which the primitive church had provided for by a quite different method, but that by this means they might strip all men of their fortunes, and bring innocent persons into danger of being destroyed.”
The papists indeed glory, that the inquisition is the most certain remedy to extirpate heresies. And because the inquisition is so effectual a method to extirpate heresies, Ludovicus a Paramo[282] gathers from thence that it was ordained for this purpose by the most wise providence of God. But what is really unjust in itself, and carried on by unjust methods, cannot have God for its author; nor is success any argument that the inquisition is from God. The first inquiry is, whether it be suitable to the nature of the Christian doctrine? If it be not, it is then unjust and anti-christian. Many things are unrighteously undertaken, by men, and accomplished by violence and cruelty, by which innocence is oppressed; which, although God in his just and wise counsel permits, he is far from approving. Even in Japan, a cruel persecution hath extinguished the Christian religion, as preached by the Roman priests; so that the Roman Catholic religion is equally extinguished there by the violence of persecutions, as those doctrines are in Spain, which are contrary to the church of Rome, and which they render odious by the infamous name of heresy. And yet they will not allow that any just argument can be drawn from hence, to prove that that persecution was given by divine Providence, as a most effectual remedy for the extirpation of their religion. If other parties of Christians would use the same diligence and cruelty of inquisition against them, I may venture to affirm, that they themselves could not withstand it: but that within a few years the popish religion would be extinguished in all Protestant countries, and scarce a single person left who would dare to profess it. But God forbid that the Christian religion should ever be propagated this way, which doth not consist in a feigned and hypocritical profession, but in a sincere and undissembled faith. And therefore, as no one ought to assume to himself the power of judging concerning it, but God the searcher of hearts, to him only let us leave it to pass the true judgment concerning every man’s belief. Let us in the mean while detest the tyranny of the papists; and strive to reduce those who, in our judgment, hold errors, into the way of truth, by the good offices of charity and benevolence, without arrogating to ourselves a judgment over the consciences of others. And out of a serious regard to the last great day of judgment, let us approve our consciences to God: and every one of us, expecting from his mercy an equitable and righteous judgment, pray without ceasing: “Arise, O Lord, and plead thy own cause.”
In every age of the Church of Rome there have been individuals, of an enlightened piety, who derived their religion not from “the commandments of men,” but from the doctrines of the Bible. There are at this day, in India and in England, members of that communion, who deserve the affection and respect of all good men; and whose cultivated minds will arraign the corruptions of their own religion, which the author is about to describe, more severely than he will permit himself to do. He is indeed prepared to speak of Roman Catholics with as much liberality as perhaps any Protestant has ever attempted on Christian principles: for he is acquainted with individuals, whose unaffected piety he considers a reproach to a great body of Protestants, even of the strictest sort. It is indeed painful to say any thing which may seem to feeling and noble minds ungenerous; but those enlightened persons, whose good opinion it is desirable to preserve, will themselves be pleased to see that truth is not sacrificed to personal respect, or to a spurious candour. Their own church sets an example of “plainness of speech” in the assertion of those tenets which it professes, some of which must be extremely painful to the feeling of Protestants, in their social intercourse with Catholics; such as, “That there is no salvation out of the pale of the Romish church.”
This exclusive character prevents concord and intimacy between ProtestantProtestant and Catholic families. On the principles of infidelity they can associate very easily; but on the principles of religion, the Protestant must ever be on the defensive; for the Romish church excommunicates him: and although he must hope that some individuals do not maintain the tenet, yet his uncertainty as to the fact prevents that cordiality which he desires. Many excellent Catholics suffer unjustly in their intercourse with Protestants, from the ancient and exclusive articles of their own church, which they themselves neither profess nor believe. If they will only intimate to their Protestant friends, that they renounce the exclusive principle, and that they profess the religion of the Bible, no more seems requisite to form with such persons the sincerest friendship on Christian principles.
At the present time we see the Romish religion in Europe without dominion; and hence it is viewed by the mere philosopher with indifference or contempt. He is pleased to see, that the “seven heads and the ten horns” are taken away; and thinks nothing of the “names of blasphemy.” But in the following pages, the author will have occasion to shew what Rome is, as having dominion; and possessing it too within the boundaries of the British Empire.Empire.
In passing through the Romish provinces in the East, though the author had before heard much of the Papal corruptions, he certainly did not expect to see Christianity in the degraded state in which he found it. Of the priests it may truly be said, that they are, in general, better acquainted with the Veda of Brahma than with the Gospel of Christ. In some places the doctrines of both are blended. At Aughoor, situated between Tritchinopoly and Madura, he witnessed (in October 1806) the Tower of Juggernaut employed to solemnize a Christian festival. The old priest Josephus accompanied him, when he surveyed the idolatrous car and its painted figures, and gave him a particular account of the various ceremonies which are performed, seemingly unconscious himself of any impropriety in them. The author went with him afterwards into the church, and seeing a book lying on the altar, opened it; but the reader may judge of his surprize, when he found it was a Syriac volume, and was informed that the priest himself was a descendant of the Syrian Christians, and belonged to what is now called the Syro-Roman Church, the whole service of which is in Syriac.—Thus, by the intervention of the papal power, are the ceremonies of Moloch consecrated in a manner by the sacred Syriac language. What a heavy responsibility lies on Rome, for having thus corrupted and degraded that pure and ancient church!
While the author viewed these Christian corruptions in different places, and in different forms, he was always referred to the Inquisition at Goa, as the fountain-head. He had long cherished the hope, that he should be able to visit Goa before he left India. His chief objects were the following:
1. To ascertain whether the inquisition actually refused to recognise the Bible, among the Romish churches in British India.
2. To inquire into the state and jurisdiction of the inquisition, particularly as it affected British subjects.
3. To learn what was the system of education for the priesthood; and
4. To examine the ancient church-libraries in Goa, which were said to contain all the books of the first printing.
He will select from his journal in this place, chiefly what relates to the inquisition. He had learnt from every quarter, that this tribunal, formerly so well known for its frequent burnings, was still in operation, though under some restriction as to the publicity of its proceedings; and that its power extended to the extreme boundary of Hindoostan. That, in the present civilized state of Christian nations in Europe, an inquisition should exist at all under their authority, appeared strange; but that a papal tribunal of this character should exist under the implied toleration and countenance of the British Government; that Christians, being subjects of the British Empire, and inhabiting the British territories, should be amenable to its power and jurisdiction, was a statement which seemed to be scarcely credible; but, if true, a fact which demanded the most public and solemn representation.
‘On my arrival at Goa, I was received into the house of Captain Schuyler, the British resident. The British force here is commanded by Colonel Adams, of His Majesty’s 78th regiment, with whom I was formerly well acquainted in Bengal.[283] Next day I was introduced by these gentlemen to the vice-roy of Goa, the Count de Cabral. I intimated to his excellency my wish to sail up the river to Old Goa,[284] (where the inquisition is,) to which he politely acceded. Major Pareira, of the Portuguese establishment, who was present, and to whom I had letters of introduction from Bengal, offered to accompany me to the city, and to introduce me to the archbishop of Goa, the primate of the Orient.
‘I had communicated to Colonel Adams, and to the British resident, my purpose of enquiring into the state of the inquisition. These gentlemen informed me, that I should not be able to accomplish my design without difficulty; since every thing relating to the inquisition was conducted in a very secret manner, the most respectable of the lay Portuguese themselves being ignorant of its proceedings; and that, if the priests were to discover my object, their excessive jealousy and alarm would prevent their communicating with me, or satisfying my inquiries on any subject.
‘On receiving this intelligence, I perceived that it would be necessary to proceed with caution. I was, in fact, about to visit a republic of priests; whose dominion had existed for nearly three centuries; whose province it was to prosecute heretics, and particularly the teachers of heresy; and from whose authority and sentence there was no appeal in India.[285]
‘It happened that Lieutenant Kempthorne, commander of His Majesty’s brig Diana, a distant connection of my own, was at this time in the harbour. On his learning that I meant to visit Old Goa, he offered to accompany me; as did Captain Stirling, of His Majesty’s 84th regiment, which is now stationed at the forts.
‘We proceeded up the river in the British resident’s barge, accompanied by Major Pareira, who was well qualified, by a thirty years’ residence, to give information concerning local circumstances. From him I learned that there were upwards of two hundred churches and chapels in the province of Goa, and upwards of two thousand priests.’
‘On our arrival at the city,[286] it was past twelve o’clock: all the churches were shut, and we were told that they would not be opened again till two o’clock. I mentioned to Major Pareira, that I intended to stay at Old Goa some days; and that I should be obliged to him to find me a place to sleep in. He seemed surprised at this intimation, and observed that it would be difficult for me to obtain reception in any of the churches or convents, and that there were no private houses into which I could be admitted. I said I could sleep any where; I had two servants with me, and a travelling bed. When he perceived that I was serious in my purpose, he gave directions to a civil officer, in that place, to clear out a room in a building which had been long uninhabited, and which was then used as a warehouse for goods. Matters at this time presented a very gloomy appearance; and I had thoughts of returning with my companions from this inhospitable place. In the mean time we sat down in the room I have just mentioned, to take some refreshment, while Major Pareira went to call on some of his friends. During this interval I communicated to Lieutenant Kempthorne the object of my visit. I had in my pocket ‘Dellon’s Account of the Inquisition at Goa;’[287] and I mentioned some particulars. While we were conversing on the subject, the great bell began to toll; the same which Dellon observes always tolls, before day-light, on the morning of the Auto da Fè. I did not myself ask any questions of the people concerning the inquisition; but Mr. Kempthorne made inquiries for me: and he soon found out that the Santa Casa, or Holy Office, was close to the house where we were then sitting. The gentlemen went to the window to view the horrid mansion; and I could see the indignation of free and enlightened men arise in the countenance of the two British officers, while they contemplated a place where formerly their own countrymen were condemned to the flames, and into which they themselves might now suddenly be thrown, without the possibility of rescue.
‘At two o’clock we went out to view the churches, which were now open for the afternoon service; for there are regular daily masses; and the bells began to assail the ear in every quarter.
‘The magnificence of the churches of Goa, far exceeded any idea I had formed from the previous description. Goa is properly a city of churches; and the wealth of provinces seems to have been expended in their erection. The ancient specimens of architecture at this place far excel any thing that has been attempted in modern times in any other part of the East, both in grandeur and in taste. The chapel of the palace is built after the plan of St. Peter’s at Rome, and is said to be an accurate model of that paragon of architecture. The church of St. Dominic, the founder of the inquisition, is decorated with paintings of Italian masters. St. Francis Xavier lies enshrined in a monument of exquisite art, and his coffin is enchased with silver and precious stones. The cathedral of Goa is worthy of one of the principal cities of Europe; and the church and convent of the Augustinians (in which I now reside) is a noble pile of building, situated on an eminence, and has a magnificent appearance from afar.
‘But what a contrast to all this grandeur of the churches is the worship offered in them! I have been present at the service in one or other of the chapels every day since I arrived; and I seldom see a single worshipper, but the ecclesiastics. Two rows of native priests, kneeling in order before the altar, clothed in coarse black garments, of sickly appearance, and vacant countenance, perform here, from day to day, their laborious masses, seemingly unconscious of any other duty or obligation of life.
‘The day was now far spent, and my companions were about to leave me. While I was considering whether I should return with them, Major Pareira said he would first introduce me to a priest, high in office, and one of the most learned men in the place. We accordingly walked to the convent of the Augustinians, where I was presented to Joseph a Doloribus, a man well advanced in life, of pale visage and penetrating eye, rather of a reverend appearance, and possessing great fluency of speech and urbanity of manners. At first sight he presented the aspect of one of those acute and prudent men of the world, the learned and respectable Italian Jesuits, some of whom are yet found, since the demolition of their order, reposing, in tranquil obscurity, in different parts of the East. After half an hour’s conversation in the Latin language, during which he adverted rapidly to a variety of subjects, and enquired concerning some learned men of his own church, whom I had visited in my tour, he politely invited me to take up my residence with him, during my stay at Old Goa. I was highly gratified by this unexpected invitation; but Lieutenant Kempthorne did not approve of leaving me in the hands of the Inquisitor. For judge of our surprise, when we discovered that my learned host was one of the inquisitors of the holy office, the second member of that august tribunal in rank, but the first and most active agent in the business of the department. Apartments were assigned to me in the college adjoining the convent, next to the rooms of the inquisitor himself; and here I have been now four days at the very fountain head of information, in regard to those subjects which I wished to investigate. I breakfast and dine with the inquisitor almost every day, and he generally passes his evenings in my apartment. As he considers my enquiries to be chiefly of a literary nature, he is perfectly candid and communicative on all subjects.
‘Next day after my arrival, I was introduced by my learned conductor to the Archbishop of Goa. We found him reading the Latin letters of St. Francis Xavier. On my adverting to the long duration of the city of Goa, while other cities of Europeans in India had suffered from war or revolution, the archbishop observed, that the preservation of Goa, was owing to the prayers of St. Francis Xavier. The inquisitor looked at me to see what I thought of this sentiment. I acknowledged that Xavier was considered by the learned among the English to have been a great man: what he wrote himself, bespeaks him a man of learning, of original genius, and great fortitude of mind; but what others have written for him, and of him, tarnished his fame, by making him the inventor of fables. The archbishop signified his assent. He afterwards conducted me into his private chapel, which is decorated with images of silver, and then into the Archiepiscopal library, which possesses a valuable collection of books. As I passed through our convent, in returning from the archbishop’s, I observed among the paintings in the cloisters a portrait of the famous Alexis de Menezes, archbishop of Goa, who held the synod of Diamper near Cochin, in 1599, and burned the books of the Syrian Christians. From the inscription underneath I learned that he was the founder of the magnificent church and convent in which I am now residing.
‘On the same day I received an invitation to dine with the chief inquisitor, at his house in the country. The second inquisitor accompanied me, and we found a respectable company of priests, and a sumptuous entertainment. In the library of the chief inquisitor I saw a register, containing the present establishment of the inquisition at Goa, and the names of all the officers. On my asking the chief inquisitor whether the establishment was as extensive as formerly, he said it was nearly the same. I had hitherto said little to any person concerning the inquisition, but I had indirectly gleaned much information concerning it, not only from the inquisitors themselves, but from certain priests, whom I visited at their respective convents; particularly from a father in the Franciscan convent, who had himself repeatedly witnessed an Auto da Fè.
‘On Sunday, after divine service, which I attended, we looked over together the prayers and portions of Scripture for the day, which led to a discussion concerning some of the doctrines of Christianity. We then read the third chapter of St. John’s Gospel, in the Latin Vulgate. I asked the inquisitor whether he believed in the influence of the Spirit there spoken of. He distinctly admitted it; conjointly however he thought, in some obscure sense, with water. I observed that water was merely an emblem of the purifying effects of the Spirit, and could be but an emblem. We next adverted to the expression of St. John in his first Epistle; ‘This is he that came by water and blood: even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood:—blood to atone for sin, and water to purify the heart; justification and sanctification: both of which were expressed at the same moment on the cross. The inquisitor was pleased with the subject. By an easy transition we passed to the importance of the Bible itself, to illuminate the priests and people. I noticed to him that after looking through the colleges and schools, there appeared to me to be a total eclipse of Scriptural light. He acknowledged that religion and learning were truly in a degraded state.—I had visited the theological schools, and at every place I expressed my surprise to the tutors, in presence of the pupils, at the absence of the Bible, and almost total want of reference to it. They pleaded the custom of the place, and the scarcity of copies of the book itself. Some of the younger priests came to me afterwards, desiring to know by what means they might procure copies. This inquiry for Bibles was like a ray of hope beaming on the walls of the inquisition.
‘I pass an hour sometimes in the spacious library of the Augustinian convent. There are many rare volumes, but they are chiefly theological, and almost all of the sixteenth century. There are few classics; and I have not yet seen one copy of the original scriptures in Hebrew or Greek.’
‘On the second morning after my arrival, I was surprised by my host, the Inquisitor, coming into my apartment clothed in black robes from head to foot: for the usual dress of his order is white. He said he was going to sit on the tribunal of the holy office. ‘I presume, father, your august office does not occupy much of your time?’ ‘Yes’ answered he ‘much. I sit on the tribunal three or four days every week.’
‘I had thought, for some days, of putting Dellon’s book into the Inquisitor’s hands; for if I could get him to advert to the facts stated in that book, I should be able to learn, by comparison, the exact state of the inquisition at the present time. In the evening he came in, as usual, to pass an hour in my apartment. After some conversation I took the pen in my hand to write a few notes in my journal; and, as if to amuse him, while I was writing, I took up Dellon’s book, which was lying with some others on the table, and handing it across to him, asked him whether he had ever seen it. It was in the French language, which he understood well. ‘Relation de l’ Inquisition de Goa,’ pronounced he, with a slow, articulate voice. He had never seen it before, and began to read with eagerness. He had not proceeded far, before he betrayed evident symptoms of uneasiness. He turned hastily to the middle of the book, and then to the end, and then ran over the table of contents at the beginning, as if to ascertain the full extent of the evil. He then composed himself to read, while I continued to write. He turned over the pages with rapidity, and when he came to a certain place, he exclaimed in the broad Italian accent, ‘Mendacium, Mendacium.’ I requested he would mark those passages which were untrue, and we should discuss them afterwards, for that I had other books on the subject. ‘Other books,’ said he, and he looked with an inquiring eye on those on the table. He continued reading till it was time to retire to rest and then begged to take the book with him.
‘It was on this night that a circumstance happened which caused my first alarm at Goa. My servants slept every night at my chamber door, in the long gallery which is common to all the apartments, and not far distant from the servants of the convent. About midnight I was waked by loud shrieks, and expressions of terror, from some person in the gallery. In the first moment of surprise I concluded it must be the Alguazils of the holy office, seizing my servants to carry them to the inquisition. But, on going out, I saw my own servants standing at the door, and the person who had caused the alarm (a boy of about fourteen) at a little distance, surrounded by some of the priests, who had come out of their cells on hearing the noise. The boy said he had seen a spectre, and it was a considerable time before the agitations of his body and voice subsided.—Next morning at breakfast the Inquisitor apologised for the disturbance, and said the boy’s alarm proceeded from a ‘phantasma animi,’ a phantasm of the imagination.’
‘After breakfast we resumed the subject of the inquisition. The inquisitor admitted that Dellon’s descriptions of the dungeons, of the torture, of the mode of trial, and of the Auto da Fè, were in general just; but he said the writer judged untruly of the motives of the inquisitors, and very uncharitably of the character of the Holy Church; and I admitted that, under the pressure of his peculiar suffering, this might possibly be the case. The inquisitor was now anxious to know to what extent Dellon’s book had been circulated in Europe. I told him that Picart had published to the world extracts from it, in his celebrated work called ‘Religious Ceremonies,’ together with plates of the system of torture and burnings at the Auto da Fè. I added that it was now generally believed in Europe that these enormities no longer existed, and that the inquisition itself had been totally suppressed; but that I was concerned to find that this was not the case. He now began a grave narration to shew that the inquisition had undergone a change in some respects, and that its terrors were mitigated.[288]
‘I had‘I had already discovered, from written or printed documents, that the Inquisition of Goa was suppressed by royal edict in the year 1775, and established again in 1779. The Franciscan father before mentioned witnessed the annual Auto da Fè, from 1770, to 1775. “It was the humanity, and tender mercy of a good king,” said the old father, “which abolished the inquisition.” But immediately on his death, the power of the priests acquired the ascendant, under the Queen Dowager, and the tribunal was re-established, after a bloodless interval of five years. It has continued in operation ever since. It was restored in 1779, subject to certain restrictions, the chief of which are the two following, ‘That‘That a greater number of witnesses should be required to convict a criminal than were before necessary;”necessary;” and, ‘That the Auto da Fè should not be held publicly as before; but that the sentences of the tribunal should be executed privately, within the walls of the inquisition.inquisition.
‘In this particular, the constitution of the new inquisition is more reprehensible than that of the old one; for, as the old father expressed it, ‘Nunc sigillum non revelat Inquisitio.’—Formerly the friends of those unfortunate persons who were thrown into its prison, had the melancholy satisfaction of seeing them once a year walking in the procession of the Auto da Fè; or if they were condemned to die, they witnessed their death, and mourned for the dead. But now they have no means of learning for years whether they be dead or alive. The policy of this new mode of concealment appears to be this, to preserve the power of the inquisition, and at the same time to lessen the public odium of its proceedings, in the presence of British dominion and civilization. I asked the father his opinion concerning the nature and frequency of the punishments within the walls. He said he possessed no certain means of giving a satisfactory answer: that every thing transacted there was declared to be ‘sacrum et secretum.’ But this he knew to be true, that there were constantly captives in the dungeons; that some of them are liberated after long confinement, but that they never speak afterwards of what passed within the place. He added that, of all the persons he had known, who had been liberated, he never knew one who did not carry about with him what might be called, ‘the mark of the inquisition;’ that is to say, who did not shew in the solemnity of his countenance, or in his peculiar demeanor, or his terror of the priests, that he had been in that dreadful place.
‘The chief argument of the Inquisitor to prove the melioration of the Inquisition was the superior humanity of the inquisitors. I remarked that I did not doubt the humanity of the existing officers; but what availed humanity in an inquisitor? he must pronounce sentence according to the laws of the tribunal, which are notorious enough; and a relapsed heretic must be burned in the flames, or confined for life in a dungeon, whether the inquisitor be humane or not. ‘But, if,’ said I, ‘you would satisfy my mind completely on this subject, shew me the inquisition.’ He said it was not permitted to any personperson to see the inquisition. I observed that mine might be considered as a peculiar case; that the character of the inquisition, and the expediency of its longer continuance had been called in question; that I had myself written on the civilization of India, and might possibly publish something more upon that subject, and that it could not be expected that I should pass over the inquisition without notice, knowing what I did of its proceedings; at the same time I should not wish to state a single fact without his authority, or at least his admission of its truth. I added that he himself had been pleased to communicate with me very fully on the subject, and that in all our discussions we had both been actuated, I hoped, by a good purpose. The countenance of the inquisitor evidently altered on receiving this intimation, nor did it ever after wholly regain its wonted frankness and placidity. After some hesitation, however, he said he would take me with him to the inquisition the next day.—I was a good deal surprised at this acquiescence of the inquisitor, but I did not know what was in his mind.
‘Next morning after breakfast my host went to dress for the holy office, and soon returned in his inquisitorial robes. He said he would go half an hour before the usual time for the purpose of shewing me the inquisition. The buildings are about a quarter of a mile distant from the convent, and we proceeded thither in our manjeels.[289] On our arrival at the place, the inquisitor said to me, as we were ascending the steps of the outer stair, that he hoped I should be satisfied with a transient view of the inquisition, and that I would retire whenever he should desire it. I took this as a good omen, and followed my conductor with tolerable confidence.
‘He led me first to the great hall of the inquisition. We were met at the door by a number of well-dressed persons, who, I afterwards understood, were the familiars, and attendants of the holy office. They bowed very low to the inquisitor, and looked with surprise at me. The great hall is the place in which the prisoners are marshalled for the procession of the Auto da Fè. At the procession described by Dellon, in which he himself walked barefoot, clothed with the painted garment, there were upwards of one hundred and fifty prisoners. I traversed this hall for some time, with a slow step, reflecting on its former scenes, the inquisitor walking by my side, in silence. I thought of the fate of the multitude of my fellow-creatures who had passed through this place, condemned by a tribunal of their fellow-sinners, their bodies devoted to the flames, and their souls to perdition. And I could not help saying to him, ‘Would not the holy church wish, in her mercy, to have those souls back again, that she might allow them a little further probation?’ The inquisitor answered nothing, but beckoned me to go with him to a door at one end of the hall. By this door he conducted me to some small rooms, and thence to the spacious apartments of the chief inquisitor. Having surveyed these he brought me back again to the great hall; and I thought he seemed now desirous that I should depart. ‘Now, father,’ said I, ‘lead me to the dungeons below; I want to see the captives.’—‘No,’ said he, ‘that cannot be.’—I now began to suspect that it had been in the mind of the inquisitor, from the beginning, to shew me only a certain part of the inquisition, in the hope of satisfying my enquiries in a general way. I urged him with earnestness, but he steadily resisted, and seemed to be offended, or rather agitated by my importunity. I intimated to him plainly, that the only way to do justice to his own assertions and arguments, regarding the present state of the inquisition, was to shew me the prisons and the captives. I should then describe only what I saw; but now the subject was left in awful obscurity.—‘Lead me down,’ said I, ‘to the inner building and let me pass through the two hundred dungeons, ten feet square, described by your former captives. Let me count the number of your present captives, and converse with them. I want to see if there be any subjects of the British government, to whom we owe protection. I want to ask how long they have been here, how long it is since they beheld the light of the sun, and whether they ever expect to see it again. Shew me the chamber of torture; and declare what modes of execution, or of punishment, are now practised within the walls of the inquisition, in lieu of the public Auto da Fè. If, after all that has passed, father, you resist this reasonable request, I shall be justified in believing, that you are afraid of exposing the real state of the inquisition in India.’ To these observations the inquisitor made no reply; but seemed impatient that I should withdraw. ‘My good father,’ said I, ‘I am about to take my leave of you, and to thank you for your hospitable attentions, (it had been before understood that I should take my final leave at the door of the inquisition, after having seen the interior,) and I wish always to preserve on my mind a favourable sentiment of your kindness and candour. You cannot, you say, shew me the captives and the dungeons; be pleased then merely to answer this question; for I shall believe your word:—How many prisoners are there now below, in the cells of the inquisition?’inquisition?’ The inquisitor replied, ‘That is a question which I cannot answer.’ On his pronouncing these words, I retired hastily towards the door, and wished him farewell. We shook hands with as much cordiality as we could at the moment assume; and both of us, I believe, were sorry that our parting took place with a clouded countenance.
‘From the inquisition I went to the place of burning in the Camp Santo Lazaro, on the river side, where the victims were brought to the stake at the Auto da Fè. It is close to the palace, that the vice-roy and his court may witness the execution; for it has ever been the policy of the inquisition to make these spiritual executions appear to be the executions of the state. An old priest accompanied me, who pointed out the place and described the scene. As I passed over this melancholy plain, I thought on the difference between the pure and benign doctrine, which was first preached to India in the apostolic age, and that bloody code, which, after a long night of darkness, was announced to it under the same name! And I pondered on the mysterious dispensation, which permitted the ministers of the inquisition, with their racks and flames, to visit these lands, before the heralds of the Gospel of Peace. But the most painful reflection was, that this tribunal should yet exist, unawed by the vicinity of British humanity and dominion. I was not satisfied with what I had seen or said at the inquisition, and I determined to go back again. The inquisitors were now sitting on the tribunal, and I had some excuse for returning; for I was to receive from the chief inquisitor a letter which he said he would give me, before I left the place, for the British resident in Travancore, being an answer to a letter from that officer.
‘When I arrived at the inquisition, and had ascended the outer stairs, the door-keepers surveyed me doubtingly, but suffered me to pass, supposing that I had returned by permission and appointment of the inquisitor. I entered the great hall, and went up directly towards the tribunal of the inquisition, described by Dellon, in which is the lofty crucifix. I sat down on a form, and wrote some notes; and then desired one of the attendants to carry in my name to the inquisitor. As I walked up the hall, I saw a poor woman sitting by herself, on a bench by the wall, apparently in a disconsolate state of mind. She clasped her hands as I passed, and gave me a look expressive of her distress. This sight chilled my spirits. The familiars told me she was waiting there to be called up before the tribunal of the inquisition. While I was asking questions concerning her crime, the second inquisitor came out in evident trepidation, and was about to complain of the intrusion; when I informed him I had come back for the letter from the chief inquisitor. He said it should be sent after me to Goa; and he conducted me with a quick step towards the door. As we passed the poor woman I pointed to her, and said to him with some emphasis, ‘Behold, father, another victim of the holy inquisition!’ He answered nothing. When we arrived at the head of the great stair, he bowed, and I took my last leave of Josephus a Doloribus, without uttering a word.’
The foregoing particulars concerning the inquisition at Goa are detailed chiefly with this view; that the English nation may consider, whether there be sufficient ground for presenting a remonstrance to the Portuguese government, on the longer continuance of that tribunal in India; it being notorious, that a great part of the the Romish Christians are now under British protection. “The Romans,” says Montesquieu, “deserved well of human nature, for making it an article in their treaty with the Carthaginians, that they should abstain from SACRIFICING their CHILDREN to their gods.” It has been lately observed by respectable writers, that the English nation ought to imitate this example, and endeavour to induce her allies “to abolish the human sacrifices of the inquisition;” and a censure is passed on our government for their indifference to this subject.[290] The indifference to the inquisition is attributable, we believe, to the same cause which has produced an indifference to the religious principles which first organized the inquisition. The mighty despot, who suppressed the inquisition in Spain, was not swayed probably by very powerful motives of humanity; but viewed with jealousy a tribunal, which usurped an independent dominion; and he put it down, on the same principle that he put down the popedom, that he might remain pontiff and grand inquisitor himself. And so he will remain for a time, till the purposes of Providence shall have been accomplished by him. But are we to look on in silence, and to expect that further meliorations in human society are to be effected by despotism, or by great revolutions? “If,” say the same authors, “while the inquisition is destroyed in Europe by the power of despotism, we could entertain the hope, and it is not too much to entertain such a hope, that the power of liberty is about to destroy it in America; we might even, amid the gloom that surrounds us, congratulate our fellow-creatures on one of the most remarkable periods in the history of the progress of human society, the FINAL ERASURE of the inquisition from the face of the earth.”[291] It will indeed be an important and happy day to the earth, when this final erasure shall take place; but the period of such an event is nearer, I apprehend, in Europe and America, than it is in Asia; and its termination in Asia depends as much on Great Britain as on Portugal. And shall not Great Britain do her part to hasten this desirable time? Do we wait, as if to see whether the power of infidelity will abolish the other inquisitions of the earth? Shall not we, in the mean while, attempt to do something, on Christian principles, for the honour of God and of humanity? Do we dread even to express a sentiment on the subject in our legislative assemblies, or to notice it in our treaties? It is surely our duty to declare our wishes, at least, for the abolition of these inhuman tribunals, (since we take an active part in promoting the welfare of other nations,) and to deliver our testimony against them in the presence of Europe.
This case is not unlike that of the immolation of females in Bengal, with this aggravation in regard to the latter, that the rite is perpetrated in our own territories. Our humanity revolts at the occasional description of the enormity; but the matter comes not to our own business and bosoms, and we fail even to insinuate our disapprobation of the deed. It may be concluded then, that while we remain silent and unmoved spectators of the flames of the widow’s pile, there is no hope that we shall be justly affected by the reported horrors of the inquisition.—(Thus far Dr. Buchannan.)