Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-11-05
AN OLD UNIVERSITY
Continued from First Page.)


for the scanty population Of Salamanca,
there are six other churches, larger than
any there are in Chicago. San Benito was
built In 1104, San Martin in 1103 Ga fine
specimen of the Romanesque), San Mar
cos, built in 700 (circular in shape and pc
cul1ar arches to support it's dome). Espir-
ftu Santo was built in 1460. San Esteban
Q524) contains the bones of the terrible
Duke of Alva, who died in 1852, and in the
adjoining chapel Is buried the good friar,
Diego de Diez, who is described in his cpl
taph as "a generous friend and faithful
patron Of Columbus" A monument has
been erected to his memory in the cathe-
dral at Seville. The chapel of the Angus
tine monastery, built in 1893 by the Count
of Monterey, is a magnificent edifice in
purely classical style, and has several fine
pictures.
There are several ruined churches which
were partially pulled down or burned by the
French army during the Napoleonic inva-
sion or by revolutionists since that time.
And among them rises a purely modern
church called San Mateo, of pure Gothic,
richly embellished, which was finished as
late as 1884 at a cost of several hundred
thousand dollars. Why the ecclesiastical
taxed for the erection of new churches
when there are SO many old ones, empty
and useless, is not easily explained There
was no need of another church in Salaman
ca, but much need of other things. If all
the people in the town-men, women and
children-should happen to attend service
at the same hour they would not half fill
those that were already standing, while the
priests, monks and nuns, the professors of
the university and other ecclesiastical Off
Gals under the authority of the bishop are
living upon starvation incomes. and are
we'll off compared with 20 per cent of the
people of their parishes. Yet Salamanca
is not exceptional in this respect. The same
thing has occurred in other cities in Mad
rid especially, where foundations have
been laid for two magnificent cathedrals,
one of them under the direct patronage OF
the queen, who gives a generous sum every
year for construction purposes, but the
walls are rising very slowly. At the pres
ent rate 1t will be century before they
are ready for the roof.
If you ask a priest or a monk or any
other citizen of Salamanca why the new
church was built he will spread out his
hands. shrug his shoulders and say, 'Dios
sabe!" God knows.
Statue Of Columbus.
From the cathedral a street named in
honor of Christopher Columbus leads to the
massive old monastery of San Estaban (St.
Stephen), where that man of heroic enter
prise, by order of Ferdinand and Isabella,
submitted his theories and plans to a COM
mission of monks in l4S5. They denounced
1t as vain, impractcable and resting on
grounds too weak and unstable to merit the
support of the government" and yet, in the
center Of the quadrangle a bronze statue of
Columbus was erected in 1892; the name
of the street upon which the monastery
stands was changed and called in his honor,
and the retable of the altar of the mOnas-
terry chapel is covered with gold that he
brought from San Domingo.
The commission of monks met in FL Salon
de ProfundiS a splendid room with cell
ing of carved oak, richly gilded and there
Columbus made the argument in favor of
sending ship to search for western pas
sage to India that was treated with deri-
sion and scorn. The waters' of the Attain
tic, beyond the Gates Of Hercules (Gibral-
tar), were the outside boundaries of the
world, they answered, and there was moth
ing beyond.
Columbus secured this opportunity
the influence of Mendoza, the
grand cardinal of Spain, who was always
kindly disposed toward the importunate
Genoese, and seemed to think there was
some merit in his scheme. 1t was he who
Columbus into the royal pres
ence, and his Endorsement gave him favor
with Queen Isabella, who was at once i'm
pressed with the Importance and practical
bility of his enterprise. But the king was
more conservative, and suggested that the
proposition be Investigated by experts. Ac-
cordingly the cardinal directed Fernando
de Talavara to assemble the most learned
astronomers and geogfaphers in the king
dom to hear what Columbus had to say. 1t
was natural to send him to Salamanca, and
the council was composed of Dominican
monks of this monastery and members of
the faculty of the university.
For several days they met to hear his ar
guments and theories, which were declared
vain and visionary, and he came nearer be-
ing sent before the inquisition because some
of the monks considered his arguments con-
trary to The teachings of the Scriptures, es-
pecially when he said the earth was round;
that people walked on the other side of 1t
with their heads downward, and that trees
and plants grew downward instead of up
ward, as they did in Spain.
Only One Defender.
Only one man among all the council de-
Tended Columbus. That was the prior OF
the Dominicans, Father Diego de Deza,
who was also professor of theology at the
university 1t was probably his influence
that prevented the monks from ordering
the old sailor before the grand inquisitor
for hla snhemy but he was not sufficiently
influential to secure an Endorsement of his
project. He comforted him as best he
could. however, and after the decision was
rendered took him to Valcuebo, a farm in
the vicinity of Salamanca belonging to the
Dominicans and kept him there for more
than a year. This was a peaceful period