Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. I.djvu/322

178 1 78 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. PART If there be any being on earth, that may be per- ^' mitted to remind us of the Deity himself, it is the ruler of a mighty empire, who employs the high powers intrusted to him exclusively for the benefit of his people ; who, endowed with intellectual gifts corresponding with his station, in an age of comparative barbarism, endeavours to impart to his land the light of civilization which illumines his own bosom, and to create from the elements of dis- cord the beautiful fabric of social order. Such was Isabella ; and such the age in which she lived. And fortunate was it for Spain that her sceptre, at this crisis, was swayed by a sovereign possessed of suf- ficient wisdom to devise, and energy to execute, the most salutary schemes of reform, and thus to infuse a new principle of vitality into a govern- ment, fast sinking into premature decrepitude. Scheme of 'I'ho wholc ulau of rcfomi introduced into the reform for ^ me.ifo7c"as- govcmmcnt by Ferdinand and Isabella, or more properly by the latter, to whom the internal admin- istration of Castile was principally referred, was not fully unfolded until the completion of her reign. But the most important modifications were adopted previously to the war of Granada in 1482. These may be embraced under the following heads. I. The efficient administration of justice. II. The codification of the laws. III. The depression of the nobles. IV. The vindication of ecclesiastical rights belonging to the crown from the usurpation of the papal see. V. The regulation of trade. VI. The preeminence of royal authority. no'iTof'ju?-' ^' ^^^ administration of justice. In the dismal lica.