Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. I.djvu/374

230 CHAPTER VII. ESTABLISHMEJS[T OF THE MODERN mQUISITION. Origin of the Ancient Inquisition. — Retrospective View of the Jews in Spain. — Their Wealth and Civilization. — Bigotry of the Age. — Its Influence on Isabella. — Her Confessor, Torquemada. — Bull authorizing the Inquisition. — Tribunal at Seville. — Forms of Trial. — Torture. — Autos da Fe. — Number of Convictions. — Perfidious Policy of Rome. PART It is painful, after having dwelt so long on the — ^ — important benefits resulting to Castile from the comprehensive policy of Isabella, to be compelled to turn to the darker side of the picture, and to exhibit her as accommodating herself to the illiberal spirit of the age in which she lived, so far as to sanction one of the grossest abuses that ever dis- graced humanity. The present chapter will be devoted to the establishment and early progress of the Modern Inquisition ; an institution, which has probably contributed more than any other cause to depress the lofty character of the ancient Spaniard, and which has thrown the gloom of fanaticism over those lovely regions which seem to be the natural abode of festivity and pleasure. In the present liberal state of knowledge, we look with disgust at the pretensions of any human