THE THEME 0F DESENGAHO IN SPANISH DANCES OF
DEATH FROM THE FOURTEENTH TO THE
SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

Thesis for the Degree of Ph. D.
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY .
ROBERT WILLIAM FELKEL

1973 '

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‘ 5001 9966 Michigan State
\J\ I 3129300Univer51ty

 

This is to certify that the
thesis entitled

The Theme of Desengafio in Spanish Dances
of Death from the Fourteenth to the
Seventeenth Century

presented by

Robert W11 1 1am Fe Ike 1

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

Ph.D.

 

 

degree in Spanish

 

 

Major professor /;
5/3/73

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ABSTRACT

THE THEME or DESENGANo IN SPANISH DANCES
OF DEATH FROM THE FOURTEENTH TO THE
SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

 

BY

Robert William Felkel

Although the Dance of Death is a theme which has
been treated in every period of Spanish literature, it has
inspired only a relatively small amount of critical study.
Much of this study has not even concerned itself with the
ideological content or literary style of these Spanish
works, but rather with the problem of establishing a
genealogy for the Dance of Death in European literature.
Thus the question of whether the French poem of the ceme-
tery of the Holy Innocentshistorically precedes the
Spanish Danga general de la Muerte or vice versa has been
much discussed, but there is a dearth of critical material
which examines the specific texts of Spanish Dances of
Death in order to draw conclusions about literary or ideo-
logical aspects of the genre's manifestation in Spain.
Consequently, this thesis examines the most significant
Dances of Death written in Spanish from the Middle Ages

to the Baroque period in order to study the development of

Robert William Felkel

a theme which unites them all and can be found, in fact,

in every Dance of Death: desengafio.

 

The principal method used to effect this study of

 

 

desengafio is that of explication de texte, with attention
being given mainly to the significance of the content of
the writings rather than to their style. The manner in
which the ideological content of each Dance of Death
reflects the ideological presuppositions of the period in
which it was Written is seen by comparing the content of

the work with pertinent sections of the Summa Theologica

 

of Saint Thomas Aquinas. This is supplemented by data from
modern scholars, such as Bruce Wardropper, Marcel Bataillon,
Ludwig Pfandl, and Stephen Gilman, in order to highlight the

changes in the trajectory of desengafio from the Danga

 

general de la Muerte (ca. 1393) to El gran teatro del mundo

 

 

(ca. 1635) of Pedro Calderon de la Barca. A basic starting
point is Carlos Blanco Aguinaga's distinction between a

posteriori desengafio, which is desengafio experienced by a

 

 

character in a given work as the result of certain experi-

ences, and a priori desengafio, which is essentially the

 

didactic purpose of the author who wishes to undeceive his
readers.

The principal finding of this study is that deseg-
ggfig is not a static element in Spanish literature but
rather one which changes from period to period as a result

of changing religious attitudes. In the medieval Dances

Robert William Felkel

of Death (the Dangageneral de la Muerte, Coplas de la
Muerte, Otras coplas ala Muerte, Razonamiento gue faze
Johan de Mena con la Muerte, and Sebastian de Horozco's
COplas de la Muerte and Coloquio de la Muerte con todas
edades y estados) it involves an almost exclusive emphasis
on the virtue of charity. This emphasis on charity con-
tinues in the Renaissance Dances of Death (Gil Vicente's
Auto da barca da Gloria, Diego Sanchez de Badajoz's {arga
de la Muerte, and Juan de Pedraza's Farsa llamada Danza

de la Muerte), but with an added emphasis on faith and
doctrine, qualities which could no longer be so strongly
assumed as they were during the Middle Ages in Spain, when
no mention of them was felt to be necessary. This new
emphasis on faith and doctrine was not originally apolo-
getic in nature, but it quickly became so as the ideas of
the Protestant reformers began to gain acceptance in many

parts of Europe, including Spain. Thus, desengafio in the

 

Spanish Dances of Death from approximately the middle of
the sixteenth to the middle of the seventeenth century
(Alfonso de Valdés's Diélogo de Mercurio y Caron, Micael

de Carvajal and Luis Hurtado de Toledo's Las cortes de la

 

lhmrte, Francisco de Queveda's El suefio de las calaveras,
mfilPedro Calderon de la Barca's El gran teatro del mundo)
hufludes specific mention of or at least very strong allu-
sflons to particular Protestant reformers and doctrines.

fflmrefore the ideological content of desengafio is not the

 

Robert William Felkel

same in all Spanish Dances of Death. The specific form

which desengafio takes in any given work is, of course,

 

affected by the individual author's personal bias, perspec-
tive and purpose. However, probably equally important is
the collective ideology of each historical period. It is
essentially the force of these collective ideologies which

has shaped the phenomenon of desengafio from the fourteenth

 

to the seventeenth century in the Dance of Death.

THE THEME OF DESENGANO IN SPANISH DANCES

 

OF DEATH FROM THE FOURTEENTH TO THE

SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

BY

Robert William Felkel

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
. for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department of Romance Languages

1973

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

. Page
INTRODUCTION 1
Chapter
I. DESENGANo BASED ON CHARITY
Part 1: La danca general de la Muerte . . 19
Part 2: Coplas de la Muerte; Otras coplas
ala Muerte; Razonzmiento que faze
Johan de Mena con la Muerte . . . 83
Part 3: Coplas de la Muerte, del auctor;
Coloquio de la Muerte con todas
edades y estados of Sebastiin
de Horozco . . . . . . . . 94
II. DESENGANO BASED ON CHARITY AND CORRECT DOCTRINE
WITH NO REFERENCE TO HETERODOXY . . . . . . 117
Part 1: Auto da barca da Gloria of
Gil Vicente . . . . . . . 117
Part 2: Farsa de la Muerte of Diego
Sanchez de Badajoz . . . . . . 141
Part 3: Farsa llamada Danza de la Muerte
of Juan de Pedraza . . . . . . 155
III. DESENGANO BASED ON FAITH AND DOCTRINE INCLUDING
REFERENCES TO HETERODOXY . . . . . . . . 170

Part 1: Diélogo de Mercurio yCarén

of Alfonso de Valdés . . . . 170
Part 2: Las cortes de la Muerte of Micael

as Carvajal and Luis Hurtado de

Toledo . . . . . . . . . . 255
Part 3: El suefio de las calaveras of

 

Francisco de Quevedo y Villegas . 288
CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 330
BIBLIOGRAPHY o 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o o 339

ii

INTRODUCTION

The Dance of Death is a literary motif which has
been treated in several languages and in virtually every
century since its beginning in the Middle Ages. This
longevity is a testimony to its continuing vitality. Yet
despite the abundance of excellent scholarship devoted to
this subject over a period exceeding a hundred years, the
Spanish Dances of Death in particular continue to merit
careful study.

A large percentage of the critical study on the
Dance of Death in the past has centered on the very large
issue of its remote origins and possible sources. Conse-
quently, these studies deal only incidentally with the
Spanish Danga general de la Muerte. One of the first
scholars to deal with the subject was Wilhelm Seelmanl who
maintained that a French morality play was the starting-
point of the Spanish Danga general, as well as the Paris
EEmse macabre and the Lfibeck Totentanz. He says that all
texts were ultimately derived from this one source. Karl
Kfinstle, on the other hand, as the title of his book sug-
gests,2 prefers to see the origin of the Dance of Death

in the Legend of the Three Living and the Three Dead. He

therefore follows the ideas of P. Vigo,3 who was the first
to print a twelfth century poem on this subject preserved
in a manuscript of Ferrara. A similar emphasis on folk-
loric elements distinguishes the theory developed by W.
Fehse in his book Der Ursprunggder Totenténze.4 He
noticed a discrepancy between the texts and the paintings
of the Dance of Death: in the former a single figure of
Death speaks, whereas in the latter there are many skeletons
represented. These skeletons, he concludes, do not repre-
sent Death but rather the Dead, and the whole theme is
inspired by a medieval folk superstition whereby the dead
rise from their graves at night to dance in the cemeteries,
attempting to entice others to join them. If the others do
so, they will die on the Spot. 0. Ursprung's articles
anticipates future research by postulating a Catalonian
origin for the Dances of Death. Ursprung bases his theories
on the Latin song Ad mortem festinamus contained in the
Llibre Vermell of the Benedictine convent of Montserrat

in Catalonia. His theories would be partially confirmed
later by Florence Whyte and most recently by José Maria
Sola-Solé. This theory of a peninsular origin for the
[knees of Death has not taken root easily, however, possi-
tkflY because of the climate of opinion created by M.

r“lenéndez y Pelayo in what Sola-Solé calls ". . . uno de

sus Pocos insubstanciados juicios"6: "La Danza de la

II’luerte es entre mosotros concepcién totalmente exotica, y

de la cual mingfin rastro hallamos en Castilla hasta la
presente obra, ni en Catalufia hasta que en épeca afin més
tardia. . . ."7 W. Stammler8 follows Seelman and Fehse in
postulating an archetype from which all further texts
spring, but he tried to come up with an eclectic solution
to the problem. AS a result, the outline he draws up for
the development of the Dance of Death is complicated in
the extreme. Basically he supposes the existence of a
Latin poem of great perfection of which the three versions
in vulgar languages are only reflections. The most complete
work done so far on the Dance of Death in Spain has been
Florence Whyte's The Dance of Death in Spain and Catalonia.9
In this book Miss Whyte refutes Seelman's theory that the
Innga general is a translation of a lost French original
and argues instead that traces of a peninsular background
are abundant. She sees the various estates in the poem as
a strong reflection of peninsular society and uses this
approach to refute Seelman's translation theory. Seen from
this perspective, Werner Mullertt's article "Sur les danses
necabres en Castille et en Catalogne,"10 represents a
IEgression since he attempts to refute the theory of Cata-
lonian origin and returns instead to follow Fehse and
Seelman in supposing a French model. This judgement was
cxmfirmed by the great French hispanist Pierre Le Gentil

in his book La poésie lyrique espagnole et portugaise a la
M1 moyen age. In this book he argues that the M

SEESEEL has no original elements and does not belong to an

an indigenous tradition,ll thus following very closely the
judgement of M. Menéndez y Pelayo, whom he quotes before
beginning his analysis. The theory of the French original
was reconfirmed by James M. Clark in his article "The

Dance of Death in Medieval Literature: Some Recent Theories
of Its Origin"12 in which he states that nothing has been
written that shakes the claim of the poem of the cemetery
of the Holy Innocents, dating from 1424-25, to be the
oldest known literary form of the Dance of Death. Helmut
Rosenfeld also attempts to establish a parallel between

the Parisian poem and the Danca general in his book 22E
Mittelalterliche Totentanz.l3 The most recent contribution
to scholarship regarding the problem of the origins of the
Danca general has been done by José Maria Solé-Solé. In

his article "En Torno a la Danca general de la Muerte"l4

 

Solé-Solé comes to a conclusion similar to that of

Florence Whyte, viz. that the source for the Danga general

 

is peninsular and not French, although he bases his con-
clusions on linguistic evidence rather than on a considera-
tion of the estates. Using a combination of linguistic

and internal evidence he maintains that the Danca general

 

is an adaptation (trasladacién) of a Catalonian-Aragonese
dance written around the end of the fourteenth century
which in turn responds to an indigenous Catalonian-Aragonese-
preoccupation with the theme of death.

Studies dealing with some other specific aspect of

the Spanish Dances of Death are rare. An exception is E.

Segura Covarsi's article "Sentido dramético y contenido
litdrgico de 'Las danzas de la Muerte'."15 Although the
author states that it can be proved with documents that
these Dances were represented under the form of dramas,
he does not furnish the documents to which he alludes.
And in any case the theory that the Dance of Death origi-
nated in drama had been advanced almost a full hundred
years earlier by E. H. Langlois,16 whom Covarsi does not
mention. The liturgical aspect is seen in the didacticism
of these works which expound a certain ideology of death.
The major value of the article is that it is a good intro-
duction to the various treatments this theme has received
in Spanish literature.

Another good introduction to the Dance of Death in
Spanish literature is’a book by Angel Lasso de la Vega y
Arguelles, La danza de la muerte en la poesia castellana.17
The author surveys most of the major contributions to the
genre in Spain and even includes a section of Holbein's
plates. By modern standards, however, the book is scarcely
a critical study but rather a series of plot summaries.

This study will investigate Dances of Death from
the period of the finest flowering of this theme in Spanish
literature, beginning with the Danca general de la Muerte
(ca. 1393) and ending with the works of Pedro Calerén de la

Barca. Our concern will not be an examination of these

works for the purpose of discovering the influence that any

given work may have had on subsequent works in this genre.
Nor will it be our purpose to arrive at any conclusions
regarding the very remote origins of the Dance of Death
in European literature. Rather, the texts of each of
these works will be studied in great detail in order to
examine one single element which unites them all, and can

in fact be found in every Dance of Death: desengafio.

 

Desengafio, one of the key concepts in Spanish
literature of almost any period, has also been a central
element in all of the Spanish Dances of Death, beginning
with the anonymous Danga general de la Muerte. An exami-
nation of this concept in the Spanish Dances of Death can
reveal at least two things: it can lead to a more coher-
ent and unified understanding of each work itself and the
manner in which it discloses its meaning; it can also
provide a greater understanding of the historical period
in which the work was written and of the ideological pre-
suppositions underlying that period.

The concept of desengafio must be defined at least

 

in its basic outlines before the study can proceed, and
this preliminary definition will enable the changes in
the concept from one period to the next to be grasped more
easily.

One of the most useful articles for gaining an
understanding of this concept is Stephen Gilman's monograph
"An Introduction to the Ideology of the Baroque in Spain."18

In this article the author points out that desengafio

 

constituted the motive impulse of ascetic literature and

that the ideal man of the period was "e1 caido en la

19

cuenta." This provides a basic and very general defini-

tion of desengafio as the coming to a realization. There

 

is of course a major variable in this definition since the
reader may well ask "What realization?" The ideological
substance of what the disillusioned man is supposed to
realize is not the same from one historical period to the

next, and this is why the concept of desengafio cannot be

 

constant and unchanging.
Also of considerable value is Carlos Blanco
Aguinaga's article "Cervantes y la picaresca: notas sobre

20

dos tipos de realismo." Blanco makes a distinction

between a posteriori desengafio, which is desengafio experi-

 

 

enced by a character in a given work as a result of cer-

tain experiences, and a priori desengafio, which is essen-

 

tially the didactic purpose of the author who wishes to

desengafiar_his readers. Although he is speaking primarily

 

of desengafio in picaresque novels, his distinction may be
applied equally to Dances of Death:

La experiencia del picaro se ha convertido en
juicio del novelista: todo lo que ha ido
desentrafiando a lo largo de su vida, 1e sirve
ahora como ejemplo para que el’lector aprenda

a desentrafiar 1a realidad. Asi, aunque cuandg
vivia su vida de picaro cada aventura le servia
para descubrir, agposteriori, el engafio del
mundo, la novela de esa vida es . . . pensada

a priori como ejemplo de desengafio.21

 

It happens that in the Dances of Death all the characters

do not undergo a process of desengafio, so that the presence

 

'v

n.'
n

0.1.

«Y'

~...

-.\

 

 

of a posteriori desengafio in a given work may be minimal

 

or even nonexistent. Nevertheless, the very fact that
certain characters do not become disillusioned and realize
the error of their ways is itself intended to disillusion

the readers, so that a priori desengafio is always present

 

in the form of the author's didactic purpose. (To avoid

linguistic confusion only the term desengafio itself will

 

be used in Spanish, while derivative forms such as

desengafiar [and its conjugated forms], desengafiado, engafio,

 

 

and engafiado will be rendered by English words and phrases

 

which most nearly translate the meaning of the Spanish

words, such as "to undeceive," "undeceived," "illusion"

and "self-deception,‘ and self-deceived," respectively.)
This study is divided into three major sections:

an analysis of those Dances of Death in which desengafio

 

is essentially based on charity; an analysis of the Dances
of Death in which it is based not only on charity but also
on correct doctrine, but with no references to heterodoxy;
and an analysis of works in which heterodox sects and

doctrines are mentioned or at least alluded to. The pur-

pose of this format is to Show how the concept of desengafio

 

in the Spanish Dances of Death changes in accordance with
the prevailing ideological climate in Spain. Before pro-
ceeding, however, some definition of terms is called for,
especially as regards the first section of the study.

In their Theolggical Dictionary Karl Rahner and

Herbert Vorgrimler define charity in the following manner:

"In the New Testament charity is usually the term for love
in general, primarily the love of God for men, but also
the love of men for one another and for God."22 In this
study the definition of charity used is the second one
offered by Rahner and Vorgrimler, viz. the love of men for
one another and for God. [However, for a more precise
explanation of the meaning that the term had for the

Middle Ages, the student interested in that period can

probably do no better than to consult the Summa Theolggica

 

of Saint Thomas Aquinas. He begins by explaining the fact
that charity is a virtue since by it man attains God.23
He then explains that "charity is included in the defini-
tion of every virtue, not as being essentially every

virtue, but because every virtue depends on it. . . ."24
This concept of charity as the foundation of all virtue

makes it the logical choice for an explanation of desengafio

 

that is based not on doctrine but on virtue. Aquinas

goes on to point out that the theologiCal virtues are
higher than the moral or intellectual virtues and that
charity is the highest of these theological virtues because
_it is the one which does most to attain the first rule of

25

human acts, which is God. At this point it is necessary

to explain the sense in which it is stated that desengafio

 

in the medieval Dances of Death involves an emphasis on
charity but not on doctrine. Since charity is defined
as one of the theological virtues, it is clear that an

emphasis on doctrine is implicit in these early Dances of

10

Death. The element of doctrine is so strongly assumed,
however, that overt statement is really unnecessary. This
is not the case in the latter Dances of Death.

This emphasis on charity in the Dances of Death
implies an emphasis on other virtues as well (since, as
Aquinas explains, all virtues depend on charity), the most
obvious of which is the cardinal virtue of justice,
although extreme care must be taken to define this word in
medieval rather than modern terms. Again, Aquinas can be
taken as definitive here. He says that justice is ". . .
the perpetual and constant will to render to each one his

right."26

Many characters in the SpaniSh Dances of Death

have failings in this area, especially since justice, as

a cardinal virtue, includes other secondary virtues such

as mercy and liberality which ". . . are by a kind of

reduction ascribed to justice as to their principal virtue."27
After the MIddle Ages, with few exceptions, the

Dance of Death usually takes the form of drama. AS such,

its history is intimately related with the history of

religious theater in Spain, especially the auto sacramental

 

and its progenitors. An examination of that history may

help to indicate why the element of desengafio begins to

 

involve an emphasis on doctrine (in addition to charity).
At one time the auto sacramental was thought to

have developed as a weapon of combat against the Protestant

heresies, especially against those heresies which attacked

the doctrine of the Eucharist and the real presence.

11

Lately, however, some critics, most notable Marcel Bataillon,
have exposed the grave deficiencies in this thesis. In his

article "Ensayo de explicacion del auto sacramental"

 

Bataillon states that this thesis does not correspond to

any testimony of those who were contemporaries of the period

in which the auto sacramental reached its full flowering.28

 

He also mentions that of the ninety-five works published

by Rouanet in the Coleccién de autos, farsasgy cologuios
only three attack heterodox doctrines, and even these

three do not deal Specifically with the doctrine of the
Eucharist.29 On the basis of these and other considerations,
Bataillon decides to reject the theory which views
Protestant attacks on the doctrine of the Eucharist as the

factor which accounts for the rise of the auto sacramental.

 

Instead, he feels that the birth of a Eucharistic theater
designed specifically for the Corpus Christi celebrations
belongs not to the Counter-Reformation but to the Catholic
reform movement which preceded the Protestant schism. One
of the important factors in this reform movement was the
desire to give the faithful ". . . una instruccién reli-
giosa que los hiciese llegar més allé de la fe del
carbonero, que les hiciese sentir, Si no comprender, los

"30 This desire

misterios fundamentales de su religion.
to use the theater for the specific purpose of religious
instruction in a doctrinal senSe accounts in part for the

shifting nature of desengafio as it changes from the Middle

Ages to the Renaissance. Originally the doctrinal focus

12

did not involve an emphasis on orthodoxy as opposed to
heterodoxy because Protestantism was not even a reality
when some of these Dances of Death were composed, such as

Gil Vicente's Auto da barca da Gloria, written in 1519.

 

Nevertheless, as an awareness of the growing heresy
became more widely diffused in Spain, the autgg began to
take on a more apologetic character and references to
heretical sects and to Specific heretics became noticeable
around 1560 when the Catholic reform movement acquired new

urgency as a result of the Protestant challenge to the

faith.31 Shortly afterwards, on July 19, 1564,32 the

decrees of the Council of Trent were authorized for pub-
lication in Spain and this influenced the development of
a theater whose purpose was at least partly apologetic,
as Bruce Wardropper points out:

El Concilio recomendo que se celebrara la fiesta
(i.e. the Corpus Christi celebrations) como mani-
festacién del triunfo de la verdad sobre la
herejia, para que se confundieran los enemigos
del Sacramento viendo e1 regocijo universal de
la Iglesia, o bien para que se convencieran de
sus errores mediante la saludable turbacion que
en ellos suscitara el espectéculo. Este nuevo
aspecto del Corpus, arma de la Contrerreforma,
triaca del veneno protestante, influyo mucho

. . en el desarrollo de la farsa sacramental
de la ultima mitad del Siglo XVI.

It is for the purpose of reflecting this changing doctrinal

emphasis that part two of this study deals with desengafio

 

based on doctrine but without reference to heresy, and part
three with desengafio based on doctrine and including

specific references to heresy.

 

 

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.

 

 

13

Limitations of time and Space force certain restric-
tions on this study which should be acknowledged from the
outset. In the first place, although the Dance of Death
could be traced from the Middle Ages to the twentieth
century, such a broad scope would undoubtedly be unwieldy
and would result in a superficial treatment of specific
works and historical periods. In order to obviate this
difficulty, this study has been limited to the Middle Ages,
the Renaissance and the Baroque period. This is an appro-
priate limitation, since these three periods can in some
ways be thought to form a single unit. One of the out-
standing aspects of Spanish history is that medieval forms
of thought persist well into the Renaissance and Baroque
period. Of course this can also be applied in varying

ciegrees to other countries, such as England, and Johan

Efuizinga has suggested that ". . . the line of demarcation

txetween the Middle Ages and the Renaissance has been too
numch.insisted upon."34 Nevertheless, medieval ideas did
flxaurish in Spain to a greater degree than in other coun-
tries, perhaps because, as Father Copleston suggests,
"Spain Was comparatively untouched either by the ferment
of’ Renaissance thought or by the religious dissensions of
the Reformation."35 It is for this reason, for example,
that Spain was the chief center of the revival of Scholas-
ticiesnn, a term loosely used to refer to medieval philosophy

1“ general. Accordingly, this study begins with the Danga

14

general de la Muerte and ends with the works of Pedro

Caldero’n de la Barca.

The second limitation placed on this study is a
linguistic one: only Dances of Death written in Spanish

will be discussed. This eliminates peninsular Dances of

Death written in Portuguese or Catalan and accounts for
the absence, for example, of a discussion of the entire
Trilogy of the Ships of Gil Vicente, since only one of

those plays, the Auto da barca da Gloria, is written in

Spanish. Also eliminated on the basis of this linguistic

limitation is Pedro Miguel de Carbonell, author of a
Catalan translation (with variations) of the French Danse

Mgcabre.
It must also be noted from the outset that this

StUdy deals with works of literature as documents in the
hiStory of ideas in general and of religious thought in

Particular. It does not purport to analyze the literary

Value of the Dances of Death to be discussed. Such an

analYsis would doubtless be fruitful and germane in another

C:Ontext, however, for each author freely adapts the Dance

of Death theme to his own literary purposes. The element

033 Satire, for example, can be most strongly perceived in
QueVedo's El suefio de las calaveras, but it is also very

n .
otlceable inthe Danca general de la Muerte, the Dialogo

 

de , ,
flmrio y Caron of Alfonso de Valdés, and Las cortes

de
We of Micael de Carvajal and Luis Hurtado de
T01

$60 3 it is somewhat more subdued in Horozco's Cologuio

15

93 la Muerte and Pedraza's Farsa llamada Danza de la Muerte,

and is entirely absent from the anonymous Cogalas de la

 

Muerte and Calderén's El gran teatro del mundo. Quevedo,
on the other hand, merely hints at the concept of a pro-
cession of various estates, while Calderén and the author
of the Danca general de la Muerte develop it quite fully.
Cause and effect, as René Wellek and Austin Warren have
noted, 36 are always incommensurate in a work of art, which

always remains unpredictable regardless of the extrinsic

causes which come to bear on it.

FOOTNOTES --INTRODUCTION

Wilhelm Seelman, "Die Totenténze des Mittelalters,"
Jahrbuch deS Vereins fur niederdeutsche Sprachforschung
l7 (1892T: 1-80. Discussed by James M. Clark in his "The
Dance of Death in Medieval Literature: Some Recent
Theories of Its Origin," The Modern Language Review, 45

(1950) : 336 (hereafter to be cited by means of the short
title "Recent Theories") .

2Karl Kfinstle, Die Legende der drei Lebenden und

der drei Toten und der Totentanz (Freiberg im Breisgau,
1908) . , Discussed by Florence Whyte in her The Dance of
Death in Spain and Catalonia (Baltimore: WaveYIy Press,

1.931) , p. ix (hereafter to be cited by means of the short
title Dance of Death).

3P. Vigo, Le Danze Macabre in Italia, 2nd ed.

(Bergarno, 1901). Discussed by Whyte, Dance of Death, p. x
and p. 41.

4W. Fehse, Der Ursprung der Totenténze (Halle,
1907) . Discussed by Whyte, Dance of Death, p. 46.

5O. Ursprung, "Spanisch-katalanische Liedkunst

 

 

 

deg 14. Jahrhundert," Zeitschrift fur Musikwissenschaft
2 (i921-22): 136-160. Discussed Ey José Maria Solé-Solé
n is

. "En torno a la Danca_general de la Muerte," His-
W 36 (1968): 313 (hereafter to be cfted b_y
means of the short title "En torno").

6Solé-Solé, "En torno," p. 313.

11 Marcelino Meméndez y Pelayo, Antologia de poetas
‘T‘r0\cos castellanos, l4 vols. (Madrid: Libreria de 1a

"In a de Hernando y Compafiia, 1892), 3: cxxxviii.
(M 8W. Stammler, Die Totentéinze des Mittelalters
uniCh:

Horst Stobbe, 1922). Discussed by Clark, "Recent

T .
heorles, " pp. 340-342.

9Supra, note 3.

16

 

... u

1?

10Werner Mullertt, "Sur les danses macabres en
Castille et en Catalogne," Hispanic Review 81 (1933):

441-455.

llPierre Le Gentil, La poésie lyrique espagnole et
mrtugaise a la fin du moyen—éige, 2 vols. (Rennes: Philon,
1949) , 1:387-388.

12Supra, note 1.

l3Helmut Rosenfeld, Der Mittelalterliche Totenténze
(Munster: Boheau, 1954), pp. lGZ-léfi. Discussed by $015-

Solé, "En torno," p. 313, n. 35.

14Supra, note 5.

15E. Segura Covarsi, "Sentido dramético y contenido
litfirgico de 'Las Danzas de la Muerte' ," Cuadernos de
literatura 5 (1949): 251-271.

16E. H. Langlois, Essai historique et pittoresgue
sur les Danses des Morts (Rouen, 1851), p. 138. Discussed
by Clafii, frRecent Theories," p. 336.

17Angel Lasso de la Vega y Argfielles, La danza de
13 Muerte en la poesia castellana (Madrid: Casa Editorial

de Medfia, 1878) .

. l8Stephen Gilman, "An Introduction to the Ideology
0f the Baroque in Spain," fimposium 1 (1946): 82-107.

191616., p. 96.

20Carlos Blanco Aguinaga, "Cervantes y la picaresca:
n9tas sqbre dos tipos de realismo," Nueva revista de
.Eilsalggia hiSpénica 11 (1957): 313-312.
21Ibid., p. 316.

D‘ . 22Karl Rahner and Herbert Vorgrimler, Theological
lctlonar , trans. Richard Strachan (New York: Herder and

Herder, 1965), p. 72.

the; 23Saint Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, trans.
Que Fathers of the English Dominican Province, Part II-II,
(N gtlon 23, Article 3 (New York: Denziger, 1947), p..127l.
<hié 2 Since page numbers are largely irrelevant in a dis-
w-Orfilon of the Summa, all subsequent citations from that
Sec>t_-VVI11 use an abbreviated format identifying the specific
‘143n of the work. For example, the citation above would

re
ad: ‘ Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.23, Art.3.)

l8

24;p£g., Art.4, Reply Obj,1,
25121d., Art.6.

261bid., 0.58, Art.1.
27£§£§., Art.11, Reply Obj.1,
28

Marcel Bataillon, "Ensayo de explicacion del auto
sacrwannental," in his Varia leccion de clasicos espanoles,
trariss. José Pérez Riesco (Madrid: Editorial Gredos, 1964),
p. 11353.

291bid., p. 186.

3OIbid., p. 189.

Bruce W. Wardropper, Introduccién a1 teatro

religioso del sfilo de oro (Salamanca: Ediciones Anaya,
1967) , p. 123.

321bid., p. 125.
33Ibid., pp. 42—43.
34

Johan Huizinga, The Waning of the Middle Ages,
trans. F. Hopman (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and
Company, Inc., 1954), p 40.

35Frederick Copleston, S. J., A History of Phil-

osc>11 , 8 vols. (Garden City, 'New York: Image Books,
1933), 3 (pt.2): 153.

36René Wellek and Austin Warren, Theory of Litera-

EEEE: (New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1956), p. 73.

 

 

CHAPTER I

DESENGANO BASED ON CHARITY

Part 1:

La danca general de la Muerte

The first known Spanish Dance of Death is the

anonymous Danga general de la Muerte. Although many

attempts have been made to situate this poem in its prOper

historical context, none has succeeded so admirably as

that of José Maria Solé-Solé. His most recent article

(1968) , "En torno a la Danga general de la Muerte,"
appears to solve some of the problems which have been
Puzzling scholars for years and to clarify many others.
Therefore, a brief examination of some of his conclusions
is essential to any discussion of this work.

Solé-Solé uses linguistic evidence to Show that

the Original of the Castillian Danga was without doubt

ll
' un texto catalano-aragonés o, por lo menos, con

m I o
uchOS mas aragones1smos de los que aparecen en el MS

unlco escurialense." One of the perrenial problems regard-

i
ng the Danga is the meaning to be attached to the expres-

$101) I. I . a N . .
Prologo en la trasladac10n W1th which the poem

l9

20

begins. Formerly, some scholars (e.g. James M. Clark,3

Pierre Le Genil,4 et a1.) were of the opinion that the
D_anga general was a translation, or at least an adaptation,
of a French original. Sola-Solé rejects this hypothesis to

offer a theory of peninsular origin for the Dangajeneral,

 

a proposal which had been previously advanced (albeit on

the basis of different types of evidence) by only two

scholars, O. Ursprung5 and Florence Whyte.6 Sola-Solé

admits that to a certain degree the work is adapted and
even translated, but from a Catalan-Aragonese original, not

from a French one:

La Danca espafiola hubiera sido, pues, una de
las primeras danzas de la Muerte europeas, si no
la primera. Habria sido anterior en unos treinta
o mas afios a la famosa del cementerio de los
Santos Inocentes de Paris, empezada a pintar,
segfin nos cuenta un cronista contemporéneo, en
agosto de 1424 y terminada durante la cuaresma
del afio siguiente. Se adelantaria, por
consiguiente, a todas las europeas conocidas, con
lo que de ninguna manera podemos considerarla,
Como han hecho algunos autores, como directa o
indirectamente inspirada en la francesa de los
Santos Inocentes.7

These conclusions are important since they indicate
that the Dance of Death is not an extraneous importation,
a col'luception which is foreign to Spain, as M. Menéndez y
PGIa 8 . . .
YO suggested, but rather a type of l1terature 1nd1ge-
n ' . . . . ,
0113 to Spain, the country In which, according to Sola-
Sole" . . . . 9 .
I it had its most exten51ve flower1ng. Were this not
SO, . . , ~ -
the cont1nu1ty 1n the development of desengano in these

Dan
(leg of Death would be less than convincing, if the

Pro _
gel“liter of the entire series were nothing but a translation

21

of a basically French work. Since this is not the case and

the Danga general is a genuinely Spanish work, we may begin

 

our study in the hopes that any conclusions reached will
reveal certain basic truths about the changing intellectual
climate in Spain from the Middle Ages to the Golden Age.

10 contains ideas

The "Prélogo en la trasladacién"
crucial for a correct understanding of the poem. A narrator
explains that all creatures are advised by Death to take
notice of the "breuidad de su bida" (379:1). Awareness
of the brevity of life carries with it the implicit threat
Of eternal punishment Since it is stated that everyone must
Obtain forgiveness for his sins, and in the course of the
Poem itself Death mentions the reality of heaven and hell

several times. Since life is brief and the threat of
eternal punishment is omnipresent, the conclusion is that
all people should "faser buenas obras" (379:1) in order to
Obtain the necessary forgiveness. Emphasis on good works
conStitutes the main moral message of the poem. The first
Step in the attempt to undeceive the readers is the arousal
of fear, specifically the fear of punishment, which Saint
Thomas Aquinas calls servile fear. This servile fear is
intended to lead to a higher and nobler type of fear, and
thenCS to repentance and charity, the love of men for each
other and for God. Aquinas makes it clear that this fear

0f
punishment is not necessarily excluded from, or contrary
to

I

c1larity, for ". . . separation from God is a punishment,

22

which charity shuns exceedingly . . .",12 since charity is

the theological virtue which does most to attain God.

The awareness of the brevity of life should there-

fore cause peOple to follow the advice of the wise preachers
who give them the "bueno e sano consejo," namely, to do
good works. The narrator then explains that Death, wishing
to demonstrate concretely the truth of what he says, calls
anon all the estates to come to him, whether they are will-
irig or not. This is Death triumphant that we see here, and
it: will be interesting to observe how he changes in some of
‘trie later Dances of Death.

Immediately after this short Prologue, the poem
kasegins with a statement from Death identifying himself.13
flirie first adjective he uses to qualify himself indicates
tlrie inevitability of death, a common theme in all Dances
CDiE Death: "gierta" (379:1). It is evident that in these
c>E>ening stanzas Death is trying to remove his listeners'
(>1? readers' illusions, for he says:

Demando y digo o omne por que curas
De bida tan breue en punto pasante. . - . (379:1)

b3C) one can escape Death's grasp, and two symbols which are
LJESedin the first two stanzas express this power: the
Eilcrow in the first stanza: "esta mi frecha cruel traspa-
Sseante," (379:2) and physical illness in the second:

Non eres cierto sy en punto berné

Sobre ty a dessora alguna corrup ién,

De landre o carbonco, o tal ynp11syon,
Porque e1 tu vil cuerpo se dessataré. (379:2)

23

hithis second stanza Death attempts to correct one of the
nwst persistent of human illusions, namely, that only
others will die:
'Qué locura es esta tan magnifiesta
Que piensas tfi omne, que el otro morra,
E tu quedarés por ser bien compuesta
La tu complisyon e que durara. (379:2)
anaith here is clearly an agent of denengafio, attempting to
13111119 people to a realization of their destiny. Another
.ijllnision which he attempts to correct in the third stanza
is; tine popular one that people die only when they are old
auiéi <:an, therefore, count on being safe from his clutches
at; lxeast until they have reached an advanced age. His
wenrrningy directed primarily at the young, is very explicit:
Insisate bien que yo llegaré
IX ty a desora que non he cuydado,
Que tu seas mancebo o biejo cansado,
Chie qual te fallare tal te leuaré. (379:2)
In. tinese opening stanzas is a tangential reference to a

Idlennei that is more explicitly dealt with in other Dances of

Ikeértfl (e.g. Horozco's Coloquio de la Muerte con todas las

 

Eg51§£§§_yestados, to be discussed in Part 3), viz. the

 

agees <of man. In this poem the victims that Death calls,

w' . .
J‘tji ‘the exception of the first two, the donsellas, are all

 

prlmarily the representatives of a given estate, not of a

S .

'Pecl fic age, such as infancy, youth, or middle age. How-

ev
sets, this theme of the ages of man, revealing Death's

COmp l . . . . . . .
Gite indifference to age, is dealth w1th by implication

in
the third stanza .

24

In the fourth stanza Death's role as an agent of
desengafio is even more clearly defined. He explains that
Scripture reveals that everybody is living under the sen-
tence of certain death and by way of solution says ". . .

fased penitenpia, / Que a morir abedes, non sabedes quando"

(370:2) . Death's message of desengano is thus defined in
Christian terms and this becomes even more evident when he
introduces the preacher and exhorts his listeners or
readers to pay attention to his "grand sabiencia," (379:2)
indicating that he approves of the content of the preacher's
advice and agrees with him.

When the preaCher begins to Speak, he bases his

argument on an appeal to Scriptural authority, just as

Death did before him. Death had already pointed out that

the Bible indicates that all men must of necessity die and

now the preacher tells why: "Ca [la] truxo a1 mundo vn
5°10 bocado" (379:2) . Death is a consequence of original
Sin

v "bocado" referring to the eating of the forbidden
fruit.l4 The didactic intent of the poem (i.e. the element
of a priori desengafio defined by Blanco Aguinaga) becomes
Very clear in the sixth stanza when the preacher explains
that the solution to the problem is "faser buenas obras"
(379 :2) . We will learn mainly‘be negative examples exactly
which works are good in the course of the poem itself, as
Death calls his victims and reprehends them for their vices.

FOr
the ‘time being, the performing of good works is

ef ‘ .
ln-‘Ltely contrasted with trusting in high estates or riches:

25

Non vos fiedes de altos eStados,
Que non vos valdran thesoros nin doblas. . . .
(379:2)
What is really important is not money or social position
but rather obtaining forgiveness for sins. To trust in
high social position is therefore to be deceived, whereas
to repent and obtain forgiveness for sins is to see things
in their proper order. Thus the preacher and Death are
both agents of desengano. Just before returning the action
to Death, the preacher explains that Death is starting a
dance from which it will be impossible to escape and that
he is busy laying his traps.ls
The stanza that follows indicates that Death is not
entirely indifferent regarding the lives he claims and there
is in fact a certain type of person who appears very
iniquitous to him, specifically, the unrepentant sinner.
Death appears to have a special preference for taking the
life Of this type of person, for he says:
Pues que ya el frayre bos ha pedricado
QLIe todos bayaes [Si—C] a faser penitencia,
El que non quisiera poner diligencia

Por mi non puede ser mas esperado. (380:1)

T . . . ..
heSe lines highlight Death's role as an agent of desengano.

 

They indicate that he is a spokesman for a Christian way
of life and suggest that unrepentant sinners are more in
danger of death than anyone else. Death here is trying to
rem0ve another common illusion, namely, that it is safe to

tr
ust in the possibility of a deathbed repentance.

26

Since many of the thirty-five victims have the same
cu similar vices, they will be grouped and analyzed under
the sin(s) they represent. It will be shown that each par-

ticular sin in the Danca general is in some way a sin

 

against charity and that each victim exemplifies his or her
particular vice, making a priori (and occasionally a
posteriori) desengano based on charity a central element in
each incident. Within the category of each particular sin,
the victims will be discussed in order of their appearance
in the poem. This will be followed by a short analysis of
the one victim in whom charity is emphasized by positive

rather than negative value, the hermit. .

1. Folly
Folly is one of the most frequently committed sins

in the Danga general due to the fact that it is very

 

generail, resulting from any kind of excessive solicitude
about temporal matters. According to Aquinas it is the
Contrary of wisdom and denotes dullness of sense in
judging;L6 Also, at times, folly may be a sin. Aquinas'
VieWS on this subject are worth quoting in detail because
of the frequency with which this sin is committed not only

i
n the Danca general but in all subsequent Dances of Death

 

as Well;

F'olly, as stated above, denotes dullness of
Sense in judging, and chiefly as regards the
ighest cause, which is the last end and the
Sovereign good. Now a man may in this respect
cIOntract dullness in judgement in two ways.

27

First, from a natural indisposition, as in the
case of idiots, and such like folly is no sin.
Secondly, by plunging his sense into earthly
things, whereby his sense is rendered incapable
of perceiving Divine things . . . and such like
folly is a sin.

Imow all this is related to charity since folly is the con-
txxary of wisdom and wisdom presupposes charity.l8 There-
£23112, if a man is criticized for folly, he is criticized
fzar' lacking wisdom and, by implication, charity. Thus the
51 Eazziori desengano in the incidents involving folly will
necessarily include an emphasis on charity. Since folly
ix; .SllCh a general vice, however, it will be convenient to
SLihniquide it into five separate headings, viz. folly arising
frwonl a) greed, b) ambition and the desire for honor, c)
gliitiuony, d) lust, and e) general hedonism. These are all
"earthly things" into which man may "plunge his sense,"
thfirffloy rendering it "inCapable of perceiving Divine things."
The first victim to suffer from folly based on
grwaexi is the emperor. Death's very summons to him indicates
thfit-lie is critical of his haughty, self-sufficient attitude:
"Dangad imperante con cara pagada" (380:2) . The emperor's
reEDl)’ does little to indicate the nature of his specific
illuSiion, although he does appear to realize that he is now
beyond temporal power and that there is nobody who can save
him fZli‘om Death's grasp:
N-<Dn ay ningund rrey nin duque esforcado
(QIJe della me pueda agora defender. . . . (380:2)
(

SC)
rhea of the characters in the poem are too self deceived

QVQ
r1 in; come to such a basic realization as this.) Death's

28

accusation tells us more about the emperor's specific fail-
ings, which really involve two related sins. The first is
an inordinate solicitude regarding the acquisition of
temporal goods. This is the sin that concerns us here
since it is a sin of folly. The second sin is that of
waging war for a sinful purpose (specifically the acquisi-
tion of riches) and will be discussed below. Both are
revealed in the following lines spoken by Death:

Aqui perderédes el buestro cabdal:

Que athesorastes con grand tyrania,

Fasiendo batallas de noche e de dia. . . . (380:2)
Regarding the first sin, Aquinas tells us that solicitude
about temporal matters may be sinful in three ways, and
the first two of these are applicable to the emperor. These
two ways are:

first on the part of the object of solicitude; that

ls, if we week temporal things as an end. Secondly,

solicitude about temporal things may be unlawful,
through too much earnestness in endeavoring to

thain temporal things, the result being that a man

ls drawn away from spiritual things which ought to

be the chief object of his search. . . .

The emperor sought riches as an end in themselves rather
than as a means to virtuous deeds, for his very methods of
acquiring treasure suggest a worldly, self-seeking attitude.
T
0 11Se tyrannical means to acquire riches for the perform-
a . .
rice of a Virtuous act would be blatant hypocrisy and a
MD . . . .
ral impOSSibility.
The a priori desengano in the incidents involving

9re . . .
ed also stresses charity in another way, however, Since

gre . . . . . . .
. ed 15 a Sin against justice, which in turn depends on

29

charity. As was indicated in the Introduction, justice,
as a cardinal virtue, includes secondary virtues such as
mercy and liberality which are ascribed to justice as

their principal virtue. In another section of the Summa

Aquinas states that liberality is a part of justice,20 and

that covetousness is opposed to liberality since . . .

it denotes immoderation in the interior affection for

,"21 whereas liberality ". . . moderates these

affections . . . ."22 This lack of justice implies a lack

ri CheSo o o

(>f' cfliarity also, for Aquinas states that since love of
crLaisity extends to our neighbor,23 ". . . so too the service
of God includes rendering to each one his due."24 ,Since the
greedy man is not willing to do this, he sins against
liberality directly, and against justice and charity indir-
e<:t;py,

The bishop fares very poorly indeed. He appears to
be’ gllilty ofworldliness of every type, including greed, for
he Says: "Yo era abastado de plata y de oro" (381:2).
TrLiES sgreed and worldliness necessarily led him to the sin
of: fOlly. This in turn caused him to forget about his last
end and concentrate exclusively on the pleasures of this
lj_f£3' ‘which is why he is so anguished by Death's arrival:

MYS manos aprieto, de mis ojos lloro,
Por que soy venido a tanta tristura. (381:2)

The dean is guilty of many sins, but the most impor-
ta .
nt is covetousness. He appears to be very proud of his

We
alth and position in life for he says:

30

Grand renta tenia e buen deanasgo

E mucho trigo en la mi panera. (382:1)

In the first four lines of his reply to the dean Death
adduces further evidence of the former's covetousness:

Don rico avariento, dean muy hufano,

Que vuestros dineros trocastes en oro,

A pobres e a biudas errastes la mano,

E mal despendistes e vuestro thesoro. (382:1)
Choxnetousness is not always a mortal sin and is therefore not
ailvmays opposed to charity, but it may be mortal depending on
‘true circumstances.25 If covetousness gives rise to robbery
or any kind of illicit taking of what rightfully beongs to

another, it will be a mortal sin,26 and therefore contrary

txa. cfliarity. This type of covetousness is primarily Opposed
'tc> justice,27 and indirectly to charity. It is also contrary
tc> cfliarity by being a source of folly. It can be seen that
the dean is guilty of covetousness of this type, for Death's
words ". . . mal despendistes el vuestro thesoro" suggests
the illicit acquisition of goods through his use of the
Verb "despender."28 Also, covetousness may be opposed to
liberality (which technically is a part of justice, as has
been shown), denoting inordinate love of riches. This type
of cOvetousness will remain a venial sin if it does not
Cause a man to prefer riches to charity, but it will be
mortal if his love of riches becomes so great that he is
not atfraid to act counter to God and his neighbor, that is,
tc’ aQt uncharitably. Such is the case with the dean, for

De
ath clearly accuses him of failing to give aid to the poor

an
d to widows, thus adding to his sin that of insensibility

31

to mercy, which Aquinas lists as one of the daughters of

29
covetousness .

The physician continues the procession and reveals

that he has been deceived into thinking that he could

indefinitely forestall Death's arrival by taking extremely

good care of his heath. His desengano highlights a theme

which is central to the Dance of Death as a genre and to
which Death alluded in the fourth stanza, namely, that the

hour when the death sentence will be executed is unknown

to all men, and when the hour finally comes, escape will

be impossible: ". . . a morir abedes, non sabedes quando"

( 379:2). The physician's sin is that of being unlawfully

S(DILicitous about temporal matters, specifically his health

and wealth. He was so earnest about maintaining health

Eirldi long life that he failed to take care of his spiritual
he alth, which is a more fitting and proper concern since

it directs man to his last end, which is happiness and

which cannot consist in goods of the body.30 The physi-

cian's indifference to his spiritual health is indicated
k3)? the fact that his solicitude about temporal matters is

not directed toward charity as an end, as is the case in

WOrks of mercy,31 but rather to the acquisition of wealth,

and this pertains to covetousness. As he says: ".

EDQrisé conquerir/ Dineros e plata enfermos curando" (383:1) .
what is directly intended here is not the curing of the

S'5Lc.‘.k, but the acquisition of riches. Thus the folly of

g’I‘eed has made the physician's life style essentially

32

znicharitable since his love of temporal goods, health and
.mcnuey became an obstruction to his love of God, which is
ari act of charity.

The king's doorkeeper has forgotten about Death
and is surprised by him, ironically, on the very day on
vvk:¢i.ch he was expecting a bribe from a count for having
QJjL‘sren him easy passage. He is essentially guilty of two

sins, fraud and covetousness. Although the former is a
c:<:xrisequence of the latter, it will be discussed below
‘curicier a separate heading. Death accuses the doorkeeper of
<=<3N1etousness with the following words: "E vuestra cobdicia
For que modo suena" (384:1). Since it was covetousness
t1}1&it led him to accept the bribe, which was a mortal sin
Ei€yeainst charity (as will be shown in a subsequent section),
j—1: follows that covetousness itself is a mortal sin against '
czlléarity, for, as Aquinas says: ". . . if the love of riches
13€e<zomes so great as to be preferred to charity, in such
Wi Se that a man . . . fear not to act counter to the love
(315' God and his neighbor, covetousness will then be a mortal
531111,"32 '

The accountant is the final example of a worldly
person whose attachment to power and money led him to folly
Eillci thence to the commission of unjust and uncharitable
EicIts. He indicates his attachment to worldly goods:

Ally perderé toda mi balia,
Aberes y joyas y mi grand poder . . . . (384:1)

33

The accountant's sin is mortal and therefore contrary to
cfiiaiity since it lead him to the folly of committing a sin
Cif’ fraud, which is itself contrary to justice and therefore

tc> charity.

Folly can also result from ambition and the desire
.fc>:rr honor.' The first victim to exemplify this type of
:Ec>£1.ly is the Cardinal. He was living in a state of extreme
i.]_21.usion since he thought that he could stave off Death's
aidisxrances: "Querria sy pudiese la muerte estorcer" (380:2).
Iiea: is also guilty of worldliness, although the temporal
€3<2wc>d he desires is not money but power, for he is ambitious.
E>€aeath accuses him of being inordinately desirous of honor:

Pensastes el mundo por vos trastornar
Por llegar a papa e ser soberano . . . . (380:2)

b3<>Vv the desire for honor is not necessarily sinful in
j-tlsself, but it may be under certain circumstances. Aquinas
EstI-ates that it may be inordinate in three ways:

First, when a man desires recognition of an

excellence which he has not: this is to desire

more than his share of honor. Secondly, when a

man desires honor for himself without referring

it to God. Thirdly, when a man's appetite rests

in honor itself, without referring it to the

profit of others. Since then ambition denotes

inordinate desire of honor, it is evident that

it is always a sin.3
Tl"he first of these ways is certainly applicable to the
(zeiirdinal since his machinations ("Pensastes el mundo por
\’C>ss trastornar") suggest he would not be likely to obtain

tlrlez honor of the papacy on the basis of his merit alone.

VVEE do not really know if the second way is applicable to him

34

or not, although it would seem that if a man desired an
hcnnor which he did not deserve, it would be impossible to
desire it for the sake of referring it (i.e. offering it
.ass a kind of tribute) to an omniscient God who would be
<2c3115cious of the falseness of the gesture. The third
pnc>jLnt requires some clarification, for in a sense the
cualacdinal does refer, or pass on, the honor that he has to
titles profit of others, as indicated by these lines:

Syempre trabajé noctar y escreuir
Por dar beneficios a los mis criados. . . . (380:2)

1:1: is doubtful, however, that mutual favors and gifts is
Velueat Aquinas means by "profit." He is speaking about a

more abstract type of profit such as the common good, since

flee states that the principal and final characteristic of

t1}1ea episcopal office is intending the good of our neigh-

1:3<>:r:.34 And in the same article he concludes that it is

uJillawful under almost all circumstances to desire the

eE>isc0pal office because

to desire to do good to one's neighbor is in
itself praiseworthy and virtuous. Neverthe-
less, since considered as an episcopal act it
has the height of degree attached to it, it
would seem that, unless there be manifest and
urgent reason for it, it would be presumptious
for any man to desire to be set over others in
order to do them good. . . . Nevertheless,
anyone may, without presumption, desire to do
such like works if he should happen to be in
that office, or to be worthy of doing them; so
that the object of his desire is the good work
and not the precedence in dignity.35

Although Aquinas is speaking here of the episcopal state,

‘V‘e way by analogy extend his comments to the papal rank as

35

well, since what he condemns is the desiring of high

office, especially if it is desired because of the inciden-

tal goods that go with it, such as ". . . reverence, honor,

and a sufficiency of temporalities. . . ."36 Such is the

case with the cardinal, since Death accuses him not only

of wishing to be pope but also of desiring sovereignty:

"Por llegar a papa e ser soberano. . . ." Thus the cardinal

has also sinned against charity through his self—seeking

attitude for, as Aquinas says, "charity attains God Him-

Self that it may rest in Him, but not that something may

accrue to us from Him."37 His folly has resulted from an

eXcessive solicitude about honor, a purely temporal con-

8 i deration .

The patriarch reveals that he was living in a
St-ate of illusion because he though he would never die:

Yo nunca pensé benir a tal punto
Nin estar en danca tan sin piedad. . . . (381:1)

His case is unique because, even though the arrival of
Death cures him of his illusion that he would never die,

his illusion carries with it another illusion, and then

IDeath must disillusion him again. The patriarch, finally

J:‘ealizing the inevitability of death, admits that he lived
in a state of blindness without taking note of the manner

in which Death robs men of all ages, but he appears to

feel that he has now seen the light. Such is not the case,

1”lowever, and Death informs him that his conception of death

as a thief in the night, robbing what does not belong to

36

hinn is entirely false. Amplifying the words of the
‘pxneacher at the beginning of the poem, he points out that
death is a consequence of the sin of Eve. This is an
.icieea which is common to all of the Spanish Dances of Death
earici which is in complete agreement with the teaching of
ZyQIIJinas.38 The patriarch's former illusion that he would
Ilear\7er die can best be described as a kind of folly precipi-
t:ea.1:ed by an overly worldly attitude, as evidenced by his
Ipzrreeoccupation with his privileges and dignity:

Ya me van priuando segunt que barrunto,
De beneficios e de dignidad. (381:1)

The last victim whose folly results from a preoccu-
Pation with honor is the subdeacon. Death's summons to
hfiLrn provides a clue to understanding his character:
"‘Jkenid subdiacono alegre e pagado" (384:2). On the sur-
face the subdeacon seems to be motivated by pious consider-
a.‘tlions, but upon examination it can be seen thatrlis desire
t1<> ". . . pasar el salterio resando" (384:2) is based not
(311» a consideration of the importance of his religious call-
j~rhg but rather on a desire to continue enjoying the benefits
(Di? this life and of his profession. (This involves the sin
C313 sloth and will be discussed below.) He has no desire to
(zrhange his station: "Non he menester de yr a trocar,"
(3384:2) especially since he is an ambitious man and wants

e\fentually to be deacon:

Antes de ebangelio me quero tornar
Estas quatro temporas que se ban llegando.39 (384:2)

37

This desire for honor is inordinate since the subdeacon
dcxes not refer the honor to God but only to himself. He
apparently desires the honor of deacon in order to (continue

1363;1ng "alegre e pagado," and this pertains to ambition,
tvr1:ich is a sin by being ". . . in disaccord with the order
c>if reason," as Aquinas says.40 Since the prOper act of
cirlearity is the love of God and our neighbor, it follows
tflkiéat any self-love which has the effect of turning us away
fixr<3m God will be uncharitable.

Another source of folly in the Danga general is
titles sin of gluttony. From the very way in which Death
El<i<3resses the abbot it is evident that this is his vice:

" Dangad, abad gordo, con vuestra corona" (381:2). The
53211nple food of the religious community was not good enough
f(Drhim: "De yr non curaua comer a conuento" (381:2).
33:31iinas states that gluttony is contraryto charity because
"lilusofar as it turns man away from his last end, gluttony
j~$5 opposed to the love of God, who is to be loved as our
:Léist.end, above all things. . . ."41 The abbots gluttony
CiEifinitely did turn him away from his last end, and more-
<3\hery Death also accuses him of sloth and the violation of
1"Ii-s. profession, both Of which will be discussed below.

The situation of the priest is very similar since

1163 is also accused of gluttony, sloth and neglect of duty.
]:r1 answer to Death's summons he says:

Con mis perrochianos quero yr folgar,
Ellos me dan pollos e lechones. . . . (383:1)

38

In his reply Death accuses him of gluttony by saying

Ya non es tiempo de yaser al sol
Con los perrochianos beuiendo del bino.

. . . (383:1)

His more serious sins, sloth and neglect of duty (which
vijle both be discussed below), stem from folly or dullness
(>1? judgment, which in turn stems from the habit of plunging
tLj.ss senses into earthly things. Since this type of folly
results from worldliness rather than from natural disposi-
t:j_<:n, it is definitely a sin and is opposed to the gift of
vvci.ssdom, which corresponds to charity.

The santero would rather continue begging for the
he rmitage than join Death's dance, for in spite of the fact
tilliat he is a beggar, he has a very "good" life. His sins
Elites gluttony and drunkenness, the latter being a species of
tillea former.42 He is a gluttonous man by his own admission,

for he says to Death:

. . . como a las beses pollos e perdises.

Se tomar a1 tiempo bien las codornises,

E tengo en mi huerto asés de repollos. . . . (385:2)
fifties accusation of drunkenness comes from Death in his reply
t1C) the santero:

Non vesitarédes [sic] la bota de cuero
Con que a menudo-soIiades beuer. . . . (385:2)

z\<mcording to Aquinas gluttony is a mortal sin (and therefore
<2(Dritrary to charity) to the extent that it turns man away

from a consideration of his last end. Since the santero's

 

J~j-fe appears to be predicated on exclusively worldly stan-
dards, it may be reasonably assumed that his gluttony

resulted in a type of folly which blinded him to spiritual

39

truth. The only factor which, would seem to contradict
this is his last minute confession: "A dios me encomiendo
y a sennor san Helises," (385:2) but this confession
appears to be motivated by servile fear (i.e. fear of
punishment) more than anything else, and the servility
of servile fear is contrary to charity, as will be shown
be low in the case of the duke. (It would be imprecise to
say that servile fear is evil. Its servility is evil, but
servile fear itself is good because it recognizes and
fears the evil that results from sin.43 The substance
Of servile fear remains after the advent of charity, but
its servility does not“) Drunkenness is also a mortal
Sin according to Aquinas since through it ". . . a man
willingly and knowingly deprives himself of the use of

re ason, whereby he performs virtuous deeds and avoids sin,

and thus he sins mortally by running the risk of falling

i r11:0 sin . "45

There is another type of worldly pleasure which
gives rise to folly in the Danga general--lust. The first
Victim who falls into this category is the squire. Aquinas
defines lust as an excessive attachment to venereal plea-
s'~Ilres.4'6 The definition applies to lust in general,
1‘waever, and Aquinas goes on to enumerate six species of
lust, one of which, fornication, applies to the squire more

1Zl'lan the other five. That lust is his ruling passion is

4O

evident both from his own statements and from those of
[bath in reply. By way of answering Death's summons the
squire says:

Duennas e donzellas, abed de mi duelo,
Que fasen-me por fuerga dexar los amores. . . . (382:1)

Death corroborates this in his reply to the squire:

Escudero polido, de amor siruiente,
Dexad los amores de toda persona. . . . (382:1)

Acruinas shows that simple fornication is a mortal sin by
being contrary to charity since ". . . it is opposed to
‘tlue good of the child to be born . . . since it is an act
(Df’ generation accomplished in a manner disadvantageous to
time future child."47 Thus, if the author's didactic pur-
ENDse is to condemn fornication, it necessarily implies an
ennphasis on charity.

Picaresque elements enter the poem in the form of
tfue sacristan, a truly despicable character whose major sin
5—53 indifference to God's law resulting from sins of sexual
‘3><cess. Death alludes to these sins of lust and specifi-
<3Eilly likens the sacristan to a type of picaro through his
13153s.. of the word "picanna," which may be rendered as
"picardia" :48

Don sacristanejo de mala picanna,

Ya non tenes tiempo de saltar paredes,
Nin de andar de noche con los de la canna,
Fasiendo las obras que vos bien sabedes. (385:1)

rI'he' sacristan is aware of the evil he has done and tries to

elutcuse himself, but his attempt falls far short of the mark:

41
Non conosgi a Dios con mi mocedad
Nin quise tomar nin syguir sus vias. (385:1)
The second line gives the lie to the first, for if the
sacristan were really ignorant of God, he would be incap-
able of refusing to follow his commandments. This contempt
cof God's law is totally opposed to charity, the virtue
vfluich does most to attain God. In addition, the sins of
seaxual excess are also mortal sins opposed to charity, and
ftxr two reasons: first, because they are an example of
true type of culpable blindness of mind which results from
pfilumging one's senses totally into the enjoyment of the

49

jpldeasures of lust, thus leading ultimately to a contempt

ftxr God's law which is opposed to the wisdom which corres-
Exonds to charity; secondly, because sins such as fornica-
tixon, rape and seduction, as we have already seen, are
acrts of injustice against any children who might be born

()1? such an illicit union.

The-last victim whose dullness in judging is due

‘txo sins of lust is the alfaqui, a type of Moorish clérigo.50

IDeath'scharacterization of the alfaqui as a man given
(DVNer to sensual pleasures is evident from the very first
‘liJne he speaks: "Venit alfaqui, dexad los sabores"
(1385:l). The alfaqui indicates that he is not really
Univfilling to die, but he would like Death to wait awhile
and take him when he is too old to enjoy the pleasures of
t1‘leeflesh. Apparently unaware of Death's power, the

Silafaqui even tries to bargain with him, saying that if he

42

will wait until he is older, he can even take his woman
too, if he likes. These lines are well worth quoting, for
they contain all the clues to understanding the a priori
desengano of this incident:
Yo tengo muger discreta, graciosa,
De que he gasajado e assas plaser.
Todo quanto tengo quero perder,
Dexa-me con ella solamente estar,
De que fuere biejo manda-me levar,
E a ella con-migo sy a ty pluguier. (385:1)
TTie alfaqui is evidently not a covetous man, since he
arxpears to be indifferent to worldly goods such as riches
arnd property. The only thing of apparent interest to him
143 his woman, with whom he wishes to remain until he can
rub longer enjoy her. Solé-Solé explains that this portrayal
Inepresents a common Stereotype of the Moor: "Esta carac-
txerizacion del alfaqui como de un joven entregado a los
Illaceres de la carne forma parte del topico que retrataba
«all moro como a un ser extremadamente lascivo y a la fe
rnusulmana como el exponente del hedonismo."51 In any
Cuase, the sin of the alfaqui is essentially the same as
tliat of the sacristan and the squire, namely, lust, and
int is a mortal sin opposed to charity.

There are two remaining victims who suffer from a
t'—)?pe of folly, but the exact nature of the worldliness
'“fllich precipated that folly is not made clear. For lack
CNf a more specific word, the general term "hedonism" will

have to suffice. Although the duke's hedonism includes

tile sin of gluttony, as is evidenced by Death's summons to

43

him: "Sygase con vos e1 duque antes que mas beua," (381:1)

the words ". . . abré de dexar/ Todos mis deleytes" (381:1)

suggest that his hedonism is not confined to gluttony

alone. The duke's primary concern is not God but rather
the possession and enjoyment of all his worldly goods. We
are left to imagine exactly what his "deleytes" are, but
tfiie fact remains that he is guilty of that folly which
a4:ises from willful indulgence in worldly pleasures.

The archbishop delineates and analyzes his own

vices and illusions. Death seems to have brought a

Exasteriori desengano to the archbishop, who admits from the

 

hxeginning that he deserved to die:

Ay muerte cruel, que te meresci,
O porque-me llievas tan arrebatado,

Dien.se que é1°ififie£né tengo aparejado. (381:1)

fke was able to protect himself against fear of death
"loiuiendo en deleytes," (381:1) and this is a perfect
example of the kind of self-induced folly which Aquinas
cxonsiders opposed to wisdom and therefore to charity, since
tile former is dependent on the latter. The archbishop
1limself states this when he says: "Fiando en la vida
‘qlnedé engannado" (381:1). The fact that the archbishop

knews he was deceived before, indicates that the experi-

eI’lce of death must have brought him to a state of desengano

 

‘111 which he knows that his primary error was worldliness.
rThis worldliness is a serious sin because it led him to the

<3Ornmission of a sin of injustice which he might not have

44

committed, had he not wilfully dulled his sense of judgment

by indulging in worldly pleasures.

2. Injustice

 

Injustice is another relatively general type of

vice which occurs frequently in the Dancaygeneral as well

 

(as in other Spanish Dances of Death. As noted in the
Irrtroduction, Aquinas defines justice as ". . . the perpe-
tnial and constant will to render to each one his right."
TTie general nature of justice is due to the fact that it
is; a cardinal virtue and therefore includes other secondary '
\Hirtues such as mercy and liberality. Since the vices
Cupposed to this virtue are naturally very general also, it
Vflill be useful to subdivide them into three separate cate-
gflbries: a) theft and robbery; b) neglect of duty; c)
duplicity and fraud .

Theft and robbery are obvious sins against justice.
Icike greed, they are directly opposed to liberality, which
i.s ". . . a part of justice, being annexed thereto as to
El principal virtue."52 Theft and robbery are also both
ITlOrtal sins opposed to charity. As Aquinas says, charity
C=Onsists in the love of God and secondarily in the love of
<311r neighbor, whereas ". . . theft is a means of doing

"53

Ilatrm to our neighbor in his belongings. . . He

tLherefore concludes that theft is a mortal sin since it is
QPposed to charity.54 Robbery also violates charity since

j-t: is a ". . . more grievous sin than theft."55

45

The first person accused by Death of being a thief is the
king. Upon hearing Death's summons, he vainly tries to
call out for assistance from his knights and crossbowmen,
without realizing the uselessness of such a gesture.
Death accuses him of robbery in the following lines:

Rey fuerte, tirano, que syempre rrobastes
Todo vuestro rreyno o fenchistes e1 arca.

(380:2)
Ikobbery, as we have seen, is directly opposed to liberality.
Ehvery virtue has its opposing vice and in this case the
kzing's vice is covetousness, defined as ". . . immoderate

lxove of possessing."56 Covetousness led the king to the

rxobbery of other people's lands, and this is a mortal sin

Opposed to charity.

The knight also is a thief, for he says to Death:

Segunt estas nuebas, conuiene dexar
Mercedes e tierras que gané del rrey. .

. (381:2)
'Ifilese two lines taken by themselves do not necessarily
Singgest that the knight is a thief, but Death's reply

Inequires such an interpretation:

E despues veredes como ponen freno
A 103 de la banda que roban lo ageno. . . . (381:2)

Covetousness is one of the vices of the merchant,
Eilthough after he speaks his first two lines, there is still
SHDme doubt as to whether his sin is mortal, like that of

tile dean, or only venial. He says:

Aquien dexaré todas mis riquesas
E mercadurias que traygo en la mar? (382:1)

But his

46

covetousness is a mortal sin, as is indicated by

his next two lines:

Con

muchos traspasos e mas sotilesas

Gané lo que tengo en cada lugar. (382:1)

Thus the merchant is guilty of theft arising from covet-

ousness, and both are mortal sins contrary to charity.

charity

that he

Non
Tflie use

Whether

In the incident with the farmer the emphasis on
can be seen in the fact that Death mildly suggests
may be guilty of a type of theft. He says:

Sy vuestro trabajo fue syempre syn arte
fasciendo furto en la tierra agena. . . . (383:1)

of the "if" clause does not allow us to determine

or not the farmer is actually guilty, but this does

rust affect the a priori desengano, since Death clearly

 

Estates that those who do take other people's land will be

Irunished in the afterlife.

An emphasis on charity is definitely discernible

111 the episode of the tax collector. He is very greedy

Enad feels that he should not be obliged to dance since he

is busy

collecting his money. He says to Death:

Quero yr agora apriessa priado

POI

vnos dineros que me han prometido,

Ca he esperado e e1 plaso es venido. . . . (384:2)

Piis covetousness is a mortal sin since it led him to

Chommit acts which are contrary to charity. Death's accu—

Sation is explicit:

Pagad los cohechos que aves leuado,
Pues que vuestra vida fue en trabajar
Como robariedes a1 omne cuytado. (384:2)

47

Neglect of duty is another vice which is contrary
to justice (and therefore to charity also) since it involves
a failure "to render to each one his right." The first
victim accused of this vice is the one who leads the dance,
the pope. Death explains that he will lead the dance
kxecause ". . . es muy alto sennor/ Que en todo el mundo

ruon ay su par" (380:1), and at the same time he injects
“niat may be a criticism of clerical worldliness when he
teells the pope that this is not the time for celebrating
"een grande aparato" (380:1). As soon as the pope begins
tr) speak, we see the nature of his particular illusion:
tfluinking he was to live indefinitely, he took great pride

iJI his worldly possessions and power:

Beneficios, e honrras e grand sennoria,
Tove en el mundo pensando beuir. . . . (380:1)

Hume confrontation with death brings the pope to a state of
syesengafio and, realizing that escape is impossible, he
Inepents and throws himself on the mercy of Christ and the
\lirgin. Death replies in a characteristically sarcastic
txone: "Non bos enojedes, sennor padre santo . . ." (380:1),
EUJd provides some clues regarding other defects of the
Exope, promising him that he will get his reward, a threat
tflnat he repeats several times in the poem: "De lo que
fkezistes abredes soldada" (380:1). Death explains that it
jms now of no use for the pope to conduct crusades, grant
iJndulgences or favors, or to do any of the things that he
Ilsed to do, for: "Aqui moriredes syn faser mas bollicios

- . ." (380:1). The word "bollicio" reveals the pope's most

48

. . . . ., 57
serious Sin; it means "alboroto, sedic1on o tumulto."

This is very definitely a sin, for Aquinas says that

. . . sedition, in its proper sense, is between

mutually dissentient parts of one people, as

when one part of the state rises in tumult

against another part. Wherefore, since sedition

is opposed to a special kind of good, namely the

unity and peace of a people, it is a special kind

of sin.58
Tflie pope is thereby guilty of detracting from "the unity
aJId peace of a people" and it is for this reason that he
ids criticized by Death. In a sense, his sin is against
jlistice since sedition certainly involves a failure "to
rxender to each one his right," the definition of justice
c>ffered by Aquinas. Also, Aquinas states that

peace is the work of justice indirectly, in so

far as justice removes the obstacles to peace:

but it is the work of charity directly, since

charityé according to its very nature, causes

peace.
Iflnerefore, since sedition is opposed to peace, the sin of
tflne pope is a sin against both the cardinal virtue of
Slustice and the theological virtue of charity. This is
61130 neglect of duty since, as we have already seen,
Puquinas states that the principal and final characteristic
<>f the episcopal office is intending the good of our
neighbor.

The emperor, mentioned before, is accused of waging

Vvar for a sinful purpose, specifically the acquisition of
riches:

Aqui perderédes el buestro cabdal:

Que athesorastes con grand tyrania,
Fasiendo batallas de noche e de dia. . . . (380:2)

49

Regarding the waging of war Aquinas tells us that three
things are necessary for a war to be just, but in the case
of the emperor only the first requirement is fulfilled,
namely, that the war be waged by the authority of the
sovereign. The second and third requirements are not
fulfilled, however. Aquinas says:
Secondly, a just cause is required, namely
that those who are attacked, should be attacked

because they deserve it on account of some
fault. . . .

Thirdly, it is necessary that the belligerents
should have a rightful intention, so that they
intend the advancement of good, or the avoidance
of evil.60
It is obviously impossible for the emperor to fulfill these
last two requirements since he was operating on the prin-
ciple of naked self-interest. The emperor's neglect of
duty therefore involves a disruption of peace and the
common good by "fasiendo batallas" (380:2) for purposes
which are entirely illicit, and as noted above in the case
of the pope, actions which are obstacles to peace are sins
against charity and justice.
Neglect of duty is one of the vices of the king.
His sin of robbery has already been analyzed, but Death
goes on to accuse him of tyranny and injustice in his
dealings with his subjects, as well as of being a source
of scandal:
Rey fuerte, tirano, . . .

De faser justicia muy poco curastes,
Segunt es notorio por buestra comarca. (380:2)

50

Since all of these defects basically stem from a lack of

charity and justice, the ensuing desengano is centered

 

upon these virtues. In the first place, to be a tyrant
is to be without mercy or compassion, and Aquinas states
that mercy results from charity.61 While the tyranny of
the king stems from a lack of charity, it results in a
lack of justice, as Death states: "De faser justicia muy
poco curastes. . . .” Death's last line indicates that
the king is also accused of being a source of scandal,

which Aquinas defines as . . . something less rightly

done or said, that occasions another's spiritual downfall,"62
since his covetousness and general injustice were not pri-
vate but rather public sins which constitute bad example
for others. In addition, the king is more highly suscep-
tibleto giving scandal through unjust actions than other
members of society (excepting perhaps the emperor) since
legal justice ". . . directs the acts of all the virtues

to the common good . . . and thus it is in the sovereign
principally and by way of a master-craft, while it is

"63 Since

secondarily and administratively in his subjects.
the sovereign is the chief carrier of legal justice, it
follows that his failings in this area will be more serious
than those of other members of society, and will constitute
a greater source of scandal. Again, the emphasis on
charity is implicit because, as Aquinas says, ". . .

scandal is opposed to a special virtue, viz. charity."64

51

Neglect of duty is one of the vices of the arch-
bishop also (in addition to folly, as seen above). He is
guilty of injustice in his dealings with his fellow man,
for he failed to govern his bishopric properly. This
means that he failed to render to his parishioners their
due and for this reason he is extremely afraid to die:

Mas sy yo bien rrijera mi argobispado,
De ty non ouiera tan fuerte temor. . . . (381:1)

Death's reply to the archbishop adds nothing new to the
latter's already complete exposition of his sins, but
merely confirms his injustice and worldliness.

The bishop is Death's next victim from the clerical
estates. In addition to his covetousness, analyzed above,
he is accused by Death of abandoning his flock:

Syempre anduuistes de gentes cargado,
En corte de rrey e fuera de ygrehia [gig] . . . .
(381:2)
The conditions under which a bishop may lawfully abandon

his flock, according to Aquinas, are very limited indeed,

and the bishop in the Danga general does not qualify.

 

Aquinas says that

. . . when the salvation of his subjects demands
the personal presence of the pastor, the pastor
should not withdraw his personal presence from
his flock, neither for the sake of some personal
advantage, nor even on account of some impending
danger to his person, since the good shepherd is
bound to lay down his life for his sheep.

It is lawful for the pastor to withdraw from his parish-
ioners only if their salvation can be adequately provided

for in his absence by another person. These extenuating

 

 

§‘-
4

 
 

52

circmmstances are not present in the case of the bishop,
however, for Death specifically tells him that he will be
judged for his sins, especially for failing to govern his
subjects. This is a case of neglect of duty very similar
to that of the archbishop and consequently the a priori’

desengano involves the same emphasis on justice and

 

charity.

It has already been established that the abbot is
guilty of folly induced by gluttony. In addition to this
Death accuses him of sloth, general immorality, and the
violation of his profession:

Don abad bendicto, folgado, bicioso,
Que poco curastes de bestir geligio. . . . (382:1)

All of these are serious sins. To begin with sloth,
Aquinas states that it denotes ". . . sorrow about spiritual
good, . . ."66 or, in other words, a kind of moral inertia
which resists the performance of good acts. This too is

a mortal sin since ". . . any sin which by its very nature
is contrary to charity is a mortal sin, . . . and such is
sloth, because the proper effect of charity is joy in God

. . . while sloth is sorrow about spiritual good inasmuch
as it is a Divine good."67 Therefore, with regard to sloth
the didactic purpose involves an emphasis on charity.

Death further accuses the abbot of failing to wear a hair
shirt, and this may be considered an act of sloth, since

it is a resistance to perform an act of penance, which is

a spiritual good. Regarding the use of penance in the

religious state, Aquinas has this to say:

53

The religious state was instituted chiefly
that we might obtain perfection by means of
certain exercises, whereby the obstacles to
perfect charity are removed. By removal of
the obstacles of perfect charity, much more
are the occasions of sin cut off, for sin des-
troys charity altogether. Wherefore since it
belongs to penance to cut out the causes of
sin, it follows that the religious state is a
most fitting place for penance.68

The abbot declined to perform these acts of penance which
were especially suitable to his profession because he was
utterly given over to hedonism. This indicates a contempt
for the religious state and a violation of his profession
because one who enters the religious state is morally
bound to at least strive to attain perfect charity, even

69

if he does not actually have it. Therefore, a religious

who refuses to strive for perfection violates his profes-

70 and this is a mortal sin71

sion, and contrary to charity.
The archdeacon is one of the poem's few examples

of a posteriori desengano (the archbishop is another).

 

He reveals a concept of the world as an active agent of
illusion:
O mundo bil, malo, e fallescedero,

Como me engannaste con tu promisyon,

Prometiste-me vida, de ty non la espero,

Syempre mentiste en toda sason. (382:2)
Even though this involves the personification of the world
for poetic purposes,the basic idea is supported by
Aquinas, who explains that, even though the act of tempting
is proper to the devil,

the flesh and the world are said to tempt

as the instruments or matter of temptations;
inasmuch as one can know what sort of man

54

someone is, according as he follows or resists
the desires of the flesh, and according as he
despises worldly advantages and adversity: of
which thin s the devil also makes use in
tempting.7
The personification of the world as an active agent of
illusion is continued by Death, who says:

Ca quien en el mundo sus amores meta,
El mesmo 1e fase venir a todo esto. (382:2)

The fact that the archdeacon knows that he has been
deceived by the world indicates that the experience of
death must have brought him to a state of a posteriori

desengano whereby, looking back over his life, he can see

 

how wrong he was. This idea is also supported by his last
line: "Agora lo siento que fasta aqui non" (382:2). Like
the pope, the patriarch, and the archbishop, the archdea—
con realizes the error of his ways and repents, although
it may be too late, since Death tells him that his fate
in the afterlife will depend on how well he performed his
office, which is the care of souls. It is here that the
emphasis on charity can be seen, for if the archdeacon's
worldliness led him to be so solicitous about temporal
matters that he came to neglect his duties, as Death implies,
this would necessarily involve a sin against charity indir-
ectly and against justice directly, for it would represent
a failure to render to his parishioners their due.

The canon is an exponent of the philOSOphy of
hedonism. His life is so totally rooted in false princi-

ples that, far from repenting, he does not even appear to

55

realize that he has no choice but to go with Death; he ends
his speech by saying to Death: "Vaya quien quisiere a tu
bocacion" (382:2). The canon is living a life of ease and
comfort. He received his canonry as a gift from a certain
prelate and up until this very day it has provided him

very well. When Death tells him to turn back to God and

do penance, the emphasis on charity becomes clear,
especially if it is remembered that charity is the theolo-
gical virtue which does most to attain God. The canon has
apparently done nothing to attain Him, and his sin seems

to be that of sloth, for he is indisposed to give up his
physical pleasures in order to perform any acts of spiritual
value. As he says: "En folgura biuo non he turbagion"
(382:2). The canon's situation is therefore similar to
that of the abbot since his sloth makes him resist the
performance of acts of penance. This also involves an
uncharitable neglect of duty since acts of penance are
required by the religious state.

The priest's case is almost identical to that of
the canon. His major sins are sloth, gluttony, drunken-
ness, and neglect of duty, for which he is criticized by
Death and warned of his impending punishment: ". . .
muchas animas touistes en gremio, / segunt las registes
. abredes e1 premio" (383:1). His neglect of duty stems
from folly, or dullness of judgment, which in turn stems
from the habit of plunging his senses into earthly things.

This type of folly, resulting from worldliness rather than

56

from natural disposition, is definitely a sin and is
opposed to the gift of wisdom, which corresponds to
charity. His neglect of duty is also a serious sin against
justice directly and charity indirectly.

It is not possible to know with certainty whether
or not the monk is personally guilty of neglect of duty.

Nevertheless, the a priori desengano in this incident

 

emphasizes the virtue of fulfilling one's obligations. The
monk is the only person in the poem who is gladdened by
Death's arrival and his attitude seems rather presumptious.
(His lack of even moderate fear in the face of death will
be discussed subsequently.) Seen in this light Death's
reply to the monk may be taken as a kind of rebuke or
warning against presumption, for he reminds him that his
salvation depends on whether or not he has adhered to the
regulations and obligations contained in the rule of his
monastic order:

Pero sy fesistes lo que faser veo

A otros que andan fuera de la regla,

Bida vos darén que sea mas negra. . . . (383:2)
It must be understood that Death is here referring to
transgressions of a serious nature, for, as Aquinas indi-
cates, every transgression of the obligations contained
in the rule is not a mortal sin.73 Any transgression of
the vows of poverty, continence, and obedience, however,
will involve mortal sin, as will those which imply contempt

74 '

for the rule. Such transgressions constitute unjust

(and therefore uncharitable) neglect of duty.

57

The mendicant friar's neglect of duty consists in
having broken the vow of poverty: "Maguer mendigante
biuo bigioso" (383:2). As we have just seen, this is one
of the ways in which the transgression of the rule may be
a mortal sin, and all mortal sins are by definition con-

trary to charity. Thus the a priori desengano in this

 

incident involves an emphasis on that virtue, even though
the friar himself does not experience a posteriori
desengano and come to a realization that he has been living
in sin. (His other vices, vainglory and duplicity, will be
analyzed subsequently.)

Sins against justice in the Danca general occa-

 

sionally take the form of duplicity and fraud. Such is the
case in one of the most humorous incidents in the poem,
that of the lawyer. He knows he is dying when he dis-
covers that he cannot speak, surely the worst thing that
could happen to one who practices law. The object of the
lawyer's solicitude is not really wealth, but rather his
acquired knowledge:
Que fue ora mesquino de quanto aprendy,

De mi saber todo e mi libelar?

Cuando estar pensé, entonce cay

Qego-me la muerte, non puedo estudiar. (382:2)
StudiousneSs is considered by Aquinas to be a virtue that
is part of temperance;75 but it may also be a vice if the
intention of the individual is to study something in order
to use his knowledge to engage in sinful activity, in
which case studiousness is more properly called

“curiosity."76

58

But the lawyer is in fact guilty of duplicity in his
professional conduct, since he accepted fees from both
sides. Death says to him:

Don falso abogado preualicador
Que de amas las partes leuastes salario. . . . (382:2)

This is such an extreme sin against justice that Aquinas
does not even mention it in his treatment of unjust
advocacy,77 possibly because he assumed that the injustice
of such an action would be self-evident to all concerned.
He does say, however, that the extortion of an immoderate
fee is a sin against justice,78 so the extortion of an
immoderate fee by means which are themselves sinful (i.e.
lying and cheating) must be an even greater sin against
justice and against charity as well, since such an action
does not suggest the loveinfour neighbor that is appro-
priate to charity. The lawyer is therefore justifiably
afraid of the afterlife. He says:

Resgelo he grande de yr al lugar
Do non me valdra libelo nin fuero. . . . (382:2)

Although the lawyer himself does not appear to become
desengafiado in this incident, a priori desengano is present
in the form of a didactic purpose that condemns unjust
advocacy as a sinagainst justice and charity.

The usurer's injustice also takes the form of
duplicity and fraud. He is another example of'a person who
has lived a life based so totally on wrong principles that
even the experience of death is insufficient to bring him

to a state of desengano; he does not repent, nor does he

59

appear to realize that his death is now inevitable. In
fact he even seems to glory in his evilness, since he
delights in contrasting himself with the venerable Bede:
"Otras obras fago que non fiso Beda" (383:2). Death's
dance is totally unattractive to him since he can double
his money every year. In the Middle Ages all usury was
considered sinful even though it was occasionally permitted

79

by civil law. More specifically pertinent to civil prac-

tice in medieval Spain is the opinion of Alfonso e1 Sabio,
who does not regard usurious agreements to be legally
binding. This is indicated by the following passage from
Las siete partidas:

Veynte marauedis, o otra quantia cierta, dando
un ome a otro, recebiendo promission del, quel
de treynta marauedis, o quarenta por ellos:
tal promission non vale, nin es tenudo de la
cumplir, el que la faze, si non de los veynte
marauedis, que rescibio: esto es, porque es
manera de vsura. Mas si diesse vn ome a otro
veynte marauedis: e rescibiesse promission

del que le diesse diez e ocho marauedis, o
quanto quiera menos, de aquellos, que recibiesse,
tal promission, dezimos, que vale, porque non
ha en ella engafio de xsura: pues que rescibe
menos de lo que dio.8

Aquinas explains why usury is sinful: "To take usury for
money lent is unjust in itself, because this is to sell
what does not exist, and this evidently leads to inequality

81 What Aquinas means when

which is contrary to justice."
he says that to take usury for money lent is to sell some-
thing that does not exist is that there are certain types

of goods, such as wine, the use of which inherently

involves their consumption. In things like these the use

60

of the thing cannot be considered apart from the thing
itself, so that to sell wine separately from the use of
it would be to sell the same thing twice, or to sell what
does not exist, and therefore to commit a sin of injus-
tice. But since the proper and principal use of money is
its consumption, it is therefore unjust to accept interest
for money lent.82
One of the friar's sins, vainglory, will be analy-
zed in greater detail below. It isluseful to refer to it
here, however, since it has a direct bearing on his sin
of duplicity and fraud. Even though all vainglory is not

a mortal sin,83

in the friar's case it is, since his desire
for glory has become his last end, toward which he directs
all his acts, and this desire for glory is so great that

84 This

to obtain it he will even do what is against God.
is indicated by Death's condemnation:

Maestro famoso, sotil e capas,
Que en todas las artes fuestes sabidor. . . . (383:2)

The word "arte" has a pejorative connotation here, just

as it had in Death's reply to the farmer: "Sy vuestro
trabajo fue syempre syn arte" (383:1). Thus "arte"
connotes deception, which is really lying. Since the
friar was a preacher, the suggestion is that his deception
took place in his sermons, which means that he was lying
about divine things, and Aquinas considers this a mortal
sin since ". . . it is contrary to the charity of God,

whose truth one hides or corrupts by such a lie. . . ."85

61

Since it was the friar's excessive desire for fame and
glory that led him to commit this sin, it follows that his
vainglory was also a mortal sin and therefore contrary to
charity.

The sin of the king's doorkeeper seems to be one
of fraud, which Aquinas defines as f. . . the execution
of craftiness by deeds,"86 and Death confirms this when he
says "Las vuestras baratas yo bien las entiendo" (384:1).
To accept a bribe for performing an unlawful act is clearly
to commit an injustice, and in this case the situation is
aggravated since it is an injustice committed against
royalty, and the sin is therefore more‘serious.87

We have already seen that the accountant's covet-
ousness is a mortal sin since it led him to the commission
of unjust and therefore uncharitable acts. His injustice
is a type of fraud, for he unlawfully excused certain
parties from the payment of their legitimate debts. Death
says to him:

Contador amigo ssy bien bos catades

Como por fauor e a veses por don

Librastes las cuentas, razon es que ayades
Dolor e quebranto por tal occasyon. (384:1)

3. Vainglory

 

One of the most frequenlty committed sins in all
of the Dances of Death is that of vainglory. Some types of
vainglory are only venial sins, whereas others are mortal

sins by virtue of their being contrary to charity.88

62

Aquinas explains the circumstances under which vainglory
may be a mortal sin:

Now the sin of vainglory, considered in itself,
does not seem to be contrary to charity as
regards the love of one's neighbor: yet as
regards the love of God it may be contrary to
charity in two ways. In one way, by reason of
the matter about which one glories: for
instance when one glories in something false
that is opposed to the reverence we owe God,
according to Ezech. xxviii. 2, Thy heart is
lifted up, and Thou hast said: I am God, and I Cor.
(i?) 7, What hast thou that thou hast not
received? Andvif thou hast received, why does
thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?

Or again when a man prefers to God the temporal
good in which he glories: for this is forbidden
(Jerem. (ix). 23, 24): Let not the wise man
glory in his wisdom, and let not the strong man
glory in his strength, andilet not the rich man
glory in his riChes. But let him that_glofieth

glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth
MeTBV

 

 

 

The first victims Death calls (although they do
not lead the dance) are two young maidens who came "de muy
mala mente" (380:1) to hear Death's sad song. Possibly
the poet began with the young maidens for the purpose of
establishing the macabre tone 0f the poem, and surely the
image of young, female flesh in a state of putrefaction
would evoke such a tone. This macabre spirit is charac-
teristic of many (though not all) Dances of Death and
Johan Huizinga believes that "at the close of the Middle
Ages the whole vision of death may be summed up in the

. . . 90
word macabre, in its modern meaning."

The fragility of
human life had already been alluded to by the poet in the
second stanza, butrunv he decided to go a step further,

for, as Huizinga explains:

63

. . . the wistfulness of remembrance and the

thought of frailty in itself do not satisfy

the need of expressing, with violence, the

shudder caused by death. The medieval soul

demands a more concrete embodiment of the

perishable: that of the putrefying corpse.91
To express this image in as violent and shocking a manner
as possible the anonymous poet avails himself of the two
young maidens:

E por los palacios daré por medida

Sepulcros escuros de dentro fedientes,

E por los manjares gusanos rroyentes

Que coman de dentro su carne podrida. (380:1)
Perhaps a bit of medieval misogyny can be glimpsed in this
passage,92 for although the error of the two maidens is
not stated explicitly, it is implied in the allusion to
the characteristically feminine practice of using cosme-
tics, thus suggesting that their sin was that of vainglory,
of attaching too much importance to physical beauty, to

the detriment of their spiritual well-being:

Mas non les baldran flores e rosas
Nin las conposturas que poner solian. . . . (380:1)

Thus their desengano emphasizes the virtue of charity since
vainglory is opposed to that virtue whenever the temporal
good in which one glories is preferred to God, as Aquinas
indicates. But the maidens' resistance to Death ("De mi

sy pudiesen partir-se querrian" [380:lJ) suggests that
their preoccupation with physical beauty has in fact become
their ultimate concern, to borrow Paul Tillich's famous
phrase, and is preferred to God, who should properly be

the primary object of their solicitude.

64

Vainglory is also one of the sins of the constable,
a victim apparently used by the author to introduce addi-
tional humor into the poem. His vices and errors are
not stated explicitly, but an examination shows that they
consist of two things: inordinate fear of death and vain-
glory. The first is the less serious sin and will be dis-
cussed subsequently. Death implies that the constable was
attempting to flee in order to preserve his physical

"fermosura,' (381:2) and this brings us to a consideration
of his second and more serious sin: vainglory. Aquinas
explains that glory may be vain in three ways, and it is
basically the first of these which applies to the constable,
since he takes pride in his physical beauty: ". . . when

a man seeks glory for that which is unworthy of glory, for
instance when he seeks it for something frail and perish-
able. . . ."93 Also, the two conditions outlined by
Aquinas under which vainglory may be a mortal sin are

both applicable to the constable, for he glories in some-
thing which is false by virtue of its being perishable,

and this vainglory must of necessity be an obstacle between
him and God. He also appears to prefer the false good of
physical beauty to God since it is the sole motive for his
attempting to flee from Death; he does not repent nor does
he ask the Virgin or Christ for help. His vainglory is

therefore a mortal sin contrary to charity and even though

he himself does not experience a posteriori desengano, the

 

65

didactic purpose (a priori deSengafio) nevertheless involves

 

an implicit emphasis 0n charity.
The mendicant friar is also guilty of the sin of
vainglory:

Dancar non conviene a maestro famoso
Segunt que yo so en la religyon

E muchos desean oyr mi sermon. (383:2)
The friar's vainglory is opposed to the virtue of magna-
nimity, since

. . . it is incompatible with magnanimity

for a man to glory in the testimony of human

praise, as though he deemed this something

great. . . . And so, when a man looks upon

little things as though they were great,

nothing hinders this from being contrary to

magnanimity as well as to other virtues.94
Even though all vainglory is not a mortal sin, in the
friar's case it is, because his desire for glory became
his last end, toward which he directed all his acts, and
this desire for glory was so great that to obtain it he

acted against God by resorting to the use of deception in

his sermons, as we have seen.

4. Fear

Four characters in the Danga general have vices

 

which are related to fear. This is a complex issue, since
certain types of fear are appropriate and virtuous, while
others are inappropriate and sinful. The individual char-
acters must be judged on a case by case basis.

As the duke speaks his eight lines, it becomes

apparent that he is afraid, and his fear has twoaspects:

66

the loss of worldly pleasures and eternal punishment. He

says to Death:

Sy non te detienes miedo he que luego

Me prendas 0 me mates: abré de dexar

Todos mis deleytes, ca non puedo estar

Que mi alma escape de aquel duro fuego. (381:1)
This fear requires a brief commentary because in the duke's
case the emphasis on charity can be seen through an analysis
of the specific type of fear that he feels. Aquinas
divides fear into filial, initial, servile and worldly
fear.95 The duke's fear can accurately be described as
servile since it involves fear of punishment and the loss
of the "deleytes" to which the punishment is contrary.
Even though, as Aquinas explains, “. . . servile fear as
such is contrary to charity,"96 some types of servile fear

are consistent with charity while others are not. From

Aquinas' analysis it can be seen that the duke's case is

an example of servile fear without charity, since the duke
appears to love his "deleytes" above all else and therefore
fears as the greatest evil the punishment contrary to those
"deleytes." Aquinas explains the distinction between

types of servile fear:

Now the object of servile fear is punishment,
and it is by accident that, either the good
to which the punishment is contrary, is loved
as the last end, and that consequently the
punishment is feared as the greatest evil,
which is the case with one who is devoid of
charity, or that the punishment is directed
to God as its end, and that, consequently,

it is not feared as the greatest evil which
is the case with one who has charity.6

The duke's lines indicate that he is "one who is devoid

of charity," since his primary concern is the possession

67

and enjoyment of his worldly goods. Thus his self-deceit

stems from a lack of charity, and the corresponding desengano

 

which the author wishes to elicit in the readers involves
an emphasis on that theological virtue.

Two victims, the constable and the deacon, are
accused of inordinate fear of death; with the former it is
a mortal sin, whereas with the latter it is merely venial.
This fear of death deserves a short analysis, since it
appears that it is natural and inevitable in man. Aquinas
explains that fear is only sinful when it runs counter to
the rule of reason,98 and he goes on to state that

if through fear a man were to avoid evils which
according to reason are less to be avoided, and
so inCur evils which according to reason are
more to be avoided, he could not be wholly
excused from sin, because such like fear would
be inordinate. Now the evils of the soul are
more to be feared than the evils of the body;
and evils of the body more than evils of
external things. Wherefore if one were to
incur evils of the soul, namely sins, in order
to avoid evils of the body, such as blows or

death, . . . one would not be wholly excused
from sin.99

Yet this inordinate fear pertains to the constable since
Death implies that he was attempting to flee in order to
preserve his physical "fermosura," (381:2) which is related
to his more serious sin, vainglory. Since he prefers the
good of his physical beauty to God, the proper object of
charity, his fear of death is a mortal sin.

The deacon's fear of death is not so serious a sin
as that of the constable, however. The deacon alludes to

Death's function as a didactic agent when he says:

68

Non vy en Salamanca maestro nin doctor
Que tal gesto tenga nin tal parescer. (384:2)

Desengafio does not appear to play a vital role in this
encounter, since the deacon's only fault was trying to
avoid Death. Death says to him:

. . . bien sabedes que es mi doctrina

Matar a todos por justa rrason,

E vos esquiuades oyr mi bosina. (384:2)
The deacon's sin is therefore one of inordinate fear of
death, which is a sin contrary to fortitude,loo but there
is no specific internal evidence in the poem to suggest
whether this fear is a venial or mortal sin, for it could
conceivably be either.101 As a result, it cannot be said
that the a priori desengano in this incident involves a
specific emphasis on charity, since it is not known if the
deacon's fear led him to do anything which is forbidden.
The most that Can be said is that the didactic purpose
here involves an emphasis on the fact that death is
inevitable and that people should make an effort to prepare
themselves for it.

The monk, as we have already seen, was criticized
by Death for being somewhat presumptious, for, in contrast
with the constable and the deacon, he apparently does not
fear death enough. He is the only one in thepoem who is
gladdened by Death's arrival. He is aware that death is
only a passage from this life to the next and, unlike the

others, he feels that he has tried to live his life in

such a way as to be prepared for that passage. In the

69

stanza allotted to him the monk makes use of the metaphor
of the "dark prison": "De carcel escura vengo a claridad"
(383:2). The world is like a dark prison in which the
soul is trapped for a period of time. But if the soul
achieves salvation in exchange for "poco trabajo," (383:2)
it passes from darkness to "claridad," the light of clear
day. The use of the word "claridad" seems to be a thinly
disguised allusion to the beatific vision, which is commonly
described with metaphors of light. For example, Karl
Rahner and Herbert Vorgrimler say:

That final grace which disposes the mind to

receive the formal causality of God's being,

theologians call the lumen gloriae, the light

of glory: that created grace which is absol-

utely necessary for the beatific vision and

the seed of which is already present in man

by grace, and Can grow because created grace
is capable of growth.102

 

Thus the monk appears to be reasonably sure of salvation

and consequently regards death as something good rather

than evil. Aquinas might possibly have found this attitude
unique, for in his view ". . . the most fearful of all
bodily evils is death. . . ."103 The monk's attitude toward

death, however, finds corroboration later on in another book

written by a Spaniard, Alejo Venegas, called Agonia del

 

transito de la muerte. In this book Venegas says:
. . . la muerte no se deve poner entre
105 males, porque la muerte de los que
mueren en gracia no es otra cosa sino
una salida de carcel. . . .104
While Aquinas would probably not contradict the basic sense

of this idea, it seems equally true that he would not attach

 

 

1

 

70

so little importance to temporal life, the shortening of

which by death ". . . is an evil and consequently an object

of fear."105 Also, there is an aspect under which even

the just should fear death as something more than a
temporal evil. Karl Rahner explains:

Man is, rightly, afraid of death. Actually, he
should not die, for he still possesses within
himself, if not the reality, then the due
demand, at least, for that vitality of divine
life, which if it could assert itself, pure and
unveiled, in this earthly life would completely
eliminate death. That man dies, and does not
simply consummate his life, is a consequence

of the sin which lies at the beginning of human
history, and of all the sins through which
every man makes his own the sin of his first
parents. . . . Death as suffering and destruc-
tion coming from without, like a thief in the
night (which it will always be) is, obviously,
subject to the free disposing will of God. It
will always, therefore, include the character
of a divine judgement among its notes. . , ,
The most prominent characteristic of death is
that in it sin is revealed.106

Aquinas would be substantially in agreement with this
judgment, for he states that man is not naturally corrup-
tible, at least as regards the nature of his form if not
of his matter.107 He further states that through original
sin original justice was forfeited, and ". . . the with-
drawal of original justice has the character of punishment
. . . . Consequently death and all consequent bodily

defects are punishments of originalsin."108

It is in this
light that Death's reply to the monk may be taken as a kind
of warning against presumption, for he reminds him that

his salvation is by no means assured. Presumption is con-

trary to charity to the extent that through it a man

 
 
 
 

5. ~.. ..- e

71

neglects to perform those acts which are necessary to effect

his salvation.

5. Unbelief

 

The rabbi is the only victim who is criticized for
unbelief. His own comments do nothing to illustrate or
clarify this point, and so it is to Death's accusation that
we must turn in order to find out why the rabbi is condemned:

Don rrabi barbudo que syempre estudiastes

En el Talmud e en los sus doctores,

E de la berdad jamas non curastes,

For 10 qual abredes penas e dolores. (385:1)
The rabbi is criticized for having resisted the truth,
which is the same as resisting God, since God is truth.109
This element of resistance is contained in the idea of
unbelief, which, as Aquinas indicates, ". . . includes
both ignorance, as an accessory thereto, and resistance to
matters of faith, and in the latter respect it is a most

110 In the next article Aquinas categorically

states that unbelief is a mortal sin,111 so we may conclude

grave sin."

that unbelief is contrary to charity, since Aquinas also
proves that all mortal sins are contrary to charity inso-
far as they turn man away from his final end.112 In order
to avoid confusion, however, it must be remembered that
unbelief is not opposed to charity directly, but rather to
faith. At this point it is necessary to make mention of
the distinction that Aquinas makes between the order of

generation and the order of perfection in his explanation

of the relationship among the theological virtues. In the

72

order of generation, faith precedes hope and charity, just
as matter precedes form, because the appetite cannot tend
toward anything by hoping in it or by loving it unless

the thing itself is intellectually apprehended beforehand,
and it is through faith that the intelleCt apprehends God,
who is the object of hope and charity. But in the order
of perfection charity is the principal virtue since ". .
both faith and hope . . . receive from charity their full'
complement as virtues."113 Without charity, faith and
hope are not even virtues at all, at least not in the

114 Therefore, unbelief is con-

proper sense of the word.
trary to faith directly, but its most serious consequence
is not to make faith impossible but to make charity impos-

sible, for charity is the theological virtue that does

most to attain God. The a priori desengano in this

 

incident therefore involves an indirect emphasis on charity.
The episode with the hermit is the only instance
in the poem in which the emphasis on charity does not
occur through negative example. Although the monk and
the hermit are usually grouped together in discussions of
the Dance general as the only two virtuous people claimed
by Death, there are important differences between them.
The moral position of the hermit seems to be more praise-
worthy than that of the monk, who, it will be recalled,
may have been guilty of a certain overconfidence. In the
section dealing with the monk, Karl Rahner was quoted to

show that, from a Christian standpoint, even just men

73

should fear death. The hermit is an example of such a man.
He says to Death:

La muerte recelo maguer que so biejo
Sennor Jesuchristo a ty me encomiendo

Pues yo te serui la tu gloria atiendo. (384:1)
There is none of the overconfidence here that was evident
in the case of the monk. The sense of the word "atiendo"

115 which means that, although he has

is "I hope for,"
faith in God and trusts in Him, he realizes that he is a
sinner and that his salvation is not assured. The emphasis
on charity is contained in the words "yo te serui," for
charity is the theological virtue which does most to attain
God by loving both Him and our neighbor and by acting in
such a way as to actualize that love. _Death approves the
attitude of the hermit in a manner that is not duplicated

elsewhere in the poem:

Fases grand cordura llamar-te ha e1 Sennor
Que con diligengia pugnastes seruir. . . . (384:1)

All of the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity
therefore find their highest expression in the hermit, and
charity is the principal of these by order of perfection.

After Death calls his last victim, there are two
more stanzas in which he addresses the peOple he has not
called and they respond. In these closing stanzas, just
as in the Opening ones, the moral purpose of the poem is
succinctly summarized, as Lasso de la Vega has pointed

116

out. Death reiterates that he will inevitably come to

all people and that he will tolerate no excuses. In

74

addition, he states more explicitly than at the beginning
that those who do good will be saved and that the others
will be damned. The answer to Death's threat is provided
by the response of those who have yet to die:
Pues que asy es que a morir abemos

De necesidad syn otro remedio,

Con pura conciencia todos trabajemos

En servir a Dios syn otro comedio. (385:2)
Here we find the emphasis on charity restated in direct
terms. Since charity is the virtue which ". . . directs
the acts of all the virtues to the Divine good,"117 it
follows that to serve God is nothing more than to act in

a charitable manner.

The analysis of the Danga general de la Muerte,

 

far and away the most important of Spanish medieval Dances
of Death, shows how pervasive is the emphasis on charity.

In fact, in every episode in this poem desengano contains

 

a demonstrable emphasis on charity, with only one exception,
that of the deacon. But even here it is not a case of
another virtue being emphasized in preference to charity,
but rather of a certain ambiguity regarding the gravity

of the deacon's sin, which is inordinate fear of death.

This sin is directly opposed to fortitude and may be indir-
ectly opposed to charity if it is serious enough to be
considered a mortal sin. 80 even here we have an emphasis
on charity in potency if not in act, to use Aquinas' terms.
In the case of the rabbi we see the beginnings of the

emphasis on faith and doctrine which will become more

75

widespread in the Renaissance and the Golden Age. Here
too, though, an emphasis on charity is implied, which is
why we must be careful to say not that succeeding his-
torical periods emphasize faith and doctrine to the
exclusion of charity, but rather in addition to it. This

stress on charity in the Danga general is probably not

 

due to a conscious effort on the part of the author to
emphasize that virtue to the exclusion of others, but
rather to the fact that in medieval theology charity is
considered the central virtue in so far as it is the form
of them all.118 We will see in Chapters II and III of this
study how this emphasis on charity continues in the Dances
of Death of the Renaissance and the Golden Age, but with

the important addition of an ancillary emphasis on faith

and doctrine.

FOOTNOTES--CHAPTER I, Part 1

1José Maria Sola-Solé, "En torno a la Danca general
de la Muerte," Hispanic Review 36 (1968): 303-327.

2

 

Ibid., p. 305.

3James M. Clark, The Dance of Death in the Middle

Ages and the Renaissance (Glasgow: Jackson, Son, and Co.,
1950), p. 42.

Pierre Le Gentil, Laypoésie lyrique espagnole et
Egrtugaise a la fin du moyen Sge,v2 vols. (Rennes:
Philon, 1949), l: 387- 8.

SO. Ursprung, "Spanish-katalanische Liedkunst des
14. Jh," Zeitschrift fur Musikwissenschaft 4 (1921-22):
136-60.

6Florence Whyte, The Dance of Death in Spain and
Catalonia (Baltimore: Waverly Press, 1931), esp. Part I.

7

 

 

Sola-Solé, "En torno," p. 313.

8Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo, Antologia de poetas
liricos castellanos desde la formacién del idioma hasta
nuestros dias, l4 vols. (Madrid: Libreria de la Viuda de
Hernando y Compafiia, 1892), 3:cxxxviii.

 

 

9Sola-Solé, "En torno," p. 314.

10Dangageneral de la Muerte, in Biblioteca de
autores espafioles: poetas castellanos anteriores a1,
si Io XV, ed. by Tomas Antonio Sanchez (Madrid: Ediciones
Atlas, I952), 57:379. (N.B. Since this study will contain
many quotations from the Danga general, it seems useless
to footnote each one, especially since citations are taken
from the same edition. Subsequent references will there-
fore be identified in the text by the page and column
number in parentheses immediately after the quotation
(e.g. 379:1). In subsequent chapters the source itself
will be identified wherever necessary by the shortened
title form Danga general followed by page and column
numbers.

 

 

76

77

llAquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.l9, Art.4.

lzIbid., Art.6.

l3Sola-Solé has noted that the figure of Death in
the Danga general is an abstract personified entity through-
out the poem. This is different from the Danse macabre of
the cemetery of the Holy Innocents in Paris and other poems
based on it in which it is not Death who speaks but rather
a dead person. This is a fact which has been noted by
other scholars, but the concept of Death as an idea evoked
by dead bodies has been taken as proof of antiquity (e.g.
W. Fehse, "Das Totentanzproblem," ZeitschriftAfur deutsche
Philologie 42 (1910): 276, quoted by Whyte, Dance of Death,
p. 50). Sola-Solé contradicts this judgement and dedlares
that the exact reverse is true: "Esta personificacién de
la muerte, mas que resultado de una abstraccién ulterior,
es decir, "un muerto" > "la muerte," la considerariamos
nosotros como una forma mas primitiva y originaria" ("En
torno," p. 325). At this point some explanation is also
required regarding the gender of Death. The poem is
ambiguous here, for Death is masculine at the beginning but
changes gender in the episode with the abbot. Neverthe-
less, for the sake of convenience and uniformity I have
chosen to refer to Death as masculine throughout the first
chapter of this study. In subsequent chapters Death will
be referred to as feminine only when it is consistently
feminine throughout a particular work (e.g. in Horozco's
Coplas de la Muerte, del auctor).

l4

 

 

 

 

 

Gen. 3: 6-7.

15Florence Whyte notes that this concept of Death
as the Fowler is a Biblical conception which addes to the
personification (Dance of Death, p. 50).

 

16Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.46, Art.1.

l7Ibid., Art. 2.

18£Qid., Q.45, Art.4, Reply Obj.3.

lgIbid., 0.55, Art.6.

201bid., 0.117, Art.5.

 

211bid., 0.118, Art.3.

zzlbid.

23Ibid., Q.25, Art.1.

24Ibid., 0.58, Art.l, Reply Obj.6.

78
ZSIbid., Q.118, Art.4.

26Ibid.

27Ibid.

28Julio Cejador y Frauca, Vocabulario medieval
castellano (Madrid: Libreria y Casa Editorial Hernando,

 

 

 

 

1929), s.v. despender: ". . . de dispendere, erudito,
ant. por gastar y malbaratar."
29

Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.118, Art.8.

3OIbid-p Pt. I-II' 0.2, Art.5.

31gpig., Pt. II—II, 0.55, Art.6, Reply Obj.3.

3ZIbid., Q.118, Art.4.

33Ibid., 0.131, Art.1.

34Ibid., Q.185, Art.1.

BSIbid.

361bid.

37Ibid., 0.23, Art.6.

381bid., Q.46, Art.1.

39The interpretation of these two lines is that of
Haydée Bermejo Hurtado and Dinko Cvitanovic, eds., Danza
general de la Muerte (Bahia Blanca: Universidad NaCional
del Sur, 19665, p. 37.

40

 

4lIbid., Q.l48, Art.2, Reply Obj.2,

421bid., 0.150, Art.1.

43Ibid., 9.19, Art.4.

44Ibid., Art.6.

4SIbid., Art.2.

46Ibid., 0.153, Art.l, Reply Obj.1.

47£bid., 0-154, Art.2, Reply Obj.4.

Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.131, Art.l, Reply Obj.1.

79

8 . I . ~
, Cejador, Vocabulario, s.v. "picana": ". . .
picardia, de picano, picaro."

49

 

Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.15, Art.3.

50Sola-Sole’ defines an alfaqui by quoting the
following passage from the Primera Cronica general (ed. by
Menéndez Pidal), II (1955), 5805: "Et metiOse en casa de
un alfaqui-que quiere dezir 'clerigo'-—que era omne
onrrado" in his article "El rabi y el alfaqui en la
Danga general de la Muerte," Romance Philology 18 (1964):
277, n.36}

51Ibid., p. 278.

 

 

52Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.ll7, Art.5.
53Ibid., Q.66, Art.6.

54Ibid.

55

Ibid., Art.9.

 

561bid., Q.118, Art.1.

57Diccionario de la len ua es afiola (pub. by the
Real Academia Espafiola), s.v. u lClO.

58

Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.42, Art.1.

59Ibid., Q.29, Art.3, Reply Obj.3.

60Ibid., 0.40, Art.1.

61Ibid., 0.30, Art.3, Obj.3.

6ZIbid., Q.43, Art.1.

63Ibid., Q.58, Art.6.

64Ibid., Q.43, Art.3.

651bid., Q.185, Art.5.

661bid., 0.35, Art.1.

67Ibid., Art.3.

68;§id.. Q.186, Art.l, Reply Obj.4.

691bid., Art.2.

80
70 . .
Ibid., Reply Obj.1.

711bid., Q.186, Art.9.

721bid., Pt. I, 0.114, Art.2.

731bid., Pt. II-II, Q.186, Art.9.

74Ibid.

7SIbid., Q.166, Art.2.

76Ibid., Q.l67, Art.1.

77 .
Ibid., Q.7l.

78Ibid., Art.4.

793p3g . Q.78, Art.1, Reply Obj.3.

80Alfonso el Sabio, Las siete partidas, 4 vols.
(Madrid: Casa de Juan Hafrey, 1611), 3:69.

81Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.78, Art.1.
8212ig-

83;g£g., Q.l32, Art.3.

84£££§.

85

Ibid., Q.llO, Art.4.

86Ibid.,'Q.55,yArt.5.

87Ibid., Part I-II, 0.73, Art.9.
88l§i§., Part II-II, Q.l32, Art.3.
891bid.

9o

Johan Huizinga, The Waning of the Middle Ages,
trans. F. Hopman (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and
Co., Doubleday Anchor Books, 1954), p. 144.

91

 

Ibid., p. 140.

92Actually, neither the importance nor the extension
of misogyny in medieval Spanish literature should be
exaggerated. For a good analysis of the feminist debate
see Jacob Ornstein, ”La misoginia y el profeminismo en la
literature castellana," Revista de filologia hispénica
(Argentina) 3 (1941): 219-232.

81

93Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.l32, Art.1.

94Ibid., Art.2, Reply Obj.1.

951bid., Q.l9, Art.2.

96Ibid., Art.4.

97Ibid.

98Ibid., 0.125, Art.4.

gglbid.

1001bid., Art.3.

lOIIbid.

102Karl Rahner and Herbert Vorgrimler, Theological
Dictionary, trans. Richard Strachan (New York: Herder and
Herder, 1965), p. 51.

103

 

 

Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q. 123, Art.4.

104Quoted by Marcel Bataillon in Erasmo y Espafia,
trans. Antonio Alatorre (Mexico and Buenos Aires: Fondo
de Cultura Econémica, 1966), p. 567, n. 24.

105

 

Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.125, Art.4, Reply
Obj.2.

106Karl Rahner, On the Theology of Death, trans.
Charles H. Henkey (New York: Herder and Herder, 1961),
pp. 61-62.

107Aquinas Summa Pt. I-II, Q.85, Art.6.

 

108Ibid., Art.5.

logIbid., Pt. I, 0.16, Art.5.

lloIbid., Pt. II-II, Q.10, Art.3, Reply Obj-2-

lllIbid., Art.4.

llzIbid., Pt. I-II, 0.72, Art.5.

113Ibid., Q.62, Art.4.

114Ibid., Q.65, Art.4.

82

115Cejador, Vocabulario, s.v. "atender": . . .
esperar, de attendere.

116Angel Lasso de la Vega y Arguelles, La danza de
la Muerte en lajpoesia castellana (Madrid: Casa Editorial
de Medina, 1878), P. 31.

117Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.58, Art.6.

 

 

 

llerid., Q.23, Art.8.

Part 2:

Coplas de la Muerte; Otras coplas ala Muerte;

 

Razonzmiento que faze Johan de Mena con

 

la Muerte

 

These three poems are examples of the tradition of
the Dance of Death as it continued in Spain during the
fifteenth century.1 They are all very brief and of

noticeably less literary value than the Danga general de

 

1a Muerte, so none will require so extensive a commentary

 

as that poem.

Coplas de la Muerte

 

Death arrives at the home of a rich gentleman and
informs the doorkeeper that he is a messenger sent from
God2 and that he must take the master of the house with
him. The first error in the poem is that of the doorkeeper
who doesn't realize that Death's call is an imperative:

Senor tiene combidados

no vos puede responder

tales son los hospedados 3

no se puede mas hazer. . . . (lines 9-12)
Death disillusions the doorkeeper by reiterating his
command more forcefully and also be explicitly identifying

himself: . . . yo soy la triste muerte" (line 19). Death

83

84

emphasizes his function as a didactic agent when in the
same stanza he refers to the necessity for contrition and
repentance:

. . . que ordene bien su alma

y que mas no se detenga

porque 1a trayga bien calma

de pecados quando venga. (lines 21-24)

This is an example of a priori desengano (or didactic pur-

 

pose) which emphasizes charity, for, as Aquinas says:

". . . the sorrow of contrition results from the love of
. "4

charity.

When the master is finally informed of Death's
presence, he gives us an idea of his own sin, which is
vainglory, a willingness to trust riches and high estate:

Quien es esse que me llama
vaya se en hora buena
hombre soy rico y de fama. . . . (lines 41-43)
This type of vainglory is contrary to charity, as Aquinas

shows, because it involves glorying . . . in something
false that is opposed to the reverence we owe God. . . .5
Since the master actually becomes undeceived in the course
of the poem and realizes that his haughtiness was out of

place and even sinful, this may be taken as an example of

a priori and a posteriori desengano which both emphasize

 

the virtue of charity. It is evident that desengano does

 

not come to the master at once, however, for two stanzas
later he tries to bribe Death, indicating that he still
places too much value on temporal things. Death has to

disillusion him emphatically on this point and in the

85

process he alludes to the essential justness of his dealings
with men:

Sabed que soy mandadero

del rey mayor de justicia

e que no tomo dinero. . . . (lines 73-75)
This involves a further emphasis on charity, for justice,
as was seen in Part 1, consists in rendering to each
one his due and is completely dependent on charity. The
master learns very slowly, however, for at this point he
invites Death to dine with him and tries again to bribe
him.

The master gradually realizes the gravity of his

situation and decides to take Death's advice when he tells
him to put his estate in order: ". . . delibrad vuestra

hazienda" (line 109). Several stanzas follow which are

not immediately relevant for a consideration of desengano,

 

until the master finally comes to say his prayer to God
in order to prepare himself to die. The very first three
lines of the prayer reveal that the master was not suffi-
ciently charitable, for he says:

Que nunca por tu amor

padre fiz lo que pudiera

delo qual tengo temor

porque nunca lo cumpliera. . . . (lines 193-196)
The emphasis on charity is contained here in the words
"por tu amor," since charity involves love of God.6 The
master has not performed the acts that he could have per-
formed out of charity, and for this he is rightly afraid.

It should be made clear, however, that his fear is not

servile fear, since the object of fear does not appear to

86

be punishment, but rather the fault itself, and this type
of fear Aquinas calls "filial."7 Since filial fear is

". . . the first effect of wisdom,"8 which corresponds to
charity, it is not opposed to charity as is servile fear.
On the contrary, Aquinas clearly states that the ". . .
beginning of filial fear [results] from a beginning of
charity. . . ."9 This is therefore didactic purpose based

on positive rather than negative example, and is another

case of a priori desengano emphasizing charity. The

 

master ends his prayer with a specific reference to his
sin:
yo hize vna fea cosa

en leuar a tantos bienes
que jamas desde pequeno

trabaje por mas subir

que jamas tome engafio

para poder bien viuir. (lines 219-224)
This covetousness is a mortal sin because it involves a love
of riches that is so inordinate as to be preferred to
charity and "bien viuir."10

The Coplas de la Muerte is a much shorter poem than

the Danca general de la Muerte and is also much more

limited in scope, since it concentrates on one victim

instead of on thirty-three. The concept of desengano in

 

the work is accordingly more limited also, but from the
above analysis it may be concluded that the "caida en la
cuenta" involves an emphasis on charity that is propor-

tionately as pervasive as it was in the Danga general de

la Muerte.

 

87

Razonamiento gue faze Johan de Mena con la
Muertell and Otras coplas ala Muerte
Before beginning our analysis it is necessary to

understand that we are not dealing here with two distinct
works, but rather with one common poem which belongs more
to tradition than to any given poet. The Tangiers Endechas
(v. note 1) quoted by Miss Whyte begin with the same lines:

Muerte, que a todos convida,

Dime qué son tus manjares:

Son tristuras y pesares. . . .12
This lends credence to the idea that this poem, or at
least fragments of it, was common literary property in

the fifteenth century. The only difference between the

Razonamiento and the Otras coplas are differences of

 

 

language and extension. The linguistic differences are
very slight, often involving no more than the substitution
of a definite article for a possessive adjective, for
example. The difference in extension is womewhat more
notable since the Razonamiento contains seven stanzas and

a four-line finida that are not found in the Otras coglas.

 

Thus our analysis of the former poem will implicitly
include an analysis of the latter, except when we are
dealing with those stanzas that are omitted in the Otras

coplas.

The first eight-line stanza of the Razonamiento

 

reveals a rather more terrifying concept of death than that
in the Coplas de la Muerte. The first two lines are spoken

by the narrator and the last six are Death's reply:

88

-Muerte que a todos conbidas,

dime que son tus manjares.

-Son tristezas e pesares,

llantos, bozes doloridas;

en posadas mal guarnidas

entran sordos, ciegos, mudos,

donde oluidan los sesudos

fueros, leyes, e partidas. (lines 1-8)

Death indicates that he takes all types of men, regardless
of their condition: "sabios, rudos, esforcados" (line 15).
In the next stanza Death refers to himself as a thief, an

idea which Death in the Danca general was careful to

 

refute:

-Los que son tus conbidados,

Muerte, dime lo que fazen.

-So la tierra dura yazen

para sienpre sepultados,

desnudos todos, robados,

caydos son en pobreza;

no 105 vale la riqueza,

ni tesoros mal ganados. (lines 17-24)
This apparently different concept of death is really not
different at all, but merely views death under another
aspect. Aquinas speaks of the two ways in which death may
be considered:

First, as an evil of human nature, and thus it

is not of God, but is a defect befalling man

through his fault. Secondly, as having an

aspect of good, namely as being a just punish-

ment, and thus it is from God. 3
Karl Rahner was quoted in Part 1 as saying that death is
like "a thief in the night," (note 106) and this, because
he was considering death under its aspect of evil rather
than of good. The Dances of Death vacilate between two

poles, some viewing death as good, others viewing it as

evil, but both concepts are orthodox. The last two lines

89

of the above-quoted stanza refer to the futility and vanity
of earthly possessions, another common theme in all Dances

of Death. The last line is especially interesting, however,
because of the use of the adverb "mal," which may give us a

clue to one aspect of the a priori desengano in this poem.

 

Basically, Death says that treasures acquired by evil
means are of no use to men when they die. But he says in
the preceding line that treasures of any_kind are of no
use, so the key to understanding the last line is "mal,"
for Death is implying here that there is no sin in acquir-
ing money by legitimate means and in using it well. In
fact, this is a virtue rather than a sin, as Aquinas shows
in his treatise on liberality.l4 There is therefore a
sense in which a "tesoro bien ganado" would be of use to

a man who was dying, not in terms of the money itself, but
in terms of the virtuous act of having acquired it legiti-
mately and of having used it well, for as Death says later

on:

no les vale ni aprouecha
saluo solo e1 bien que obraron. . . . (line 35-36)

Thus we see essentially the same emphasis on buenas obras

 

in this poem that we saw in the Danga general and conse-

 

quently the same emphasis on charity, which is the basis
for good works by being the form of all the virtues.15
A seven-stanza catalogue of famous historical

figures who have been Death's victims (three stanzas of

which are omitted in the Otras coplas ala Muerte) has little

90

to do with desengano except insofar as it suggests that

 

fame, honor, power, and wealth are no safeguards against
Death's hold.16
The didactic emphasis already seen in the poem is

reiterated in the penultimate stanza, which is omitted in

the Otras coplas ala Muerte. The emphasis on good works

 

is effected here in a manner which forces us to think

ahead to Calerén's El gran teatro del mundo, in which the

 

World says to the characters who have just died:

No te puedo quitar las buenas obras.
Estas solas del mundo se han sacado. (lines 1374-5)l7

This can easily be compared with Juan de Mena's lines:

. . . todo ha de quedar

saluo el solo bien obrar,

Muerte, quando tu vinieres. (lines 126-128)
The only things which can aid a man in the passage from
life to death are the good (i.e. charitable) works he has
done during his life. The point is repeated for the third
time in the finida of the poem:

Quien oyere mi tractado

a obrar bien se conbida,

pues 1a Muerte non oluida

a ninguno, mal pecado. (lines 137-147)

Thus, even though the desengano in this poem is limited to

 

the a priori variety, it can nevertheless be seen to con-
tain the same emphasis on charity observed in the preceding
works. V

These three poems indicate that the didactic pur-
pose underlying the Dance of Death did not change notice-

ably in the intervening decades between their composition

91

and that of the Dangaggeneral de la Muerte. Both the
a priori and the a posteriori desengano highlight the
necessity for the virtue of charity, manifesting itself
in the decision to "obrar bien, que Dios es Dios," to

borrow once more from Calderén's El gran teatro del mundo.18

FOOTNOTES--CHAPTER I, Part 2

1Although the purpose of this study is not to exam-
ine the complex interrelationships that can be traced among
the various Dances of Death, a brief comment is required in
order to justify placing these works in the fifteenth cen-
tury. In the case of Juan de Mena's dialogue with Death no
argument is necessary since the author lived from 1411 to
1456. The Cgplas de la Muerte and Otras coplas ala Muerte
are, however, extremely rare poems which only exist in a
single print contained in the National Library in Madrid
dated approximately 1530. They were reprinted by Miss
Florence Whyte in her valuable study The Dance of Death in
Spain and Catalonia (Baltimore: Wavefly Press, 1931), pps.
163-171. Since Otras coplas ala Muerte is substantially
nothing more than a truncated version of Juan de Mena's
poem, it is clear that its origins go back at least as far
as the fifteenth century. In the third chapter of the
first part of her book Miss Whyte shows that the Coplas de
la Muerte must also pertain to the fifteenth century because
it 13 "substantially the same" as another poem, the so-called
Tangiers Endechas, fragments of which can be traced to that
century (Whyte, Dance of Death, pps. 59-60).

2This idea of Death as a messenger is much more
strongly emphasized in these poems than it was in the
Danga general, and this emphasis will be seen over and over
again in subsequent Dances of Death.

3All references to this poem are taken from Florence
Whyte's reprinting (V. note 1) and are identified in the
text by line numbers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4Aquinas Summa Suppl., Q.3, Art.2, Obj.2.

51bido' Pt. II-II' Q.l32, Art.3.

6Ibid., Q.23, Art.4.
7Ibid., Q.l9, Art.2.

8Ibid., Art.7.

92

93

91bid., Art.8.

lOIbid., Q.118, Art.4.

llA11 quotations from the Razonamiento . . . will
be taken from the ed. of R. Foulche-Delbosc in Revue

Hispanique 9 (1902): 252-254, and will be cited in the
text by line numbers.

12

 

Whyte, Dance ofDeath, p. 59.

l3Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.l64, Art.1, Reply
Obj.5.

l4Ibid., Q.ll7, Art.1.

lsIbid., Q.23, Art.8.

16

One humorous aspect of this catalogue of names
which was noticed by Post is contained in the following
stanza in which Juan de Mena attributes to Dante something
he never really said:

Mataste a1 fuerte Anteo

e a don Ector e1 troyano,
rey Artus, e Carlo Magno,
rey Dauid, e Tolomeo,
Apolo e a Teseo,

a Ercoles e1 gigante,
segun Ouidio e Dante,
otros muchos bien lo creo.

Post comments: that this illegitimate appeal to authority
is a "common peccadillo of fifteenth century Spanish
littérateurs" (Chandler Rathfon Post, Mediaeval Spanish

Alle 0 Cambridge: [Harvard University Press, 1915], p.
241).

 

l7Pedro Calderén de la Barca, El gran teatro del

mundo, in Autos sacramentales, ed. Angel Valbuena Prat,
2 vols. (Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, 1967), 1:117.

18

 

Ibid., p. 85.

Part 3:

Coplas de la Muerte, del auctor; Coloquio de

 

la Muerte con todas edades y estados

>of Sebastian de Horozco

The exact dates of these works1 are uncertain, but
they could probably have been written between the years
1548 and 1570. They are analyzed along with the medieval
Dances of Death because their tone, style, and ideological
content link them to the earlier period, even though they
were actually written in the middle of the sixteenth

century. Florence Whyte, noting this aspect of the works,
3

says: . . . Horozco is a child of the Mediaeval world."

The resemblance of these works to the Danca general de la

 

Muerte is pronounced, and their use of desengano in par-

 

ticular is strikingly similar to that in earlier poem.

Although Coplas de la Muerte, del auctor is

 

written in décimas rather than in verses of arte mayor,

its resemblance in the opening lines to the Danca general

 

is obvious:

Yo soy aquella temida
de grandes y de menores,
en el mundo introduzida
por el pecado y caida
de vros. progenitores.

94

95

Ninguno de mi se escapa

por mas que quiera huir

qu' al Emperador y al Papa

con el que no tiene capa
estatuido es morir. (lines 1-10)

Death here, as in the Danga general, is eminently aware

 

of her power and even seems to take pride in her function
as the executor of God's juStice and in the fact that
nobody can escape her. The macabre tone that was observed

in several stanzas of the Danga general is also present

 

here:
Reynos, imperios mundanos

no me bastan resistir,

todos vienen a mis manos,

y en podricion y gusanos

yo los hago convertir. (lines 11-15)
The equalizing power of Death and her indifference to the
age or social condition of her victims, a common theme in

the Danca general, is also emphasized in this poem: "a

 

todos los hago yguales" (line 35).4 There is no a
posteriori desengano in these Coplas since Death does not
actually summon any victims. The didactic purpose, or a

priori desengano, can be observed, however, in the fifth

 

stanza, as Death explains that the effect she causes in
her victims depends completely on their moral condition:
Yo vengo a los poderosos

y a los soberbios amanso,

y domo a los muy bravosos,

y atormento a los viciosos,

y a los buenos doy descanso. (lines 41-45)
This indirect emphasis on the need for good works has also
been observed in other Dances of Death. The charitable

man (taking charity in its fullest sense as a theological

virtue) is the only one who can face death with equanimity.

96

For the others it is always seen as an evil because they
must leave their worldly goods behind, and also because
they must give an accounting to God of their actions,
good or bad. As Death says:

Executo 1a justicia
qu' esta por Dios ordenada. . . . (lines 46-47)

Death ends her harangue in the next stanza, with the warn-
ing that all resistance is useless and that she can be
neither begged nor bought.

At this point our attention is directed to the
Coloquio by means of a note in the manuscript, indicating
that although the works are separated by six pages, they
were considered to be complementary.5 The Coloquio is
written in eight-line stanzas of eight syllables each
which appear to be formed by the juxtaposition of two
redondillas. The form of the dialogue is only slightly

different from that of the Danca general. In that poem it

 

will be recalled that Death summoned his victim in the
eighth line of the stanza in which he had replied to his
previous victim. Then the new victim would have eight
lines to himself, Death would reply to him in seven, and
summon a new person to the dance. Here, on the other
hand, Death uses an eight-line stanza to summon her vic-
tims and usually to accuse them to some vice. They then
respond in the first six lines of the next stanza and she
answers in the remaining two lines, so that in every other

stanza there are two speakers, rather than just one. Miss

97

Whyte feels that this is a more dramatic form than that
of the Danca general de la Muerte and regards it as an
intermediary between the earlier poem and Juan de Pedraza's
Farsa llamada Danga de la Muerte.6

The opening stanzas of the Coloquio repeat some of
the ideas contained in the Coplas de la Muerte, del auctor,
such as the inevitability of death, death as an equalizing
agent, death as the result of original sin, and the
emphasis on a macabre tone. In addition the seCond
stanza contains a metaphor which brings to mind the Coplas
of Jorge Manrique, from which Horozco possibly took the
idea. All men are like ". . . arroyos caudales/ que van
a dar en la mar" (lines 13-14). This is almost an exact
repetition of Manrique's metaphor:

Nuestras vidas son los rios

que van a dar en la mar,
que es el morir.7

The Coloquio is divided into two main sections, the

Ages of Man and the Estates. The Dangaggeneral contained

 

allusions to the Ages of Man, but here the idea is fully
developed. The infant child is the first to be called, and
in her first four lines Death reveals herself as a figure
who is almost bloodthirsty, at least in comparison with

the relative moderation of her counterpart in the 22323

general:

Quiero agora prestamente
usando de mi poder
grande matanca hacer
de toda suerte de gente. (lines 25-28)

98

Death goes on to reemphasize the fact that her origin is
due to original sin when she tells the infant that he must
die because of "la culpa original" (line 31) even though
he has not "obrado mal" (line 30), which refers to actual
sin. The mother replies to Death since the infant is
incapable of speech, and offers herself in his place.

This is misconception, however, for it is impossible to
revoke the sentence once it is given, so Death tells her.
Death then calls the boy to her dance, "e1

mochacho en la edad de la puericia." In addressing him
Death makes use of the symbolism of the arrow ("arrecoje
esta saeta" [line 43]) and explains that she is calling
the boy so that he will not think that he occupies a
privileged position just because he is young. This would
be an error since Death is indifferent to the various ages
of man, just as she is indifferentto the various estates.
The boy, like most of the characters who are called,
appeals to Death to change the sentence and grant him
longer life so that he may come to understand the world
and its duplicity. This is an allusion to the concept of
the world as a source of illusion, which was also seen in

the Danga general in the case of the archdeacon.

 

Since the first two ages represented, infancy and
childhood, are generally characterized by moral innocence,
they do not provide examples of sins against charity (i.e.

mortal sins) and the desengano in these incidents therefore

99

cannot really be said to emphasize that virtue. This is
not the case with the young man, however, who is Death's
next victim. Death accuses him of being "engolfado en
mocedades" and of thinking that he could avoid her:

piensas con tus liviandades
escusarte de la muerte. (lines 59-60)

The young man reveals that he is very desirous of life,
but his desire is not in accord with right reason since he

desires it only to be able to enjoy his "mocedades" and

"liviandades,' and his desire is therefore a sin against

prudence, for, as Aquinas says:

Imprudence is taken as a contrary, in so far
as the movement or act of reason is in opposition
to prudence: for instance, whereas the right
reason of prudence acts by taking counsel, the
imprudent man despises counsel, and the same
applies to the other conditions which require
consideration in the act of prudence. (In this
respect imprudence is a sin in respect of prudence
considered under its proper act against prudence,
except by infringing the rules on which the right
reason of prudence depends.8

Since the a priori desengano of this incident emphasizes

 

the virtue of prudence, it therefore also indirectly
emphasizes the virtue of charity, since prudence depends
on charity, as Aquinas states.9

The next incident involves a more direct emphasis
on charity. Death calls the mature man and says to him:

. . . ofendes con gran malicia
a quien la vida te da. . . . (lines 75-76)

The adverbial phrase "con gran malicia" leaves no doubt
that the mature man's offenses against God are mortal sins

rather than venial ones for it suggests that his offenses

100

are both serious and deliberate. These sins blinded the
man and caused him to forget about Death and consequently
about his last end, happiness,10 to which death should
properly be a passage. The man says:

iciego de gran ceguedad
nunca de ti me he acordado! (lines 83-84)

Death does not reveal exactly what the sins are, but if
they are mortal sins, they must by definition be sins
against charity. Both the a priori and the a posteriori

desengano in this incident therefore emphasize that virtue.

 

The old man is Death's next victim, but he is not
quite ready to go. Death seems to feel that the old man's
thirst for life is unbecoming at his age, for she says to
him:

Tu, que la barba y cabeca

tienes ya lleno de canas,

y los deseos y ganas

como el qu' a vivir empieza. . . . (lines 89-92)
It is perhaps imprudent for the old man to resist Death's
call and wish for a longer life, but in this case impru-
dence does not appear to be a mortal sin since it does

not involve the contempt for the Divine Law which would

make it mortal rather than venial.ll The desengano of

 

this incident therefore does not emphasize charity, since

venial sins are not contrary to the love of God and one's

neighbor, but only involve a certain inordinateness.12
The very old man Wel viejo en la decrépita edad")

is Death's next victim, and his case is almost a duplicate

101

of that of the old man, who preceded him. Death accuses
him of being inordinately fond of life:

Ya tienes calva 1a sierra
y aun has del mundo carifios. . . . (lines 109-110)

The very old man is not happy to die and feels that if
only he had not been so sick during his lifetime he might
be able to live a little longer now. Death is critical
of his attitude:

Anda, ya, viejo cuytado,
cesen esas vanidades. (lines 119-120)

This is essentially the same type of imprudence that was
seen in the case of the old man. There is nothing to
suggest that it is a mortal sin, and in the absence of
such evidence one must conclude that the sins of the old
man and the very old man are venial in nature. Since

13 the

every venial sin is a disposition to mortal sin,
imprudence of which we speak may be considered a sin
against charity in potency, but not in act.

This ends Death's dialogue with the ages, and the
rest of the poem is taken up by her colloquy with the
various estates. The pope, Death's first victim among
the estates, is a victim of pride. He is eminently aware
of the importance of his position in the church:

aMuerte cruel y espantosa,
no ves que soy mayoral
de la iglia. [sic] universal
que me did Dios por esposa?

No seas tan rigurosa
con quien no tiene segundo. (lines 129-134)

102

Line 132 (que me did Dios por esposa?") indicates that the
pope realizes that God is the efficient cause of his fame
and power, but the overall haughty tone of his address
suggests that he believes that he is the cause of his
power and fame meritoriously, meaning that he believes
that God gave him his earthly position because of his own
merits, and this is one of the four species of pride, as
Aquinas explains.l4 Aquinas also goes on to indicate that
pride is always contrary to charity since it is ". . .
always contrary to the love of God, inasmuch as the proud
man does not subject himself to the Divine rule as he

ought."15

The a priori desengano in this incident there-
fore involves an emphasis on charity, even though the
pOpe is too self-deceived actually to experience a

posteriori desengano as a result of Death's coming.

 

Pride is also the sin of Death's next victim, the
emperor. He says to Death:
0 muerte: a tan atrevida
guienrhay, ni en el mundo oviera
queaSi claro se atreviera
a quitarme a mi la vida? (lines 145-148)
Now it belongs to humility to have knowledge of one's own
deficiencies,16 since ". . . humility observes the rule
of right reason whereby a man has true self-esteem,"17
and true self-esteem is clearly impossible unless it
includes a knowledge of one's limitations. The emperor,

however, has no humility, for he considers himself much

greater than he is, inasmuch as he judges himself beyond

103

Death's grasp, and this is what Aquinas calls the third
species of pride.18 Since pride is always contrary to

charity, the a priori desengano in this incident implicitly

 

emphasizes that virtue.

The king's mistake is that of having forgotten
about death:

Estando yo descuydado _

d' aquesta triste embaxada,

muerte fiera y desossada,

de repente me has turbado. (lines 161-164)
Again there is a certain ambiguity regarding the king's
specific defects, but his disturbed reaction to Death's
arrival may perhaps be taken as an indication that he has
'something on his conscience, for Death has just informed
him that his reward or punishment in the afterlife will
depend on the good or evil that he has done on earth.

The imminence of Divine judgement and the promise
of reward or punishment also characterizes Death's summons
to the cardinal:

qu' en elalto consistorio

paracera muy notorio

vro. bien, 6 vro. mal. (lines 174-176)
The cardinal reveals in his reply to Death that he is
under a false impression. He feels that it is basically
unjust for Death to take him, a young man, while she leaves
older people untouched. Death does not take the trouble

to justify herself, but merely reiterates her command in a

more forceful manner:

104

Cumpla lo que te es mandado
que poco sirve increparme. (lines 183-184)

Death's call to the archbishop reveals the same
emphasis on justice (and consequently on charity) that

was seen so many times in the Danca general. The arch-

 

bishop is informed that he will be rewarded or punished
depending on how he has fulfilled his duty as a pastor:
Y si bien 6 mal usais
vro. oficio pastoral,
dareis quenta a1 mayoral
del rebafio que guardais. (lines 189-192)

It is not absolutely certain that this archbishop is

 

actually guilty of neglect of duty, but the a priori

desengano with an emphasis on justice and charity is present

 

nonetheless, for it will be recalled that Aquinas defined
justice as rendering to each one his due, which is itself
a consequence of the love of our neighbor which is proper
to charity. The archbishop's response may indicate, how-
ever, that he was remiss in fulfilling his obligations,
for he seems to describe himself as living a life of undis-
turbed ease and comfort:

O muerte, quando pensaba

en mi iglia. [sic] descansar,

te plugo de me llamar

quando mas seguro estaba. (lines 193-196)
The word "seguro" here can almost be taken as a synonym for

"engafiado, since the safer a man feels he is from Death's
clutches the more he suffers from an illusion, given Death's
total indifference to both age and estate.

The duke is guilty of injustices committed against

his vassal and servant for the sake of maintaining his

estate:

105

Vos Duque y gran caballero

que por mantener estado

a1 vasallo y al criado

habeis hecho desafuero. . . . (lines 201-204)
In his response to Death he reveals his essentially worldly,
greedy outlook:

Muerte tan aborrecida,

a agora qu' habia heredado

gran sefiorio y estado

me quieres quitar la vida,

y al que la tiene aburrida

disimulas y lo dexas? (lines 209-214)
This is an example of that type of covetousness which seeks
riches as an end to the exclusion of spiritual things and
which consequently is a mortal sin. The duke has committed
injustices against his vassal and servant, which means that
he does not love his neighbor as he would if he were a
charitable man. The spiritual value to which his covetous-
ness is opposed, therefore, is charity, and this leads him
to the commission of injustices. Both the injustice and

the covetousness are mortal sins against charity, so the

a priori desengano involves a very strong emphasis on that

 

virtue.

Death really feels that she is doing the squire a
favor by taking him away from his life of suffering and
poverty to the "descanso verdadero" (line 224). The squire,
however, who is a kind of gracioso, wishes to decline
Death's offer. The didactic purpose in this incident can
be discerned through an examination of the squire's motive
for declining the offer. He is not afraid of Death as such,

but of the judgment of God which will inevitably follow:

106

Muerte, yo te perdonara
esa honra que me dizes,
é aunque mas me lo matizes
se me hace cosa cara;
porque yo en fin, me pasara
con mi bien 6 con mi mal. . . . (lines 225-230)

This suggests that the squire is suffering from a guilty
conscience, and the didactic purpose seems therefore to
emphasize the same idea that was seen at the beginning and

end of the Danca general, namely that the most judicious

 

response to the threat of death is that of doing penance
and,especially, good works. Since good works are virtuous
and charity is in Aquinas's words ". . . the mother and
root of all the virtues, . . ."19 it follows that the
didactic purpose in this incident contains an emphasis on
that virtue.

The canon appears to be guilty of being unlawfully
solicitous about temporal matters, namely money. Death
says to him:

Can6nigo y dignidad

muy atestado de renta,

andad luego a dar la quenta

al juez de la verdad. . . . (lines 233-236)
The canon confirms this in his reply by admitting that the
only reason he regrets to die is that he does not want to
abandon his income:

0 muerte, quan lastimera

me es aquesa tu embaxada,
que ha de ser por mi dexada
la renta que Dios me diera. (lines 241-244)

This is an example of that solicitude which seeks temporal

things as an end and which causes men to be drawn away

107

from a concern for spiritual things. To the extent that
solicitude about temporal things turns man away from God,
it is contrary to charity, the theological virtue which
does most to attain God. Characteristically, the canon
tries to offer Death a monetary bribe, but Death, acting
as a true didactic agent, explains the vanity and futility
of such pretentions:

Déxate de esa razon
que no es cosa duradera. (lines 247-248)

Money is not a lasting value. It is a means to an end and
men should use it according to their needs, without seeking
it as their end.20 To do so is contrary to charity, which
seeks God as the final end of human life.

Of a total of fifteen estates the next three
represent the legal profession: the lawyer (letrado), the

court clerk (escribano) and the attorney (procurador).

 

 

Miss Whyte considers this ". . . a disproportion due to
the desire of Horozco to subdivide the grades of his own

estate."21

The lawyer is the first victim, and he is
accused by Death of injustice in the exercise of his pro-
fession through fraud. Death says to him: "harto aveis
ya trampeado" (line 253). Now fraud is the execution of
craftiness by deeds,22 and since craftiness is a sin which
is directly contrary to prudence,23 fraud is also. In
addition, fraud is indirectly contrary to justice and
charity in the sense that it consists of plotting against

others.24 Fraud may also be seen to be contrary to

charity in another way, for, as Aquinas says,

108

the execution of craftineSs may be carried
out by another vice, just as the execution
of prudence by the virtues: and accordingly
nothing hinders fraud from pertaining to
_covetousness or illiberality.25
It would seem that the fraud of the lawyer does in fact
pertain to covetousness, for Death says to him:

veremos con que conciencia
aveis hazienda allegado. (lines 255-256)

Covetousness, it will be recalled, is a mortal sin against
charity when it denotes not only an inordinate love of
riches but also a willingness to act contrary to God for
the sake of obtaining them. But since fraud is defined as
the execution of craftiness by deeds, it is clear that in
this case the covetousness of the lawyer has in fact
reached the point of being a mortal sin against charity.
There is therefore a definite emphasis on charity in the

a priori desengano of this incident, even though the lawyer

 

does not actually experience a posteriori desengano and

 

repent of his sins.

The court clerk fares even more poorly than the
lawyer, for he is guilty of theft and pride. In addition
to these vices, he was also laboring under the illusion
that he would never die, and in this respect Death brings

him to a state of a posteriori desengano. Death's summons

 

is worth quoting in full, for she strongly condemns the
court clerk for all his vices:

Vos, notario y escribano,
que pensais nunca morir,
y para rapar y asir
teneis muy suelta la mano,

109

de parte del soberano

os notifico que vais,

porque parece qu' estais

muy triunfante y ufano. (lines 265-272)
The emphasis on charity is very pervasive here since all
of the clerk's sins are contrary to that virtue. Theft
is opposed to charity since it is ". . . a means of doing
harm to our neighbor in his belongings. . . ."26 Pride,
as was shown in the case of the pope, is always contrary
to the love of God (and therefore to charity) since it

involves a refusal to subject oneself to God. Thus the

emphasis on charity in the a priori desengano of this
27

 

incident can be seen to be very strong.
The attorney is also very severely criticized by
Death for his immoral actions. Basically his vices seem
to be two: charging an unjust wage and exploiting the
lawyer. Death says to him:
Vos, senor procurador,
queprocurais lo primero
apanar mas de dinero
qu'el negocio ha de valor,
y 05 aplicais e1 sudor
y el trabajo del letrado. . . . (lines 281-286)
The first sin, that of charging an excessive fee, is a sin
against justice, as Aquinas shows in his treatment of
unjust advocacy. Since an advocate is not always obliged
to plead a case, he may take a fee for doing so without

sinning against justice. This also applies to physicians

and other persons in similar situations,

110

provided, however, they take a moderate fee,

with due consideration for persons, for the

matter in hand, for the labor entailed, and

for the custom of the country. If, however,

they wickedly extort an immoderate fee, they

sin against justice.26
Therefore, the attorney clearly sins against charity by
charging an immoderate fee, since every injustice is
contrary to charity. His second sin is contrary to charity
also, since it is connected with the first. In addition to
charging an excessive fee, the attorney does not even do
the work himself, but rather chooses to exploit the lawyer.
Is this consistent with the love of our neighbor that is
proper to charity? It is not, because exploitation of
others for the purpose of furthering one's own self-
interest involves a failure to render to each one his due.
But the service of God includes the obligation to do this,27
so that unjust actions are not only contrary to the love
and service we owe our neighbor but also to the love and
service we owe God. In this way it can be seen that the
a priori desengano in this incident involves a heavy
emphasis on the virtue of charity.

The farmer is the next victim, and, compared to

the incident with his counterpart in the DangaAgeneral, the

 

emphasis on desengano here is weak. The farmer does not

 

appear to be guilty of any serious vice, nor does he
represent any particular virtue which is praised by Death.
The didactic purpose seems to be confined to suggesting

that men should not be overly solicitous about the future

111

(an idea confirmed by AquinasBo) since Death can destroy

the best laid plans of all men. Accordingly it is more
appropriate to be solicitous about our spiritual well-being.
In this case the farmer was looking forward to a good
harvest so that he could pay his debts. There is nothing
in the text to indicate that he has definitely acted

contrary to charity in any way, so the desengano in this

 

incident cannot really be said to stress that virtue.

This is also true in the incident with the soldier,
Death's next victim. There is a certain irony here, for
the soldier explains that he has escaped unharmed from all
kinds of battles, and that now Death has taken him in an
unguarded moment. His reply to Death reveals that his vice
is boasting. He says to Death:

siendo yo el mejor soldado
de quantos sirven a1 Rey. . . . (lines 325-326)

Aquinas states that boasting arises from vainglory and
that, like vainglory, it can be either a mortal or a venial
sin, depending on the circumstances.31 Since there is no
evidence in this passage to suggest that the soldier's
boasting is contrary to love of God or neighbor, the a

priori desengano of this incident cannot be said to stress

 

the virtue of charity.

The official has lived a life of hard labor and
suffering and might therefore be expected to welcome death
as a release from his labors. Such is not the case, how-

ever, for he says to Death:

112
. . . desta vida pagado
si me dexases seria. (lines 341-342)
Death mildly criticizes him for this attitude:

Serie muy vana porfia
pensar de ser relevado. (lines 343-344)

This is the same sin of imprudence that was noted earlier
in the old man. Since there is no evidence of contempt
for the Divine Law (in either incident), this imprudence
must be assumed to be a venial rather than a mortal sin.
Death's last victim, the happy friar, is the only
one who is perfectly content to receive her summons.
Ahtough in this case the didactic purpose functions
through the use of positive rather than negative examples,

it is essentially the same as the a priori desengano in

 

the incident with the abbot in the Danga general. It

 

will be recalled that, among other things, the abbot was
condemned for violating his profession by failing to per-
form those acts of penance which are especially suitable
to the religious profession since they remove the obstacles
to perfect charity toward which all religious are obliged
to strive. The happy friar in Horozco's work, on the other
hand, is priased by Death precisely for doing those things
which the abbot failed to do. Death says to him:
Vos, religioso, que estais

contento en la religion,

y en ayunos y oracién

toda la vida gastais. . . . (lines 345-348)

Prayer and fasting are examples of the type of exercises

which Aquinas says are uniquely suitable for removing the

113

obstacles to perfect charity.32 Since Death praises the
friar for performing these acts of penance, we can there-

fore conclude that a priori desengano here stresses the

 

virtue of charity, even though the friar himself was not
enganado.

We are forced to conclude that although the
didactic emphasis on charity is very strong in Horozco's
works, it is not quite so pervasive as it is in the Danga
general. This is not because some other virtue takes
precedence over charity in Horozco's conception, however.
It is merely because there are more examples in the
Coloquio of the type of ambiguity which was seen in the

Danga general in the case of the deacon, whose sin could

 

have been either mortal or venial. Examples of this
ambiguity in the Coloquio are the old man and the very old
man, the king, the cardinal, the farmer, the soldier, and
the official. Also there was no emphasis on charity in
the incidents involving the infant and the boy, both of
whom are at the age of moral innocence and are incapable
of sin of any kind. The remaining incidents do involve an
emphasis on charity, however, making it the only virtue

stressed in the desengano of this work. This is the last

 

work to be examined in which the virtue of charity holds
a position of unchallenged importance in the author's
didactic purpose. Beginning with Gil Vicente's Auto da

barca da Gloria the theological virtue of faith will be

 

_ emphasized along with a continuing emphasis on charity,

 

114

with a concommitant emphasis on correct doctrine. This
emphasis on faith does not contradict the emphasis on

charity, but merely complements it.

FOOTNOTES-"CHAPTER I, Part 3

1Sebastian de Horozco, Coplas de la Muerte, del
auctor and Coloquio de la Muerte con todas las edades y
estados, in Cancionero de Sebastian de Horozco, poeta
Epledano del siglo XVI, ed. by A. M. Gamero (Sevilla:
Imprenta de D. Rafael Tarasc6 y Lassa, Sierpes 73, 1874),
pp. 176-177 [Coplas]; 187-194 [Colgquio]). All quotes in
the text will be identified by the use of line numbers.

 

 

 

 

2Florence Whyte, The Dance of Death in Spain and
Catalonia (Baltimore: Waverly Press, 193i), p. 80.

3Ibid., p. 92.

4Juan Ruiz uses the same idea in stanza 1521 of
the Libro de buen amor:

Muerte, a1 que tfi fieres, liévaslo de belmez;
a1 bueno e a1 malo, a1 noble e a1 rehez:
a todos los egualas e lievas por un prez;
por papas e por reis non das una vil nuez. .

Juan Ruiz, Libro de buen amor, ed. Joan Corominas (Madrid:
Editorial Gredos, 1967), p. 569.

 

 

5The note reads: "Véase a seis hojas mas abaxo
un coloquio de la muerte" (Cancionero, p. 176).
6

Whyte, Dance of Death, p. 91.

 

7Joaquin de Entrambasaguas, ed., Los Manriques:
pgetas del siglo XV (Zaragoza: Editorial Ebro, 1966),
p. 106.

 

 

8Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.53, Art.1.

91bid., Pt. I-II, Q.65, Art.2, Reply Obj.3.

loIbid., 0.1, Art.8.

llIbid., Pt. II-II, 0.53, Art.1.

115

116
12 .
Ibid., Pt. I-II' Q.88' ArtOZo

l3Ibid., Art.3.

l4£2£gop Pt. II-II, 0.162, Art.4.

lsIbid., Art.5.

IGIbid-r 0.161, Art.2.

171219-r 0-162: Art-3. Reply Obj.2.

18Ibid., Art.4.

lgIbido I 0023] Art.8.

201bid.; 0.55, Art.6, Reply Obj.1.

21Whyte, Dance of Death, p. 84.
22

 

Aquinas Summa Pt; II-II, Q.55, Art.5.

231bid., Art.3.

24Ibid., Art.5, Reply Obj.3.

251219-: Reply Obj.2.

261bid., Q.66, Art.6.

27The escribano is also an object of satire in the
Suefios of Quevedo, as will be seen later. '

28Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.7l, Art.4.

zgléiéop Q-58: Art.1, Reply Obj.6.

301bid., 0.55, Art.7.

311bid., 0.112, Art.2.

321219., 0.186, Art.1, Reply Obj.4.

CHAPTER II

DESENGANO BASED ON CHARITY AND CORRECT DOCTRINE

WITH NO REFERENCE TO HETERODOXY

Part 1

Auto da barca da Gloria of Gil Vicente

With the closing of the Middle Ages and the begin-
ning of the Renaissance a basic shift in the ideological
and psychological make-up of society begins to take place.
William Barrett, in his study on existentialism, states
that "the central fact of modern history in the West--by
which we mean the long period from the end of the Middle
Ages to the present--is unquestionably the decline of
religion."1 While this generalization has a ring of truth
about it, it is nonetheless very broad and cannot be
applied to all European countries without certain qualifi-
cations. Yet, there is some truth to the theory that in
the first half of the sixteenth century in Spain there was
felt to be a decline in devotional purity if not in the
externals of religious celebrations. At least two out-

standing hispanists, first Marcel Bataillon2 and later

117

118

Bruce Wardropper,3 have attributed the origin of the 3359
sacramental to the need for internal reform in the Catholic
church prior to the Protestant schism. Marcel Bataillon
discusses in some detail the views of Martin de Azpilcueta,
and outstanding canon lawyer of the period, who especially
complained of the lack of religious fervor and sincerity

in the Corpus Christi processions.4 In a key passage in
his article Bataillon states that

e1 nacimiento de un teatro eucaristico
destinado a1 Corpus nos parece que es

no un hecho de Contrarreforma, sino un

hecho de Reforma cat6lica. Como que ese
nacimiento pone de manifiesto la voluntad

de depuraci6n y cultura religiosa que'
animaba entonces a la capa selecta del clero,
particularmente en Espafia: voluntad de dar

a los fieles una instrucci6n religiosa que
los hiciese llegar mas alla de la fe del
,carbonero, que les hiciese sentir, si no
comprender, los misterios fundamentales

de su religi6n. En resumen, las representa-
ciones del Corpus comienzan a extraer y
subrayar la lecci6n religiosa de esta fiesta
por la misma raz6n que comienzan entonces a
propagarse las doctrinas, 0 sea catecismos
que apelaban a algo mas que a la memoria.5

 

This passage stresses the doctrinal nature and intent of

the auto sacramental, a genre to which the Spanish Dance

 

of Death is very closely related from the close of the
Middle Ages onward, since almost all the subsequent Dances
of Death are in the form of short theatrical pieces such

as gates and farsas. An examination of these Dances of
Death does in fact reveal an emphasis on faith and doctrine
far beyond that which can be observed in the medieval

Dances of Death and it is this emphasis which defines the

119

didactic purpose of the SpaniSh Dance of Death from the
beginning of the Renaissance through the close of the
Baroque period.

The way in which this new doctrinal emphasis works
can be observed in Gil Vicente's Auto da barca da Gloria,6
first presented during Holy Week in 1519 before the King
and Queen, Manuel and Leonor.7 Jack Horace Parker calls
this work a Morality play, defining the genre as ". . . the
allegorical representation of the conflict between good and
evil, . . ."8 although the use of allegory in this play is
not extensive, since the only personified character is
Death. The others are either human beings or supernatural
beings such as devils and angels, all of whom are presumed
to have a real existence, unlike allegorical figures who
personify pure abstractions such as Envy, Meekness, and
Pride.

It is only in the third play of the trilogy of
the ships that Death actually appears, dialoguing with her

victims in the tradition of the medieval Danca general de

 

la Muerte. This aspect of the play prompted Parker to

refer to it as "Gil Vicente's own 'Dance of Death'."9

Of
course there are certain features which distinguish this
play from its medieval predecessor. Vicente's play does

not present a wide range of estates, as did the 23353
general, but rather concentrates exclusively on "los grandes

de alto estado" (276). This is because the Devil criticizes

Death for her willingness to claim the poor and let the rich

120

and powerful go free. The entire play is partly an
attempt by Death to vindicate herself and she says to the
Devil:

Verés como no me escapa
Desde e1 Conde hasta el Papa. (276)

Another factor which distinguishes this play from the Egggg
general is that the victims speak not only with Death, but
also, and even to a greater extent, with the Devil. The
usual procedure is for Death to bring the victim into the
presence of the Devil and perhaps accuse him of some sin,
and then leave in order to "hacer otra ceara" (293). From
that point on the dialogue is sustained mainly by the

Devil and Death's victim. These are both accidental rather
than substantial changes, however, and they do not prohibit
us from classifying the Auto da barca da Gloria generically
as a Dance of Death. The central issue here is not the
generic identity of the work, but the nature of the

desengano which characterizes it.

 

Even a superficial reading of the play reveals an
emphasis on charity that is very similar to that observed
in the Danga genera1.(although the list of vices is not
nearly so long, since Vicente's play contains only eight
victims). However, while it is true that all the characters
(with the possible exception of the bishop) sin against
charity in some way, it is equally true that they are all
firm believers in the saving powers of Christ and the

Virgin and that they all repent of their sins. The

121

importance of the Virgin's intercession is indicated early
in the play by the following lines spoken by the angel
just before the first victim (the count) is brought forward:
0 Virgen nuestra Senora,
Sed vos su socorredora
En la hora de la muerte. (276)
Let us first consider the evidence against the eight vic-
tims, namely, their sins against charity, and then look at
the virtues which ultimately save them.

The count is accused by Death of pride:

Sefior Conde prosperado,
Sobre todos mas ufano. . . . (276)

This, as we have already seen (Chapter I, Part 3), is a
mortal sin since it is a refusal to subject oneself to God.
Not to be subject to God is by nature a mortal sin because
it involves turning away from God, so that "consequently,
pride is, of its genus, a mortal sin."lo Related to the
count's pride is the fact that he did not fear God: "Sin
haber miedo de Dios" (278). Since fear is the beginning
of wisdom,11 and wisdom presupposes charity,12 it may be
concluded that the count's lack of fear implies a lack of
charity also. The count is further accused of three more
sins, all of which are very serious: sloth, lust, and
illiberality:

Vos, Sefior Conde agorero,

Fuistes a Dios perezoso,

A lo vano muy ligero,

A las hembras placentero,
A los pobres riguroso. (279-80)

122

Sloth is a mortal sin by being contrary to charity, since
". . . the proper effect of charity is joy in God . .
while sloth is sorrow about spiritual good inasmuch as

it is a Divine good."l3

Lust is also contrary to charity
since it is a capital vice14 giving rise to many other
sins, which Aquinas calls the "daughters of lust," and
these are: blindness of mind, thoughtlessness, incon-
stancy, rashness, self-love, hatred of God, love of this

15 Since

world and abhorrence or despair of a future world.
these sins all have the effect of turning man away from his
last end, they are contrary to charity, which seeks to
attain God. The count's refusal to aid the poor can be
properly described as insensibility to mercy, which Aquinas
lists as one of the daughters of covetousness.l6 Covet-
ousness is a vice opposed to liberalityl7 and liberality
is a part of justice.18 Since "whoever acts against the
due order of justice sins mortally,"19 it may be concluded
that the count's insensibility to mercy is a sin opposed
to charity.
The duke's sin is very vague, but three lines
addressed to him by the Devil may provide a clue:
0 mi Duque y mi castillo,
Mi alma desesperada,
Siempre fuisteis amarillo. . . . (280)
The difficult word to interpret here is "amarillo." How-
ever, in view of the overt reference to despair in the

preceeding line, the best solution might be to look upon

the word as the diminutive form of amaro, an old form of

123

amargo used only in poetry during the fifteenth and six-

20 (This usage is not foreign to Vicente,

teenth centuries.
for it also occurs in a line spoken by the emperor, quoted
below.) The sin of despair is directly contrary to hope
and implicitly contrary to charity since by it men are
". . . drawn away from good works."21
The king is aware that he does not deserve salva-

tion:_

Pues vida desaparece,

Y la muerte es de tristura,

aAdonde estas, gloria segura?

éCual dichoso te merece? (283)
His most serious vice is that of waging unjust war:

"Fulminando injusta guerra" (385), as the Devil says.

This makes his situation similar to that of the emperor

 

.in the Danga general. The waging of unjust war is indir-
ectly contrary to the cardinal virtue of justice (which
removes the obstacles to peace), but it is directly con-
trary to the theological virtue of charity, since charity
by its very nature causes peace.20
The emperor is very bitter at Death's arrival and

he suggests that he was deceived by life:

;Cuan estranos I

Males das, vida de engafios,

Corta, ciega, triste, amara! (287)
He also alludes to an idea that occurs frequently in the
Spanish Dances of Death, namely, that the only things a

person can take with him beyond the grave are his good

(or in this case evil) works:

124

Mi triunfo alla te queda,
Mis culpas trayo conmigo... . . (287)

This is both a reminder of Juan de Mena's lines from his

Razonamiento and an anticipation of Caler6n's lines from

 

El gran teatro del mundo.

 

The emperor's first sin is pride, for Death says
that he was "Quasi tenido por dios" (286). Since pride

23 it is therefore

is always contrary to the love of God,
contrary to charity and always a mortal sin. Secondly,

he is accused of the related but less serious sin of vain-
glory. Death says to him: ". . . vana gloria os mat6"
(286). On the basis of the evidence in the poem it is
difficult to conclude whether the emperor's vainglory is

a mortal or venial sin, since it could conceivably be
either. If we take the verb TEESE as referring to spiritual

rather than physical death, however, we may conclude that

vainglory in this case is a mortal sin, since a venial sin
24

. . deserves temporal, but not everlasting punishment.“
The emperor is also accused of the related sins of cruelty
and tyranny. The Devil says to him: ". . . usastes
crueldad/ Y infinito desvario" (287). The accusation of
tyranny comes when the Devil informs him that he will
occupy the same place as those other members of high estates
who ". . . consintieron/ Cuanto quisieron tiranos" (288).
Both these sins are contrary to charity since to be cruel
and to be a tyrant is to be without mercy or compassion,

and Aquinas states that mercy results from charity.25

125

The bishop's opening statement adds to the macabre
element in the play:

Muy crueles voces dan
Los gusanos cuantos son,
Ad6 mis carnes estan,
Sobre cuales comeran
Primero mi corazon. (290)

The bishop is the only victim who is saved prior to the
ending of the play, for although his sin is serious,
there are extenuating circumstances. His vice appears to
be that of presumption (“fantasia")26 and arrogance, for
the Devil says to him:

Entre vuesa Sefioria,

Que este batel infernal
Ganaste por fantasia,
Halcones de altaneria,

Y cosas deste metal. (291)

Presumption, . . . inasmuch . . . as it implies contempt

of something Divine, is opposed to charity. . . ."27

Arrogance is also contrary to charity since it is a kind

of pride,28 and, as we have seen, pride is contrary to

charity by its very genus. Nevertheless, the bishop has
some good qualities in addition to his vices. The Devil
says to him:

Obispo honrado,

Porque fuiste desposado

Siempre desde juventud,

De vuestros hijos amado,

Santo bienaventurado,

Tal sea vuestra salud. (291)
As a result of these qualities he is saved. The Devil
says to him:

Obispo, paréceme a mi

Que habeis de volver aqui
A esta santa embarcacion. (292)

126

Even though the bishop is saved, however, this incident
involves a priori desengano based on charity, since his
vices were both contrary to that virtue.

The arrival of Death induces a cynical mood in
the archbishop:

La vida nos cuesta cara,
El nacer no es provecho. (293)

He becomes undeceived by Death's arrival and realizes that
all human effort directed toward the acquisition of wealth
and power is useless and doomed to failure:

Qué aprovecha en el vivir
Trabajar por descansar?
Qué se monta en presumir?
De qué sirve en el morir
Candela para cegar? ‘ .
Ni placer
En el mundo por vencer
Estado de alta suerte,
Pues presto deja de ser?
Nos morimos por lo haber,
Y es todo de la muerte. (293)

At this point the Devil provides some insight into the
archbishop's vices. He was very worldly and ambitious,
for the Devil says to him:

Moristes muy desatado,

Y en vida ahogado

Con deseos de papar. (294)
The words "en vida ahogado" suggest that the archbishop's
desire for the honor of the papal state is not legitimate
but rather inordinate, motivated perhaps by a longing for
the incidental goods that go with it, such as ". . .
reverence, honor, and a sufficiency of temporalities.

. . ."29 This attitude is essentially self-seeking and

 

I.

127

therefore represents a sin against charity, for, as Aquinas
says, "charity attains God Himself that it may rest in Him,

"30 In

but not that something may accrue to us from Him.
addition to desiring a higher office, the archbishop did
not even properly fulfill the duties that he had. The
Devil's accusation is specific:

Vos caistes con la carga

De la iglesia divina.

Los menguados,

Pobres y desamparados,

Cuyos dineros lograsteis,

Deseosos, hambreados,

Y los dineros cerrados,

En abierto los dejasteis. (294)
Here we see the sins of covetousness, insensibility to
mercy (one of the daughters of covetousness), and neglect
of duty. The latter is a sin against justice (and there-
fore against charity also) since it involves a failure "to
render to each one his right." Covetousness may be contrary
to charity if, through love of riches, a man is not afraid
to act counter to the love of God and his neighbor. The
archbishop is such a man, as evidenced by his indifference
to the sufferings of the poor. He even admits his own
guilt: "Eso y mas puedes decir" (294).

The cardinal appears to have been struck down by

God as a direct punishment for the sin of ingratitude,
for the Devil says to him:

. . . moristeis

Llorando porque no fuisteis

Siquiera dos dias papa,

Y a Dios no agradecisteis,

Viendo cuan bajo os visteis,
Y en despues os di6 tal capa. (297)

128

Aquinas explains that "the debt of gratitude flows from

charity,"31 but that the sin of ingratitude may be either

venial or mortal.32 The sin appears to be mortal in this

case, for the cardinal clearly desired the honor of the
papacy for himself, without referring the honor to God.
This is one of the ways in which the desire for honor may
be sinful,33 and it is contrary to charity, since "charity

attains God Himself that it may rest in Him, but not that

"34

something may accrue to us from Him. The cardinal

experiences a posteriori desengafio as a result of Death's
arrival (as do all the characters in the play) and,
immediately after the Devil's accusation, he goes on to
enunciate the main theme of the play,35 following the Book
of Job very closely:

Todo hombre que es nacido
De muger, tien breve vida;
Que cuasi flos es salido,
Y luego presto abatido,
Y su alma perseguida.
Y no pensamos,
Cuando la vida gozamos,
Como della nos partimos;
Y como sombra pasamos,
Y en dolores acabamos,
Porque en dolores nacimos. (297-8)

The pope is Death's last victim, and in him virtue
reaches its nadir. Death reveals that the pope was living
in a state of extreme illusion, or folly, since he thought
that he would never die:

Vos, Padre sancto, apensasteis

Ser immortal? Tal os visteis,
Nunca me considerasteis,

.Tanto en vos os enlevasteis,
Que nunca me conocisteis. (299)

 

129

The fourth line suggests that the pope's folly was not due

to natural disposition, as in the case of idiots, but rather

36

to self-inducement, and this kind of folly is a sin. This

involves an emphasis on charity, since folly is contrary to

wi sciom37 38

and wisdom presupposes charity. Pride, which is
always contrary to charity, is in evidence when the pope
says to the Devil:

cZSabes tl’l que soy sagrado
Vicario en el santo templo? (300)

By way of response to this haughty statement, the Devil

invokes the concept of noblesse oblige. His words are

 

Worth quoting in detail, for they provide a complete pic-
ture of the pope's vices:

Cuanto mas de alto estado,

Tanto mas es obligado

Dar a todos buen ejemplo,

Y ser llano.

A todos manso y humano.

Cuanto mas ser de corona,

Antes muerto que tirano,

Antes pobre que mundano,

Como fue vuestra persona.
Lujuria os desconsagr6,

Soberbia os hizo dafio;

Y lo mas que os condan6 [sic],

Simonia con engafio. (300T—

The pope, like the king in the Danca general, is accused of

being a source of scandal, since he failed to give good
e"aruple. The emphasis on charity is implicit here because,

as Aquinas says, ". . . scandal is opposed to a special

39

\r ‘ . . . .
lr‘tue, v1z. charity." Like the emperor, he is also

anused of tyranny and cruelty, both of which are opposed

t9 charity. He is also accused of being worldly, or, as

A... Jew
, .
r

_.

130

Zkguinas would phrase it, "unlawfully solicitous about
tennporal matters." Such solicitude is sinful ". .2. if
vve: seek temporal things as an end."40 He is further
eaczcnised by the Devil of pride and lust, the former having
already been analyzed. The sin of lust is related to the
E>c>z>ea's sin of folly, since folly is judged by Aquinas to
toes: a: daughter of lust,41 and is therefore contrary to
cirieizrity also. An awareness of the need for Church reform
i.£3 (zontained in the Devil's accusation of simony.42
5531J11CDDY is "an intentional will to buy or sell something
Spiritual or connected with spiritual things,"43 and it
5-55 £1 sin of irreligion.44 The emphasis on charity is
indirect here because the virtue of religion, to which
Eslirncany is opposed, is not a part of charity, but of jus-

tice.45 Religion is therefore a moral virtue, like jus-

ti Ce ,46 although Aquinas concludes that it is the most
eXCe llent of the moral virtues since it approaches nearer
to God than the others.47 Therefore, a sin against
religion, such as simony, is the greatest possible sin
against justice, insofar as it represents a failure to
render to God His due. But since "to do an injustice is
a 1T1<:.rta1 sin according to its genus,"48 and every mortal
Sin is contrary to charity,49 it follows that simony is

6‘180 opposed to charity. Thus ironically, the Vicar of

Q11rist turns out to be the most iniquitous character in

the entire play.

131

So far the didactic purpose in this play has been

substantially the same as in the Danca general. There are

important differences between the two works, however, for
in Gil Vicente's play all the characters repent and all
are saved through the intercession of Christ himself.
This provides a striking contrast to the Danga general in

which there appears to be only one character whose salvation

is assured, namely, the monk. Also, there is no Divine

intervention in the Danca general; all are saved or damned

exclusively on the basis of merit. Since this is not the

case in the Auto da barca da Gloria, an examination of the

way in which the characters are saved is essential to

understanding the a priori desengano of the play.

Gil Vicente raises some difficult theological ques-
tions. One of these is the problem posed by the repentance
0f the sinners after Death delivers them into the hands of
'thue Devil. Although the play does not say so explicitly,
it: :is necessary, in order to make theological sense out
015 1:he proceedings, to assume that the characters do not
aCTtJJally die until after their passage across the river
StYX. Otherwise their repentance would be theologically
it“possible, for Aquinas says that "the mortal sin wherein
a-Than perseveres until death will not be forgiven in the
ljdfe to come, since it was not remitted by repentance in

13115 life."50 Thus the certainty of impending death

inSpires the characters, through fear, of course, to repent

of their sins.

 

132

All these characters have committed mortal sins
and they therefore have no charity, since "charity is

51 Nevertheless, they are

destroyed by one mortal sin."

all saved. It therefore seems that Vicente must posit
some other virtues which would account for this fact.
Examination of the play indicates that these virtues are
primarily faith, and, to a lesser degree, hope. However,
as far as these characters are concerned, the term
"virtue" is applied to faith and hope only in a loose
sense of the word, for "faith and hope can be without
charity, but without charity they are not virtues properly

52 This recalls the distinction that was made

so-called. "
in Chapter I, Part 1 between the order of generation and
the order of perfection in the theological virtues; faith
must occur before charity, chronologically speaking, and
SO it is said to precede it in the order of generation; in
the order of perfection, however, charity is said to
Precede both faith and hope, since these ". . . receive

"53

from charity their full complement as virtues. The

faith of the characters in this play is therefore, to

54 (i.e. faith

horrow Aquinas' terminology, "lifeless faith"
W.ithout charity) .
That the characters all have at least this lifeless
' faith is evidenced by their responses to the threat of
death. Each protests his piety and faithfulness, borrow-

ing liberally from the Office of the Dead, in a mixture of

Spanish and Latin.55 Since the responses of all the

 

133

characters follow the same pattern, one example will be
sufficient. The count responds to the Devil's threats and
accusations with the following words:
Tengo muy firme esperanza,
Y tuve desde 1a cuna,
Y fe sin tener mudanza. (278)
Tile Devil in turn accuses the count of presumption, and
aafffirms the position that faith without works is of no

value:

:Sin obras 1a confianza
Hace aca mucha fortuna! (278)

 

CPlucis is in line with the teaching of Aquinas, who says

tihLat "faith cannot produce a meritorious act without

56

charity." At this point the count launches into his .

p lea for mercy:

O parce mihi, Dios mio,
Quia nihil son mis dias:
Porqué ensalza tu poderio
Al hombre, y das sefiorio,

Y luego del te desvias?

Con favor

Visitas eum a1 alvor,

Y sfipito lo pruevas luego:
Porqué consientes, Senor,

Que tu obra, y tu hechor,

Sea deshecha nel fuego? (279)

 

 

1*13- the characters make similar pleas, and the play ends
with the following acotaci6n:

Nao fazendo os Anjos mencao destas preces,
comencarao a botar o batel as varas, e as
Almas fizerao em roda hfia musica a modo de
pranto, com grandes admiragdes de dor; e
veio Christo da resurreicao, e repartio por
elles os remos das chagas, e 08 levou comsigo. (304)

 

134

Although this ending appears to contradict one of the

central ideas in the play, that faith without works is

of no value, such is not the case. In fact, the real
message of the play coincides with the teaching of Aquinas,
who does not say that man cannot be restored after a fall,
but only that he cannot merit restoration.57 The play
does not say, therefore, that these people deserved to

be restored to grace because of their faith. Nevertheless,
a consideration of their faith is not entirely irrelevant,
for it does have a kind of causal connection with their
ultimate salvation. The characters have, as mentioned,
what Aquinas calls "lifeless faith," and this type of
faith is incapable of merit. Yet, lifeless faith is the
efficient cause of servile fear, "the fear whereby one

58 Upon the arrival of

dreads to be punished by God."
Ekaaith, all the characters, because of their lifeless faith,
eXperience this servile fear. (If they did not at least
have lifeless faith in God, recognizing His existence,
they could not fear His punishment. Also, if their faith
were not lifeless, but living, it would not cause servile,
knit: rather filial fear, which is fear of fault or separa-
tiOnfrom God.)59 But servile fear, even though it is
ncrt so praiseworthy as filial fear, is nevertheless valu-
akfile because it is the beginning of wisdom. Aquinas
exPlains:
. . the beginning of wisdom as to its essence

consists in the first principles of wisdom,
i.e. the articles of faith, and in this sense

 

 

135

faith is said to be the beginning of wisdom.
But as regards the effect, the beginning of
wisdom is the point where wisdom begins to
work, and in this way fear is the beginning
of wisdom, yet servile fear in one way, and
filial fear in another. For servile fear

is like a principle disposing a man to wisdom
from without, in so far as he refrains from
sin through fear of punishment, and is thus
fashioned for the effect of wisdom, according

to Ecclus. i. 27, The fear of the Lord driveth
out sin.6O

lit; is too late for servile fear to dispose these victims
c>ff Death to refrain from sin, but it does dispose them to

pray for mercy and restoration, and this is just, for
ZXQIIJinaS says that
the desire whereby we seek for restoration

after a fall is called just, and likewise

the prayer whereby this restoration is besought
is called just, because it tends to justice;'
and not that it depends on_justice by way

of merit, but only on mercy.61

131113, as a result of the petitions of these souls, Christ

appears at the end and, as an act of pure mercy, takes them

a;L1_ with Him to life everlasting. This is the sense in

Which Vicente's Auto da barca da Gloria emphasizes the
‘Nilrtue of faith in addition to charity in its a priori

SEEEEEEQEEQ: or didactic purpose. It is not the pure faith,

as Opposed to Protestant corruptions, that is emphasized
here, for it was only two years prior to the writing of
title play that Martin Luther nailed his ninety-five theses
t6) the door of the chapel of the Wittenberg castle.62

The
PrOtestant heresy was therefore not yet sufficiently

ET nan—m"
I H

136

diffused to inspire specific attacks on the part of
Spanish playwrights. These attacks are not noticeable

until approximately the middle of the sixteenth century.

meaty-3:1”
‘. .

FOOTNOTES--CHAPTER II, Part 1

1William Barrett, Irrational Man: A Study in
Eutistential Philosophy (Garden City,-New York: Doubleday
811d Co., Doubleday Anchor Books, 1952), p. 24.

2Marcel Bataillon, "Ensayo de explicacién del auto
gastcramental," in his Varia lecci6n de clasicos espafioles
_(biadrid: Editorial Gredos, 1964), p. 189.

 

3Bruce W. Wardropper, Introducci6n a1 teatro
Jrealigioso del siglo de oro (Salamanca: Ediciones Anaya,
1967): pp. 122-124.

4Bataillon, "Ensayo de explicaci6n," pp. 189-191.

5Ibid., p. 189.

6Gil Vicente, Auto da barca da Gloria, in Obras
(flea <3i1 Vicente,3 vols. (Lisbon: Escriptorio da bibllotheca
Portugueza, 1852), 1:274-304. All references are to this
Gadiirtion of the play and are identified in the text by page
numbers.

7Jack Horace Parker, Gil Vicente (New York:
TWayne Publishers, 1967), p. 55.

81bid., p. 54.

9Ibid., p. 58.

loAquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.162, Art.5.

llIbid., Q.l9, Art.7.

lZIbid., 0.45, Art.4.

13Ibld., 0.35, Art.3.

14Ibid., 0.153, Art.4.

15Ibid., Art.5.

137

 

138

16Ibid., Q.118, Art.8.

l7Ibid., Art.3.

18151d.. 0.117, Art.5.

191bid., 0.59, Art.4.

20 . . . . r . . 2 .
Joan Corominas, DlCClonarlo crltlco etlmologlco
de: la lengua castellana, 4 vols. (Madrid: Editorial
Gredos, 1954), s.v. "amargo."

21

 

 

Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.20, Art.3.

221239., 0.29, Art.3, Reply Obj.3.

23;p;g.. Q.162, Art.5, Reply Obj.2.

24géig'l Part I-II, 0088' Art.2.

25£2£Q-, Part II-II, Q.30, Art.3, Obj.3.

26Thomas R. Hart, ed., Gil Vicente: obras
gigramaticas castellanas (Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, 1962),
p- 112, n.

27

 

Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.l30, Art.2, Reply
Obj.1. '

ZBEEiQ-r 0.112, Art.1, Reply Obj.2.

291bid., 0.185, Art.1.

3OIbid., 0.23, Art.6.

31;p;g., 0.106, Art.6, Reply Obj.2.

32Ibid., 0.107, Art.3.

33Ibid., 0.131, Art.1.

34Ibid., 0.23, Art.6.

35Parker, Gil Vicente, pps. 62-63.

 

36Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.46, Art.2.

37Ibid., Art.1.

38£bi§., Q.45, Art.4, Reply Obj.3.

39Ibidot Q043] Art.3.

139

4oIbid., 0.55, Art.6.

411510., Q.46, Art.3.

42The word is derived from the name of Simon Magus,
*who attempted to buy the power of the Holy Spirit from the
apostles Peter and John, and was severely rebuked by Peter
for this gesture. Acts 8:14-24. The vice appears to have
inaached massive proportions in the second half of the six-
teenth century, since ". . .. in 1464 Paul II in his bull
Chmm detestabile decreed excommunication latae sententiae
against those guilty of simony in granting benefices,
txbgether with their mediators" (New Catholic Encyclgpedia,
s.v. "simony") .

43

 

 

 

Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.lOO, Art.1.

44Ibid.

4sl§i§gy Q.81, Art.5, Reply Obj.3.

46Ibid., 0.81, Art.5.

47Ibid., 0.81, Art.6.

481518., 0.59, Art.4.

49M}, Pt' I-III 0071' Art.4.

50Ibid., Pt. 11-11, 0.14, Art.3.

51Ibid., 0.24, Art.12.

521bid., Pt. 1-11, Q.65, Art.4.

53Ibid., Q.62, Art.4.

54Ibid., Pt. II-II, 0.4, Art.4.

55Parker, Gil Vicente, p. 62.

 

56Aquinas Summa, Pt. II-II, Q.2, Art.9, Reply

0bj.1.

57Ibid., Pt. I-II, 0.114, Art.7.

581bid., Pt. II-II, 0.7, Art.1.

59Ibid.

6°1bid., 0.19, Art.7.

140

61£bi_dop Pt. I-II' 0.114, Arte-7' Reply Obj.1.

62H. Daniel-Rops, The Protestant Reformation, trans.
.Audrey Butler (London: J. M. Dent and Sons, 1961), p. 276.

 

Part 2:

Farsa de la Muerte of Diego

Sanchez de Badajoz

This short morality play1 was written in all
probability for performance during the Easter season of
15 36,2 seventeen years after Gil Vicente's Auto da barca

da Gloria. The editor of the Recopilaci6n en metro, D. V.

 

Barrantes, classified it as a Resurrection play because of

'tlle lines in the 92213 referring to the death of Christ
earid the idea of death as the beginning of eternal life.3
TPriere are allusions to the virtue of charity in this play,
13L1t the virtue of faith is much more heavily emphasized;
J1t: is this virtue upon which men must rely if they are to
kxe successful in their struggle against everlasting death
(i-.e. death of the soul).

There are four characters. The shepherd doubles as

a gracioso and commentator. The only characters who become

Vic‘tims of Death are the old man and the gallant. Miss

Whyte has shown that "by making the Old Man poor and the
<3allant rich Diego Sanchez has doubled the symbolism,
gifiiing the equivalent of four conditions of life."4 The

cmly other character is Death herself, portrayed with the

141

142

conventional symbolism of a skull mask, bow, and quiver
full of arrows.5 The shepherd begins with an excessively

long "introyto" alluding to historical circumstances,

unknown to us, surrounding the composition of the play.6

The play itself begins with the entrance of the
cxld man. He is bitter about life, and through him the
allthor introduces a sentiment which was unknown in the
cilder Dances of Death, but becomes commonplace in the

Baroque period (e.g. Caler6n's El gran teatro del mundo):

‘vc>rld-weariness:

i0 pobre viejo afligido!

Lacerias me tienen muerto,

Verdad es que estoy despierto

Con 103 males que he sufrido;

Estuve como dormido

Teniendo prosperidad,

Agora e1 adversidad

Me muestra como he vivido. (256-257)

{Pfiis world-weariness is part of a new attitude toward the
ch>rld which anticipates the Counter-Reformation ascetic
Stance. Stephen Gilman explains this difference in his
article "An Introduction to the Ideology of the Baroque

143- Spain." He begins by quoting Juan Eusebio Nieremberg's

assessment of the world: ". . . no solo es el mundo una

r1Onada vacia sino llena de ponzofia," and then goes on to

explain that

in this "sino" is to be found all the
difference between mediaeval asceticism
and that of the Counter-Reformation. In
the past the world had often been termed
"vanity," but such metaphors as "cueva de
serpientes donde todo pasa enrevesado"
indicate a new hatred, a negativisation

143

of value. After the Rennaissance the mundo
was a far more formidable enemy than it Had
been before, and it was the object of far
more bitter campaigningf7

.Admittedly the attitude toward the world had not yet
reached such Baroque extremes in this £1133, but a glance
art the following words spoken by the old man will at least
reveal an anticipation of Baroque sentiments:

Veo que el mundo es mas malo

Cuanto nos da mas contento;

Agora de nuevo siento

Que cuanto he gozado en 61,

A sido vuelto con hiel

Y todo lo leva el viento. (257)
Tflius the old man's desengafio involves a flight from world-
.1dLness, since his prosperity kept him in a state of
:sxpiritual stupor which he likens to sleep: "Estuve como
<i<>rmido. . . ." The evilness of the world, as an agent of
:iILlusion, is in direct proportion to the amount of pleasure
:11: provides. The world was also thought to have this
Power of deception in the Danca general (v. the incidents
with the archbishop and the archdeacon), but it was not
emphasized as it is in this play. This increased emphasis
can be seen partly in the fact that the old man experiences
_desengafio prior to Death's arrival (which (was unheard of
111 'the Danga general) and also in the negativism of the
language which Sanchez de Badajoz uses to refer to the
wencld (e.g. ". . . Y todo lo leva e1 viento").

The arrival of Death terrifies the shepherd, who

attempts to hide behind the old man.. Like the sacristan

144

in the Danca general, he wants somebody else to die in his

 

place:

Prega a Dios que dé 1a frecha
En aqueste viejo listo. (257-258)

Death's brief self-introductory remarks reveal that she
has basically the same characteristics as her counterparts
in previous Dances of Death, such as indifference to age
and estate, an ability to inspire fear, and unpredicta-
bility:

Desde el mayor a1 menor

Teman todos los humanos

Las saetas de mis manos

Con yervas de gran dolor;

Que papa ni emperador

No escapa, flaco ni fuerte,

De m1, que yo soy la Muerte

Que a todos pongo temor.

Nadie se puede escapar

De mis rigurosos trances,

No hay quien entienda mis lances.
Cuando tengo de enclavar,

Salteo sin avisar

A 103 alegres y tristes.8 (258)

In spite of the hideousness of Death's appearance, the old
man welcomes her: "Tal cual es, yo la deseo" (258). This
attitude is a result of the world-weariness into which he
has fallen after his disillusionment. One of the play's
central themes is that it is important always to be aware
of the threat of death, that is, to remember that man is
mortal. The old man introduces this concept with the
following lines:

Pobre y viejo y con dolor

Aborrezco aquesta vida;

De ti jamas se me olvida,
Y esto me tira e1 temor. (258-259)

145

Again we see his abhorrence of life (a new theme in the
Dances of Death) as well as the concept that Death is only
to be feared when it is unexpected and catches man unpre-
pared.

The shepherd is incapable of understanding the old
man's attitude and asks him why he is seeking death. The
author uses the old man's reply to introduce the emphasis
on faith which characterizes the entire play:

Por que no me falta fé;

Que si muero viviré

En otra vida sin muerte. (259)
This emphasis on faith dovetails perfectly with the emphasis
on the need always to remember and be aware of death, and
both elements have an important place in the Spanish
ascetic movement during the Renaissance and Baroque period.
There is a passage in Ludwig Pfandl's Historia de la
literatura nacional espafiola en la Edad de Oro which is
pertinent to a discussion of this dual emphasis and which
helps to clarify the distinction between Sanchez de Badajoz's
attitude and that of his medieval predecessors:

esta ascética espafiola abre e1 camino

a una nueva concepci6n, puesto que

convierte en transito desde la muerte a

la vida, e1 sentido medieval de la

existencia, que era andar desde la vida

hacia la muerte, seguida de premio o

castigo. La ciencia medieval de la vida

se encierra en esta sentencia: vive tan

bien como puedas, pero procura que a1

fin, a1 ser pesado y juzgado, no seas

hallado demasiado leve. En cambio, 1a

ciencia de la vida del ascetismo espafiol

del Renacimiento contempla 1a totalidad
de las acciones terrenas desde el angulo

ii V V
~h'gfl' ,5-1 .3 ‘ J

146

visual de la eternidad, pregunta sin
descanso e1 porqué y el c6mo, y ya desde
el principio mira hacia el fin.9

Thus, given the basically ascetic outlook that informs this
play, the lack of an overt emphasis on the virtues of
charity and justice is understandable and predictable.
Stephen Gilman would apparently agree with this generaliza-
tion about the nature of the ascetic sensibility, for he
states that

the ascetic would promise that, after death

divine wisdom would correct life's lack of

reason, its injustices and inequalities.

"Lo enrevesado del mundo," would be put

straight without the harsh insistence on

social justice that characterized the
Danza de la Muerte. . . .10

 

This accounts for the fact that the need for good works is
never explicitly stated in this play, although it is
mildly implied through the character of the gallant.

Instead of being terrified by Death's warning, the
old man explains why he will never fear her:

Viejo. No te temeré
Porque a los buenos que hieres
Con tus saetas malditas,
Mas bien les das que les quitas,
Que es contra lo que tu quieres;
Nada es tu generacién,
No se halla tu creacion,
En todo cuanto leyeres.

Muerte. Pues si soy sin ser criada
Luégo, adices que soy Dios?

Viejo. De culpa fueste engendrada
Y tu padre fué el pecado,
Y pues es nihil llamado,
Tfi quedas hija de nada. (259)

147

The notion that death is a boon to those who are good
recalls the statement of Alejo Venegas in his book Agonia
del transito de la muerte, quoted in Chapter I, Part 1
(note 104):
. . . la muerte no se deve
poner entre los males, porque
la muerte de los que mueren
en gracia no es otra cosa sino
una salida de carcel. . . .
It must be understood that when Sanchez de Badajoz and
Venegas say that death is good, rather than evil, they are
not referring to the essence of death but rather to its
effect on those who die in a state of grace. Death is
essentially an evil, and the old man alludes to Augustinian
moral theory when he Speaks of the insubstantiality of
death (e.g. "No se halla tu creacion," "Tu quedas hija de
nada," etc.) . According to Augustine, every being is good,
and evil is not a being, for it is insubstantial and
uncreated.12
At this point the gallant enters. His words reveal
that he is completely self-deceived, for he is living a
life wholly given over to hedonism and is unaware of the
Perpetual threat of death. Here there is an implicit
emphasis on the virtue of charity, since the gallant is
guilty of many sins which are contrary to charity insofar
as they turn man's attention away from his last end. He is
91111113! of pride, which is always contrary to charity by its

very genus :13

148

De nada me hallo falto,

En todo tengo vitoria;

Dame gran placer y gloria

La gran linaje do Vengo. . . . (260)
lie: is also guilty of covetousness, which is a mortal sin
irf the love of riches is so great that it is preferred to
charity.14 Since the gallant is completely lacking in
cfluarity, it may be assumed that his covetousness is in
fact a mortal rather than venial sin:

Huelga, mi alma, pues tienes

Tantas riquezas y bienes

Para vivir en hartura.
lie: is also guilty of lust, an excessive attachment to

venereal desires and pleasures,15 as is indicated by the

following lines:
Tfi, mi carne muy querida,
No pases un rato malo,
Goza siempre con regalo
De cuanto el mundo combida. . . . (260)
Since the sin of folly, or blindness of mind“, arises
cfliixefly from lust,16 and folly is opposed to wisdom, which
corresponds to charity,17 it follows that lust is indirectly
Opposed to charity. Predictably, the gallant has forgotten
about death:
Para cien anos de vida
Llamas te podra faltar,
Comer beber y holgar
Y deleites sin medida. (261)
Sim-7e . according to the old man, one must constantly
remember the fact of death in order to be able to face it
with equanimity when the time comes, it is understandable

that the gallant's reaction upon encountering death should

be one of abject terror and servile fear:

149

Galan. 30h! vélgame Jesucristo,
O que nunca tal he visto.

Muerte. Habeis de dejar e1 pato.

Galan. 30h! déjame confesar
Y pedir a Dios perdon.

Muerte. No es esa mi condicion,
Ya se te pasé el vagar. (261)

Thus the gallant's desengafig (unlike that of the old man)

 

cxonnes too late, for Death's arrow strikes him down before
he can adequately repent.

The death of the gallant provides the old man with
tile: incentive he needs to launch an onslaught against
Death and her arbitrary tactics. His complaint is that
Death seems to have a spite motive, claiming those who are
young and full of exuberance and confidence, and allowing
those who really want to die to live on, seemingly forever.
He says to Death:

(5 muerte llena de dafios

Que a los mas seguros matas,

Y a quien te llama dilatas

Con mil trabajos extrafios;

Son tus lazos tan tacafios

(Due a los alegres enlazas,

Y a los tristes amenazas

Y dejas vivir mil afios. (262)

Rather than suffer this treatment, the old man decides to
attack Death and engage her in hand-to-hand combat,

PrObably knowing that he cannot emerge the victor from such

18

a Struggle. While struggling with Death, the old man

sounds the battle cry for all Christians:

( r 0 I I
Aqui, aqui, fieles crlstlanos,
esta lucha que tenemos;
A 0' f n
(.1111, aqui, no desculdemos
N1 la soltemos de manos,

150

Que los brazos soberanos
Ya domaron a esta yerta,
No mata sin quedar muerta
Y a los buenos muy ufanos. (263)
"Los brazos soberanos" are, of course, the arms of Christ,
and what the old man is suggesting is therefore not that
Christians should struggle with Death in order to avoid
dying, but that they should render the arrows of Death
useless and even beneficial through faith in Christ and the
grace that will insure their ultimate salvation, for "just
as all have died with Adam, so with Christ all will be
brought to life."19 It is in this sense that the following
paradox (spoken by the shepherd, who watches the struggle
between the old man and Death) is to be understood: "Ella
vence y es vencida" (263) . Thus the old man, by dying in
Christ, was able to conquer death, whereas the gallant,
dying in sin, was not. The copla at the end of the farsa
sums up the didactic purpose of the author:
E1 que la vida nos di6,
Por darla tom6 la muerte,
Igor eso el hombre despierte
1x morir por quien muri6;
Quien la muerte aborreci6,
Pues con ella Dios combida,
Tiene olvido de la vida.
La vida nos da la muerte,
Y por eso quien la olvida,
Tiene olvido de la vida. (265)
The Word "vida" in the first line of the copla evidently
refers to eternal life, since Christ did not have to die
in Order to give men human, terrestrial life. However,
this raises a problem with the interpretation of the same

word in the eighth line: "La vida nos da la muerte. . . .

151

If "la vida" were the subject of the sentence, then it would
be most logical to assume that it is terrestrial, rather
than eternal, life of which the author speaks, since
eternal life cannot result in death. Another interpreta-
tion is possible, however, for this line may be taken as a
case of inverted word order, so that its real sense would
be "la muerte nos da la vida." This has the advantage of
preserving the sense of the word "vida" introduced in the
first line, as well as of better fitting the overall mean-
ing of the play, viz. that through faith in Christ death
can become a passage to eternal life.

Both types of desengafio in this play stress the

 

doctrine that it is primarily through faith, rather than
charity, that men are able to effect their salvation. The

a posteriori desengafio of the old man involves a realiza-

 

tion of the importance of faith in Christ as a weapon
against spiritual death, and since he is the author's

creation, it follows that the a priori desengano emphasizes

 

the same virtue. This is not to be taken as a denial of
the necessity of charity, just as the relative absence of

an emphasis on faith in the Danca general should not be

 

taken as a denial of the necessity of that virtue.
ACtually, the necessity of charity is indirectly emphasized
in this play through the negative example of the gallant,

whose life was founded on principles directly opposed to

152

charity. Nevertheless, Sanchez de Badajoz 9.9.5. chosen to
emphasize faith over charity in this play, and this is a
reflection of the changing historical climate in Spain.
It represents, among other things, a reaction against what
Stephen Gilman has termed "Renaissance horizontal appre-
hension of reality."20 Faith may have seemed to be a more
"vertical" virtue than charity to Sanchez de Badajoz since
it has God as its exclusive object, whereas charity, as we
have seen, in a sense has two objects: God a_n_d_ our neigh-
bor. Charity cannot merely look to a future life of
eternal bliss, for it must be externalized in this life
in the form of good works. It was probably the bitterness
that Sanchez de Badajoz felt toward the world and this
life that prevented him from giving the virtue of charity

the same emphasis that he gave faith.

FOOTNOTES--CHAPTER II, Part 2

1Diego Sanchez de Badajoz, Farsa de la Muerte, in
Recopilaci6n en metro, ed. by D. V. Barrantes in vols. 11
and 12 of Libros de antano (Madrid: Libreria de bibli6-
filos, 1886), 12:253-265. All references are to this
edition of the play and are identified in the text by

page numbers .

2Florence Whyte, The Dance of Death in Spain and
Catalonia (Baltimore: Waver'ly Press, 1931). p. 75.

3

 

Ibid., p. 74.

41bid., p. 75.

5V. Part I, Chapter 1, note 15.

6It appears that the canons of Badajoz complained

about a phrase in one of Sanchez de Badajoz's farsas .
which they found offensive, viz. "Dios mantenga." In the

"introyto" the author takes the opportunity to explain the
phrase and criticize the canons simultaneously.

7Stephen Gilman, "An Introduction to the Ideology
Of the Baroque in Spain," Symposium: A Journal Devoted to
mdern Languages and Literatures 1 (19467: 94.

8The concept of Death as a highwayman is a fairly
conunon one. It is somewhat more fully deve10ped in Lag
cortes de la Muerte, falsely attributed to Lope de Vega
and not to be confused with the identically titled play
by Micael de Carvajal and Luis Hurtado de Toledo.

~ 9Ludwig Pfandl, Historia de la literatura nacional
eseanola en la Edad de Oro, trans. Jorge Rubid Balaguer
Barcelona: Editorial Gustavo Gili, 1952): p. 47.
10Gilman, "Ideology,“ p. 96.

. 11This line is somewhat vague. Perhaps Sanchez de
Bedajoz allowed himself to get carried away with his invec-
tive against Death and in the process attribute to her an

attitude which would be prOper to satan, namely, that of
deSLring the damnation of her victims.

153

154

12Augustine Confessions (trans. John K. Ryan), 7.12.

13Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.162, Art.5.

14Ibid., Q.118, Art.4.

lsIbid., 0.153, Art.1.

16Ibid., Q.46, Art.3.

17Ibid., 0.45.

8Florence Whyte explains that, while dancing is not
specifically mentioned, this play ". . . emphasizes a neg-
lracted aspect of the dancing element of Dances of Death, -
'tlie conflict" (Dance of Death, p. 76).

19lCor. 15:22.

 

20Gilman, "Ideology," p. 89.

Part 3:

Farsa llamada Danza de la Muerte

of Juan de Pedraza

This play1 is the first Dance of Death that can be

2

classified as an auto sacramental. As a logical conse-

 

calience of this the emphasis on faith and doctrine noted in
‘tlie two previous plays becomes more specific in Pedraza's
vvc>rk and involves an emphasis on the doctrine of the
laticharist.3 In this play, written in 1551, the author
seeks to show that the sacrament of the Eucharist is the
best safeguard against death and sin. This naturally

’ includes a tacit emphasis on charity, since mortal sin is
by definition opposed to that virtue.

The play is preceded by a 122 Spoken by the shep-
herd which summarizes the play's argument. The $313.3
itself begins in one of the chambers of the pope's palace.
His lines indicate that his main vice is that of vainglory:

iOh, cuan sublimada que fué mi ventura!

zY cuan a sabor tan bien fortunado,
Venido de nada en tan alto estado. . . .

. O O O O O O O O O O I O O O O O O C I

iCon cuanta humildad me sirven y acatan
Todos estados, aca en este suelo! (42:1-2)

155

156

Tflua pope glories in the prestige that accompanies his high
estate, forgetting for all practical purposes that he owes
axll this to God (even though he is intellectually aware of
tflnis fact). Thus he appears to prefer the testimony of
HE“) to that of God, and this is one way in which vainglory
may be contrary to charity.4 The pope's attitude (as well
as; that of the next two characters, the king and the lady)
ijs also representative of the fourth species of pride,
kflnich occurs "when a man despises others and wishes to be
SSingularly conspicuous," and pride is, of its genus, a
Iruortal sin.6 Death's accusation confirms this and also
Inventions that the pope is guilty of not having given a
good example to his flock, which is a type of scandal.

Death says:

30h, cuan sin acuerdo de mi, y sin temor,

Yaces en vicios terrenos jatando,

La gloria posible de aca procurando,

Soberbia mostrando por ser gran senor;

En quien la humilidad, segun que 5 Pastor,

Habia de ser grande ejemplo a1 ganado. (42:2)
Tflie sin of scandal is also opposed to charity, for, as
Amquinas states, ". . . scandal is opposed to a special
‘7j_rtue, viz. charity."7 The famous theme of the equality

(>13 all men in death is alluded to by Death herself when
3he says to the pope:

Aunque tu estado a todos hoy sébre,

Muy breve seras igual con el pobre,

En solo este paso que llaman morir. (42:2)

1§£Lthough the pope asks for time to repent and correct his

1dife, his desengano comes too late, for Death carries him

 

c>ff.

157

Vainglory and pride are also the king's most strik-
iJKJ vices. He is proud of his lineage, which he traces
back to the Visigoths, and of the fact that he has never
lost a battle:

Yo,r que en la tierra por rey elegido

Ful justamente, por ser de los godos

Mi nombre en la fama delante de todos,

Y en puesto y en mando jamas ser vencido. . .

iOh cuantos valientes 5 mi se han rendido! (42:2)
the was living in a state of illusion identical to that of
tile pope since he had forgotten about death. Death says

to him:

iOh, cuan a sabor tu Alteza departe,
De mi no teniendo acuerdo ninguno! (43:1)

CEhe king's reply indicates that he is guilty not only of
\rainglory and pride, but also of fraud and deception, for
lie says:

éNo miras que son de grande memoria
Mis fuerzas valientes y mafias sotiles? (43:1)

pinae phrase "mafias sotiles" suggests that the king resorted
tx: illicit means of deception8 in order to win battles.
Tunis is a type of lying, which is a vice opposed to truth.
ufiruth, in turn, is a part of justice, and since "to do an
injustice is a mortal sin according to its genus,"9 it
ifikollows that the "mafias sotiles" of the king are contrary
'tx: charity. .He, too, finally decides that he wants to
repent, but Death tells him ". . . tiempo has tenido

scbrado, y lugar" (43:1) .

158

The next scene takes place in a lady's dressing

:rocnn. She is probably admiring herself in a mirror10 as

she speaks the following lines:

De gracias dotada a quién tal como yo?

En toda hermosura a quién tanto perfeta?

Dispuesta, galana, no ménos discreta,

aEn quién la natura asi se revié? (43:1)

Ixxonically, the lady's attitude is the antithesis of dis-
czretion, for she too is entirely given over to amour-propre,
jllst like the pope and the king. This type of vainglory is
Chontrary to charity as regards the love of God, since it
flas as its sole object "something false that is opposed to

11

tflne reverence we owe God." She is also guilty of the

ffiourth species of pride through her desire to be "singularly
cxonspicuous," like the pope and king, and like them she
Vmas living in a state of illusion since she had forgotten
about death. Death herself reminds her of this fact when
She comes to claim her:

iEn cuénta jatancia de vanos dulzores

Yaces, hermosa, de mi trasgordada,

Que vengo con priesa por ti, que casada

Estas con el mundo, compuesta de errores! (43:1)
SSince the lady was exclusively concerned with her physical
1beauty, the arrival of Death inspires revulsion in her.
EShe tries to get off by saying:

Mira que en dama de tanta belleza
Razon no consiente que falte la vida. (43:2)

trliis represents a false conception of reason, and Death
e=t<plains this to the lady as she carries her off. Unlike

tine others, she does not even express a desire to repent.

159

So far the play has followed the Dance of Death
trzadition in a very conventional fashion, but with the
arrival of the shepherd the author introduces a novel
approach. This character is much more sympathetically
{Martrayed than the previous three; Miss Whyte, speculating
(Hi this change, suggests that Pedraza, a cloth shearer,

". . . felt somewhat ill at ease in the company of popes,

12

kuing, and ladies." Thus the shepherd becomes a kind of

glgacioso, and his struggle with Death has humorous over-

 

tones.

The scene takes place in the mountains. The shepherd
lias evidently been walkingaagreat distance, and decides that
:itzis time to eat. The following lines which he addresses
tn: his knapsack provide a preliminary indication of what
Iiis vice is:

Sin duda ninguna, de entrar hora en cuenta

Con vos, mi zurron, yo traigo acordado.

Pues es cosa cierta, segun que he notado,

Que Dios la salud nos da y acrecienta,

No menos la vida también nos augmenta

Comer con gran gana, muy huerte de todo:

Que de otra manera, la Muerte de lodo

Nos pone, y debajo de tal aposenta. (43:2)
Indus, his vice, gluttony, is entirely different from that
0f the preceding three characters. They were all guilty
C>:E'sins which were more intellectual than physical,13 and
I-:'vsedraza seems much less tolerant of them than of the shep-
hGard. The latter appears to overindulge partly as a

‘Ifiamedy against suffering; this is indicated by the fact

tLhat as he eats he exclaims: "; Oh qué sabor! ; Mal hayan

160

mis males. (43:1). .This is an attenuating circumstance
which makes him less guilty than a man who eats and drinks
excessively solely for the pleasure he can derive from
the act.

Death arrives and reveals in her summons that she
takes her orders directly from God:

3 Levanta, zagal, que vengo por ti,
Que ansi me es mandado del alto Senor! (44:1)

The shepherd is initially frightened by the sound of Death's
voice, but he soon regains his composure and innocently
says to her:

3 En algo entendés! Echaos, y dormi
Debajo esa pefia, y seraos mejor. (44:1)

Death repeats her protestations of power, but it happens
that the shepherd is not quite ready to go: "i Pardiobre,
que tengo con vos de luchar!" (44:2). Thus the element of

conflict and struggle seen in the Farsa de la Muerte by

 

Diego Sanchez de Badajoz is continued in this play, for
there now follows a long altercation between Death and the
shepherd. The former becomes something of a comic figure
during this struggle, for she is unable to convince the
shepherd that he is subject to her. The first indication
that the shepherd is going to emerge victorious is the use
of the subjunctive in the following lines spoken by Death:

a T6 piensas, si dado me fuese lugar

De aquella divina y real Providencia,

Quefuerzas, sentido, con grave dolencia

Perder no te haria con gran turbacién? (44:2)

This suggests that Death's visitation is only a warning

this time, an act of God designed to give the shepherd a

161

chance to correct his life. The rest of the play supports
this interpretation, for Death, unable to win the shepherd
over to her way of thinking, gives up in despair and
introduces him to Reason, at which point the play becomes
allegorical:

1 Oh, Como huelgas hablar necedales,

Echando por alto, Pastor, mis razones!

No quiero contigo trabar mas quistiones,

Pues viene quien burle de tus liviandades.

Escucha sus dichos, que son las verdades;

Mediante los cuales, si estas muy atento,

Muy presto vendrés en conocimiento

De cuanto me deben temor los mortales. (44:2--45:l)
Reason enters and explains that she is glad to see the
shepherd alive and well, since he will be a good example
for sinners. Since Death's power is great and she claims
her victims without even giving them a chance to appeal,
the shepherd should, according to Reason, despise the things
of this world and concentrate on service to God. In this
way he will escape the punishments that the damned suffer
in hell. It is at this point that the emphasis on faith
begins to become apparent; Reason continues:

Ten esperanza contino, y temor

De aquella que a todos los vivos aqueja,

Pues cosa en el suelo, aunque fuerte, no deja. . . .

(45:1)

The shepherd must have hope, the virtue which ". . . makes
us adhere to God, as the source whence we derive perfect
goodness, i.e., in so far as, by hope, we trust to the

14

Divine assistance for obtaining happiness." This, how-

ever, also involves an indirect emphasis on faith, since
15

. . . an act of faith is expressed in the act of hope."

162

The shepherd tells Reason that Death wounded him, but that
he escaped. Reason replies with an admonition to correct
the error of his ways, and recommends to him a conception
of the world which is scarcely less pessimistic than that

which informs the Farsa de la Muerte of Diego Sanchez de

 

Badajoz:

Por tanto da gracias, hermano, al Senor

Y mira que sientes le plugo, y qu'El quiso
Dejarte que emiendes la vida pasada:

Por ende las cosas del mundo en nonada
Tendrés, procurando aca el paraiso. (45:1)

The process of his desengano is nearly complete as he

 

makes a firm resolution not to sin again:

De aqui y'os promento vivir sobre aviso,
Y nunca papar de hoy mas pecados. (45:1)

Nevertheless, for the shepherd to be firm in his resolution
there are more things he must know, and, for the purpose of
teaching him, Pedraza introduces two more allegorical
characters, Anger and Understanding.16 Anger alludes to
the importance of Reason when she17 says ". . . ésta
faltando, suceden mil males" (45:2). Understanding, in
turn, explains that Anger corrupts the will. Since all of
this is too complicated for the shepherd, Reason attempts
to sum it up for him concisely:

Tu debes, hermano, sin duda saber,

Que aquesta es la Ira, muy grave pecado,

La cual me destierra de todo poblado,

Echéndome fuera (segun su poder)

De aqueste, que agora su nombre a entender

(Senala al Entendimiento.)
Procuro de darte, por hacer contento;

El cual introduce por entendimiento,
Que por ser muy flaco, se deja vencer. (45:2)

163

This concept of anger as an obstacle to reason is thoroughly
Thomistic. Aquinas says that ". . . of all the passions,
anger is the most manifest obstacle to the judgment of

18
reason."

Pedraza's highlighting of the vice of anger is
thus due primarily to his desire to emphasize the importance
of reason, since there are many vices which are more serious
than anger.19 In the face of all these arguments the shep-
herd completely gives himself over to Reason and agrees to
go wherever she takes him. The liturgical and Eucharistic
element of the play now becomes manifest as Reason tells
'the shepherd where she Will take him:

Muy cerca de aqui, a ver y adorar

A Dios sempiterno, en pan transformado;

En cuyo servicio, con loor muy crescido,

Hoy hace la Iglesia muy grande memoria. (46:1)
The reference, of course, is to the feast of Corpus Christi,
but the shepherd did not know this since he was living in
a state of illusion which he likens to sleep: ". . . he
estado dormido" (46:1). The play ends with the shepherd's
prayer to the Eucharistic bread. Following his union with
Reason he is no longer the ignorant shepherd he used to be,
but is now capable of penetrating even the subtleties of
the Aristotelian distinction between substance and accident
(refined and applied to the sacrament of the Eucharist by

Aquinas, of course):20

iOh, Pan excelente, divino manjar,

En carne del Hijo de Dios convertido!
30h sacro misterio, por quien soy venido
Aqui do me trujo Razon sin errar,

Solo a te ver, Sefior, y adorar;

164

Qu'en pan trasformado, segun tengo mientes,
Yaces, por bien de todas las gentes

Que quieren contigo sobir a reinar!
Ad6rote, Verbo divino, sagrado,

Que yaces debajo de aqueste accidente,

Y a tu Majestad suplico humilmente,

Puesto que indigno, de hinojos postrado,
Nos libres y guardes, Sefior, del pecado,
Déndonos gracia aca, que alcancemos

El reino de gloria, Senor, que atendemos,
Por ti prometido a nos de buen grado.

Y pues he gozado sin mas resistencia

Ver, cual he visto sin dubda hoy, por san,
A Dios sempiterno en forma de pan,

Manjar saludable de nuestra dolencia. . . . (46:2)

This emphasis on the necessity of a sacrament
represents a new stage in the development of the Dance of
Death,21 and the fact that it is the Eucharist which is

emphasized gives the Dance of Death a role, albeit a minor

one, in the development of the auto sacramental. The trend

 

toward a priori desengano based on faith and doctrine began

 

with Gil Vicente's Auto da barca da Gloria, and now the

 

emphasis on specific doctrine becomes explicit. That the
specific doctrine emphasized should be that of the Eucharist
is very appropriate, since the Eucharist ". . . is the
greatest of all the sacraments . . . because it contains
Christ Himself substantially. . . ."22 The key point in

the shepherd's final speech is that the Eucharist is a
source of grace and a means of achieving the kingdom of
glory. Aquinas makes identical claims for the sacrament.
Regarding its power to bestow grace he states that ". . .

by this sacrament grace receives increase, and the spiritual
life is perfected, so that man may stand perfect in himself

23

by union with God." He immediately goes on to make a

165

statement which indicates that the emphasis on doctrine and
the emphasis on charity are not really distinct, but rather
intimately connected: "this sacrament confers grace
spiritually toqether with the virtue of charity."24 This
means that an emphasis on the doctrine of the Eucharist
implies an emphasis on charity as well, so that the second
half of the play really proposes the solution to the lack
of charity that was observed in the first half in the
episodes with the pope, the king, and the lady. Regarding
the sacrament as a means of attaining glory, Aquinas states
that

as Christ's Passion, in virtue whereof this

sacrament is accomplished, is indeed the

sufficient cause of glory, yet not so that

we are thereby forthwith admitted to glory,

but we must first suffer with Him in order that

we also may begglorified’afterwards with Him

(Rom. viii. 17), so this sacrament does not

at once admit us to glory, but bestows on us

the power of coming unto glory.25
This is the sense in which the shepherd's statement,
"Dandonos gracia acé, que alcancemos / El reino de gloria,"
is to be understood.

In conclusion, Pedraza's farsa is the first work in
which the Dance of Death theme takes the form of Eucharistic
theater specifically destined for presentation on the feast
of Corpus Christi. Yet this play celebrates the most impor-
tant sacrament in the Catholic Church without making any
reference to Protestant denials of the doctrine of the Real

26

Presence. According to Marcel Bataillon, this is because

.the purpose of the auto sacramental was originally not

166

anti-Protestant in nature; its purpose was to effect a
reform within the Church, to give the faithful a deeper
understanding of their religion. He says:

. . . el culto del Redentor vuelve por
entonces a tomar la delantera sobre el

culto de los Santos, lo esencial sobre lo
accesorio. El misterio eucaristico
reivindica e1 puesto que le compete en el
centro de las diversiones populares del

Cor us, pues e1 alegre tumulto de éstas lo
habian hecho perder excesivamente de vista.27

Thus the a priori and a posteriori desengano in this play

 

respond to a given set of historical circumstances. From
this point on, however, because of the growing threat of
Protestantism, the Dances of Death become apologetic in
nature and contain specific references to heretical sects

and doctrines.

FOOTNOTES-“'CHAPTER II, Part 3

1Juan de Pedraza, Farsa llamada Danza de la Muerte,

in Biblioteca de autores espafio1es: autos sacramegtaies
desde su origen hasta fines deI siglo XVII, ed. by Eduardo
Gonzalez Pedroso'YMadrid: Ediciones Atias, 1952), 58:
41-46. All references are to this edition and are identi-
fied in the text by page and column numbers.

 

 

 

2Although J. D. M. Ford, in his review of Florence
Whyte's book on the Dance of Death (Hispanic Review 2
[1934]: 74-76), quarrels with her classification of the
play as an auto sacramental, he admits to not having read
the play, so that his objection need not be taken too
seridusly. The play is a true auto sacramental, at least
according to the criteria adducediby A. A. Parker: it is
a part of the public celebration of the Corpus Christi
feast and has as its asunto the Eucharist; it is didactic
in nature, a type of sermon in theatrical form; finally,
it is allegorical (The Allegorical Drama of Ca1er6n [Oxford
and London: The Dolphin §6ok Co., 1943], Chapter 2, esp.
pps. 58-80).

3For a concise summation of Catholic Eucharistic
doctrine see Ronald Knox, The Belief of Catholics (Garden
City, New York: Image Books, 1958), p. 15 .

 

 

 

 

 

4Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.l32, Art.3.
51bid., Q.162, Art.4.

61bid., Art.5.

71bid., Q.43, Art.3.

8All deception in war is not necessarily illicit
according to Aquinas, but only that kind whereby a man is
deceived ". . . through being told something false, or
through the breaking of a promise" (Summa Pt. II-II, Q.40,
Art.3). '

91bid., 0.59, Art.4.

167

168

loFlorence Whyte, The Dance of Death in S ain and
Catalonia (Baltimore: Waverly Press, 1931), p. 6.

llAquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.132, Art.3.

12Whyte, Dance of Death, p. 95.

 

13Aquinas places pride partly in the sensitive and
partly in the intellective appetite (Summa Pt. II-II,_
Q.162, Art.3), whereas he places gluttony exclusively in
the sensitive appetite (Ibid., Q.l48, Art.1, Reply Obj.3).

14Ibid., Q.17, Art.6.

lsIbid., Reply Obj.2.

16Since these are equivocal terms, a certain amount
of explanation is in order. The understanding of which
Pedraza speaks is the characteristically weak natural power
of understanding (not to be confused with the understanding
which is a gift of the Holy Ghost, and not at all weak,
since it exceeds the natural light of finite understanding-
v. Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.8, Art.l): "Que por ser muy
flaco se deja vencer" (45:2). Anger is a vice in this con-
text since it stands in an antecedent rather than consequent
relation to reason, and ". . . withdraws reason frOm its
rectitude" (Ibid., Q.158, Art.1, Reply Obj.2).

17The gender of the allegorical figures is taken
from the gender of the Spanish word. ‘Thus Reason and
Anger are feminine, while Understanding is masculine.

18Aquinas Summa Pt. I-II, Q.48, Art.3.

19£§£Q-. Pt. II-II, Q.158, Art.4.

20lbid., Pt. III, QQ. 75-77.

21The insistence on the necessity of penance noted
in other Dances of Death does not refer to the sacrament
of Penance, but rather to the virtue. Aquinas makes this
distinction clear in Summa Pt. III, QQ. 84-85.

221bid., Q.65, Art.3.

23M” 0.79! Art'll Reply Obj.1.
24léiézr Reply Obj.2.

251bid., Art.2, Reply Obj.1.

169

26Marcel Bataillon, "Ensayo de explicacién del
auto sacramental," in his Varia lecci6n de clasicos
espafiOIes (Madrid: Editorial Gredos, 1964). PPS. 183-
205.

 

2.7Ibid., p. 189.

CHAPTER III

DESENGANO BASED ON FAITH AND DOCTRINE

INCLUDING REFERENCES TO HETERODOXY

Part 1:
Diélogo de Mercuriogy_Car6n

of AlfonSo de Valdés

Authors of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
who present Dance of Death themes (i.e., Alfonso de Valdés,
Micael de Carvajal and Luis Hurtado de Toledo, Quevedo, and
Calderén de la Barca) are all aware of the growing challenge
to the faith constituted by the Protestant schism. There-
fore, in addition to the traditional emphasis on the theolo-
gical virtue of charity, they have chosen to make a

condemnation of heresy form part of the a priori desengafio

 

which informs their works. Thus, while the emphasis on
faith and doctrine noted in the three previous works con-
tinues through the Baroque period, it acquires a new urgency
because of the wave of heterodoxy spreading through Europe.
Bruce Wardropper, commenting on Marcel Bataillon's theory
regarding the origin of the auto sacramental, alludes to

this change of historical conditions and its effect on the

auto sacramental:

170

171

La teoria de Bataillon es el complemento
positivo a la teoria segun la cual los autos
surgieron como protesta contra 1a reforma.
Contradice la opinién de que se originaron
en oposicion al luteranismo, a la vez que
admite que a menudo representan una reaccién
ante e1 espiritu herético. La reforma catélica
nacié, desde luego, independientemente de la
protestante y anterior a ella. Empezo antes
del cisma con la prerreforma en Espana y
siguio en vigor durante toda la Contrarreforma.
Pero empezé a adquirir una nueva urgencia desde
1560, en parte por el reto protestante: fue
durante este periodo de su mayor vigencia cuando
los autos empezaron consistentemente a demostrar
su naturaleza sacramental.l

Thus, just as the a priori desengano of the three preceding
works with its emphasis on faith and doctrine corresponds
to what Wardropper describes as the "reforma catélica," so
the a priori desengano of the following works with its
emphasis on orthodox faith and doctrine and its condemna-
tion of heresy belongs to the period of the Reformation and
Counter-Reformation.2

The Dialogo de Mercurio y Carén3 by Alfonso de
Valdés may on first consideration seem an unlikely book to
be put forward as an example of orthodoxy in the first half
of the sixteenth century. Nevertheless, while Valdés clamors
for ecclesiastical reform in a tone that is frequently
irreverent, the substance of what he says is basically
orthodox. This can be seen by making a comparison of his
prOposals with statements of Saint Thomas Aquinas,4 who, in
the words of Thomas Gilby, O.P., 9. . . stands for a body
of thought which for seven centuries has moved at the centre

of Western Catholicism."5 Even Valdés's political theory

172

with its condemnation of absolutism implies a conception
of natural and positive law which is very similar to that
of Aquinas, as will be seen in the exchange between Carén
and the king of the Galatians.

The Diélogo de Mercurio y Caron was written

approximately ten years after Gil Vicente's Auto da barca

 

da Gloria, and in some respects the works are quite similar.
Leaving aside differences in literary form, we see that
Caron in the Diéloqo plays the same role as the Demonic,

who was the boatman in Gil Vicente's auto. The format is
also quite similar. Various departed souls arrive to be
ferried across the river Styx and reveal something of

their past to the boatmen who then speak for the author as
they either praise or censure these souls for their past

lives, and it is in this manner that a priori desengano is

 

introduced in both works. The Dialogo de Mercurio y Car5n,

 

however, is much more ambitious in scope than the earlier
work. In fact, it is not mainly a Dance of Death at all,
but rather a thinly disguised piece of anti-French propa-
ganda on the subject of the war between Charles V and
Francis 1.6 In the opinion of E. Segura Covarsi, Valdés
merely worked in the Dance of Death theme ". . . para dar
amenidad a un tema interesante y actual. . . ."7 Valdés
himself affirms in the "Prohemio al lector" that his work
is to be primarily an apologia on behalf of the Emperor:
La causa principal que me movio a scrivir
este diélogo fué desseo de manifestar la

justicia del Emperador y la iniquidad de
aquellos que lo desafiaron. . . . (l)

173

He goes on to state that he introduced the Dance of Death
theme for stylistic reasons, so that the book would be
written ". . . en estilo que de todo género de hombres
fuese con sabor leido" (1). His concern for doctrine is
indicated immediately by his statement that the various
souls will interrupt the story "con algunas gracias y
buena doctrina" (1). This procession of souls is the only
part of the work that can be properly called a Dance of
Death and will accordingly be the only part of the work
analyzed here.8

The book begins with allusions to social disrup-

tion. Mercurio comes to Caron9 pidiendo albricias for the

 

news he brings about the defiant challenges that the kings
of France and England issued against the Emperor Charles
V. (This is good news to Carén because he will now have
enough business to pay for his new boat.)

Valdés's only overt reference to heterodoxy occurs
almost immediately. EXplaining to Caron the causes of
the social upheaval taking place, Mercurio says that "toda
Alemania esta prefiada de otro mayor tumulto que el passado,
a causa de la secta lutherana y de nuevas divisiones que
afin en ella se levantan" (7). While Valdés may have been
sympathetic to the Reformation's protest against wealth
and splendor in the Church,10 it is equally true that his
work is informed by a sense of Catholicity, as Montesinos
observes,ll which prevented him from accepting the more

radical and specifically religious proposals of the reformers.

174

At no point in the book, for example, does he deny the
validity of the sacraments, of indulgences, or of the
externals of religious devotion. Polidoro's advice to his
son represents Valdés's view: "Procura de parecer en todas
tus cosas Christiano, no solamente con cerimonias exter-
iores, mas con obras christianas" (179). He does not state
that external devotion is unnecessary, but only that it
must be accompanied by internal devotion as well. This is
an idea which recurs frequently throughout the Diélogo,
and, in view of the fact that Valdés occasionally carica-
turizes and satirizes Scholastic theology. it may not be
totally useless to observe that it is not an idea which is
opposed to the true spirit of the great schoolmen. Aquinas,
discussing the question of whether or not there can be any
excess in the worship of God, makes the following pertinent
observation:

. . . if that which is done be, in itself not

conducive to God's glory, nor raise man's mind

to God, nor curb inordinate concupiscence, or

again if it be not in accordance with the

commandments of God and of the Church, or if

it be contrary to the general custom -

all this must be reckoned excessive and super-

stitious, because consistingJ as it does, of

mere externals, it has no connection with the
internal worship of God [emphasis added].11

 

 

 

It thus seems probable that Valdés's satirical barbs were
directed against philOSOphers and theologians who worked
within a Scholastic frame of reference but who were no
longer moved by a concern for truth. Father Copleston

uses this line of reasoning in his attempt to explain the

175

disrepute into which medieval philosophy had fallen after
the Renaissance and the inauguration of the so-called
"modern" period of phi1050phy (i.e. from Descartes to the
present). His views are worth quoting:

Apart from the fact that mediaeval
philosophy naturally shared in the disesteem
with which the Middle Ages in general were
commonly regarded, one factor which was partly
responsible for the attitude adopted toward
mediaeval thinkers was doubtless the language
used concerning Scholasticism by men like
Francis Bacon and René Descartes. Just as
Aristotelians are prone to evaluate Platonism
in terms of Aristotle's criticism, so admirers
of the movement apparently initiated by Bacon
and Descartes were prone to look on mediaeval
philosophy through their eyes, unaware of the
fact that much of what Francis Bacon, for

instance, has to say against the Scholastics

could not legitimately be applied to the great

figures of Mediaeval thought, however applicable

it may have been to later and "decadent"

Scholastics, who worshipped the letter at the

expense of the spirit.1
Valdés's attitude toward Scholastic philosophy, possibly
inherited from his father,14 should also be regarded in
this light. This will be especially clear in the episode
with the theologian, who cannot possibly represent any of
the great Scholastics.

Mercurio wishes to enlighten Caron as to the condi-
tion the world is in and, so that they may discuss the
matter at their leisure, Carén gives his assistant the job
of handling the boat. He and Mercurio then sit down in a
pleasant meadow15 where, as Car6n says, they can "hablar'

y a veces reirnos con algunas animas que vendran a passar"

(11). While this procession of souls is our primary

176

concern, Mercurio's long statement to Caron is worth a
brief examination since it contains an overview of the type

of a priori desengano which characterizes the work. He

 

explains that he has travelled throughout the entire world
and has found nothing in it but "vanidad, maldad, aflicién

y locura" (ll). Disillusioned by this experience, he struck
upon the idea of seeking out the Christian communities,
since he remembered ". . . lo que Jesu Christo instituyé“
(11) and had seen ". . . aquellas sanctissimas leyes que

con tanto amor tan encomendadas les dexé" (ll-12). (This
direCt appeal to the words of Christ rather than to Church
authority typifies Mercurio throughout the book, and may
perhaps be construed as evidence of Protestant leanings

in Valdés.) Car6n's friend Alastorl.6

disillusioned Mercurio
even further by informing him that the way to locate the
Christian communities was to consider the doctrine of
Christ and then look for those people who live exactly
contrary to that doctrine: these would be the Christians
he was seeking.) Scarcely capable of believing what Alastor
had told him, he decided to see for himself and went dir-
ectly to certain provinces in Europe where he recalled

that people lived directly contrary to Christian doctrine.
Enumerating all the major points of this doctrine, he then
observed that these people did in fact live in a contrary
fashion. Their distinguishing characteristics were world-

liness and an almost complete lack of charity: ". . . en

todos ellos vi apenas una centella de Caridad; de manera

177

que muy poquitos eran los que en sélo Jesu Christo tenian
puesta su confianca" (13). This simultaneous emphasis on
Christian doctrine and charity represents one of the differ-

ences between Valdés's Dialogo and the earlier Danca general

 

de la Muerte. In the medieval poem charity was emphasized,
but its vital dependence on Christian doctrine was never
made explicit. This dependence was implied, of course,
through the fact that, by order of generation, faith
precedes hope and hope precedes charity, but the elements
of faith and doctrine were so widely assumed that overt
statement was probably unnecessary. It is more difficult
to speak of commonly shared philosophical assumptions during
the Renaissance, so that if a given writer in this period
wished to emphasize the virtue of charity (i.e. the Christian
theological virtue) it was also necessary for him to
emphasize faith and doctrine, for these were no longer
assumed to the degree that they had been in the Middle Ages.
Father Copleston alludes to this changed outlook as he
elaborates some of the differences between medieval and
Renaissance philosophy:
When one looks at mediaeval philosophy, one

certainly sees variety; but it is a variety

within a common pattern, or at least it is a

variety set against a common and well-defined

background. There was certainly original

thought; but none the less one gets the impres-

sion of a common effort, of what one may call

teamwork. The thirteenth-century philosophers

criticized one another's opinions; but they

accepted not only the same religious faith

but also, for the most part, the same metaphysical

principles. . . . When one looks at Renaissance
philosophy, however, . . . the over-all impression

178

is one of a pullulating individualism. And
this impression is, in many respects, correct.
The gradual breakdown of the framework of
mediaeval society and the loosening of the
bonds between men which helped to produce a
more or less common outlook; the transition to
new forms of society, sometimes separated from
one another by religious differences Lemphasis
addedj?lthe new inventions and discoveries;
all this was accompanied by a marked individ—
ualism in philosophic reflection.l'7

This changed ideological climate is what is primarily

responsible for the new type of a priori desengano in the

 

Spanish Dances of Death in the Renaissance and the Baroque
period.18 Continuing his invective against the Christians,
Mercurio enumerates some of their vices, most of which

have been observed in Dances of Death from the 23223
general on. They are: covetousness, robbery, fraud and
deception, envy, lust, blasphemy, vainglory, ambition,
pride, superstition, simony, scandal, and neglect of duty.
All of these sins, with the exception of blasphemy and
superstition, have already been analyzed and shown to be
contrary to charity. Blasphemy is opposed to charity since
". . . it disparages the Divine goodness, which is the
object of charity,"19 whereas superstition, like simony,
is uncharitable indirectly. It is a vice contrary to

21

religion,20 which is a moral virtue. . This involves an

indirect emphasis on charity since religion, to which

22

superstition is opposed, is a part of justice. Thus

religion, like justice, is a moral virtue, although Aquinas

states that it is the most excellent of the moral virtues

23

since it approaches nearer to God than the others. Thus

179

a sin against religion is the greatest possible sin against
justice, insofar as it represents a failure to render to
God His due. But since "to do an injustice is a mortal
sin according to its genus,"24 it follows that superstition
is also opposed to charity as well as to justice. Thus all

the sins which Mercurio lists and attributes to the Chris-

tians are sins against charity, the highest theological
virtue.

Caron, finding Mercurio's analysis of the situation
almost beyond belief, asks him if, among so many Christians,
he did not find at least EQEE who truly practiced the
teachings of Christ. Mercurio's reply is one of the key
passages in the book upon which Doctor Vélez, the censor
whose job it was to examine and pass judgment on the book,
based his criticism: 1

Hallé tan pocos que me olvidava de hazer
mencion dellos, pero essos que ay digote de
verdad, que es la mas excelente cosa del mundo
ver con quanta alegria y con quanto contenta-
miento viven entre los otros, tanto, que me
detuve algunos dias conversando con ellos
y me parecia conversar entre los angeles.

Mas como los cuitados, por la mayor parte,

son en diversas maneras perseguidos, no osan
parecer entre los otros ni declarar las verdades
que Dios les ha manifestado; mas por esso no
dexan de rogar continuamente a Jesu Christo

que aparte del mundo tanta ceguedad, viviendo
siempre con mas alegria quando mas cerca de

si veen la persecucién. (20)

Vélez (v. the apéndice, ed. cit.) thought that he detected

a reference to the alumbrados in this passage. He says:

 

180

. . . paresce que aquesto se endereca a los

llamados alumbrados y a mi ver no se pueden

verificar ni entender estas palabras sino

dellos y la perssecucién que dize padescen,

ansi mesmo no se puede entender sino de la

santa ynquisicién y de sus juezes, porque ellos

son los que contra estos errores proceden, y

este auctor llama esto perssecucién, teniendo

por perfectos y como éngeles a los susodichos. (243)

Vélez was probably right in his assertion, for in this
period iluminismo and erasmiSmo are, while certainly not
identical, at least related by virtue of their similar

25

stances on several issues, and Alfonso de Valdés is, in

the opinion of José F. Montesinos, ". . . el mas impor-

26 It is Valdés's

tante de los erasmistas espafioles."
allusion to the persecution of the good Christians that

suggests to Vélez that he was talking about the alumbrados,

 

for this sect was in fact Opposed by the Inquisition and

the Edict of 1525 directed against them denounces some of
their propositions as savoring of Lutheranism.27 Another
possible allusion, albeit a less obvious one, to the
alumbrados might be Valdés's constant emphasis on the joy

of these Christians. Bataillon makes mention of the extreme

importance of this factor in Spanish iluminiSmo:

 

No 5610 en la doctrina de Lutero tiene la
libertad cristiana dos fases, una exterior
y negativa - liberacion del temor servil y
de las coacciones eclesiasticas - y otra
interior y positiva - fe del alma regenerada
en un poder divino del que ella es partici-
pante -: también en Espafia muestra e1 ilu-
minismo esa mezcla de libertad con respecto
a las ceremonias y de confianza en un Dios
que da la pazgy la alegria [emphasis added].
También aqui las diferencias ue se notan
entre "recogidos" y "dejados" 3 son menores

181

que su comfin oposicién a la piedad sierva y

amarga. El ascetismo se humaniza porque se

siente 1a gracia como una marea que va

subiendo, pronta a llenar las almas que

se han vaciado de amor propio. El cuerpo

no es enemigo demasiado terrible para que

se le trate con crueldad.

Por otra parte, e1 sufrimiento aparece

como sefial de un insuficiente acuerdo con

Dios.29
The Christian, if he has really given himself over completely
to God, should therefore not be somber or lugubrious, but
joyful. This idea is restated later in the Diélogo in a
more direct and forceful manner.

Having painted this extremely bleak picture of con-
temporary society, Mercurio then begins to relate to Caron
the details of the political friction between Charles V
and Francis I; their discourse will be interrupted from
time to time by several souls who come seeking passage
across the river. The first soul in the procession is the
preacher. Caron announces his arrival with these words:
"Pero mira también tfi aquella anima con quanta sobervia
viene" (27). The word "sobervia" immediately introduces an
emphasis on charity, since pride is generically contrary to

that virtue.30

The preacher seems to be especially proud
of the fact that whenever he preached, the church was
always full of people. Caron's question, "aQué arte tenias
para esso?" (27), suggests a possible parallel between this

preacher and the mendicant friar in the Danga general, to

 

whom Death says:

182

Maestro famoso, sotil e capés,
Que en todas las artes fuestes sabidor. . . .
(ed. cit., 383:2)

The preacher's reply to Caron confirms this, for, like his
counterpart, he is guilty of falsehood in his preaching:

Fingia en pfiblico sanctidad por ganar
crédito con el pueblo y quando subia en el
pfilpito, procurava de enderecar mis
reprehensiones de manera que no tocassen
a los que estavan presentes, porque, como
sabes, ninguno huelga que le digan las
verdades. (27-28)

There are really two related sins here, the lying which
took place in the sermons, and hypocrisy. The former is

unquestionably a mortal sin contrary to charity, for, as

Aquinas says, . . . whoever utters a falsehood in preach-

ing, so far as he is concerned, makes faith void; and so

31

sins mortally." Hypocrisy, on the other hand, is not

always a mortal sin, for the intention of the hypocrite is

to appear to be good, which is not contrary to charity.32

Some types of hypocrisy can be contrary to charity, how-
ever, and Aquinas's explanation makes it clear that the
preacher's hypocrisy is a mortal sin:

There are two things in hypocrisy, lack
of holiness, and simulation thereof. Accordingly
if by a hypocrite we mean a person whose inten-
tion is directed to both of the above, one,
namely, who cares not to be holy but only to
appear so, in which sense Sacred Scripture is
wont to use the term, it is evident that hypo-
crisy is a mortal sin: for no one is entirely
deprived of holiness save through mortal sin.
But if by a hypocrite we mean one who intends to
simulate holiness, which he lacks through mortal
sin, then, although he is in mortal sin, whereby
he is deprived of holiness, yet, in his case,
the dissimulation itself is not always a mortal

183

sin, but sometimes a venial sin. This will
depend on the end in view; for if this be

contrary to the love of God or of his neigh-
bor, it will be a mortal sin: for instance
if he were to simulate holiness in order to

disseminate false doctfinei[emphasis addedj
.33

In the first place, the preacher makes it clear that he
does not wish actually to be holy when he says to Carén,
Mira, hermano: si yo les dixera las
verdades, quica se quisieran convertir y
vivir como christianos, y fuera menester
que de pura verguenca hiziera yo otro
tanto, y desto me queria yo bien guardar. (28)
Thus, because of his refusal to be holy in the true sense
of the word, and because of the fact that he simulated
holiness in order to "disseminate false doctrine," the
hypocrisy of the preacher is a mortal sin contrary to
charity. After having spoken with the preacher, Caron no
longer is quite so astonished by the fact that the Chris-
tians live in such an un-Christian manner.
The adviser is the next soul to come for passage.
He is an excellent concrete example of the type of indi-
vidual about whom Marcel Bataillon generalizes in the
following remark about the Diélogo:
Lo que impresiona, en la mayor parte de las
almas que vienen a pedir paso, no es tanto la
c1nica inconsciencia con que exponen su conducta,
cuanto su soberbia seguridad de haber rescatado
las peorei inmoralidades a fuerza de practicas
devotas.

The adviser can scarcely believe that he is being sent to

Hell, as the following exchange indicates:

184

’ f . .
Caron: Mal podias governar a los otros 51
no te supiste governar a ti.

Anima: £C6mo no?

Carén: Porque si bien te governaras no vinieras
al infierno.

Anima: £C6mo, que no viniera a1 infierno?
aParécete que venir aqu1 es venir a1
infierno?

Carén: A la fe, hermano, si te piensas otra
cosa estas muy engafiado.

Anima: iO desventurado de mi! Que al infierno
4 tengo de ir?

Carén: Desto ninguna dubda tengas.

Anima: Apena [gig] te puedo creer. (36)
The adviser reveals that his incredulity is due to the fact
that his entire life has been the exercise of one devout

practice after another. Since the condemnation of mere

 

devotional externalism is a key thread which runs through
the entire book, it will be well to analyze it in detail
here. The adviser says to Car6n:

Cata que yo era Christiano y recebi
siendo nifio el baptismo y después la
confirmacién; confessavame y comulgavame
tres o quatro vezes en el ano, guardava
todas las fiestas, ayunava todos los d1as
que manda la Iglesia, y aun otros muchos
por mi devocién, y las vigilias de Nuestra
Senora a pan y agua; oia cada dia mi
missa y hazia dezir muchas a mi costa,
rezava ordinariamente las horas canénicas
y otras muchasfdevociones, fui muchas
vezes en romer1a y tuve muchas novenas
en casas de gran devocién, rezava en las
cuentas que bendixo el Papa Hadriano,3S
dava limosna a los pobres, casé muchas
huérfanas, edifiqué tres monasterios y
hize infinitas otras buenas obras. Allende
desto tomé una bula del Papa en que me

185

absolvia a culpa y a pena, in articulo
mortis. Traia siempre un habito de la
merced, a1 tiempo de mi muerte tomé una
candela en la mano de las del Papa Hadriano,
enterréme en habito de Sant Francisco,
allende de infinitas mandas pias que en

mi testamento dexé. (36-37)

 

It is necessary to delineate very clearly the author's
attitude toward these externals, in order to distinguish
it from the attitude of the man who most obviously influ-
enced him here, namely, Erasmus. (As Montesinos says,
"Lo mas erasmiano en la actitud religiosa de Valdés es

su repugnancia frente a ceremonias y supersticiones.

."36) For Valdés, the ceremonies and externals of

devotion are good if they are used properly, with a correct
attitude. As Mercurio says, "Mira, hermano, tfi has contado
muchas cosas buenas, mas a mi ver sabias dellas mal usar,
teniendo mas respecto a cumplir con tu voluntad que ni

con la de Dios ni con tu oficio" (37). By indulging in
these devout practices the adviser took time away from the
fulfillment of his occupation and was thus detrimental to
the good of the republic. As Mercurio says to him,

". . . no ay oracién mas grata a Dios que cumplir su
voluntad; y sabiendo tfi ser ella que se haga bien a1

pr6ximo, apensavas servirlo rezando, con dafio del pr6ximo?"

(38). Mercurio is alluding here to the primacy_of the

 

virtue of charity. Valdés's stance seems to be that if
the externals of devotion are performed in the spirit of
charity, they will be efficacious. Erasmus was also critical

of religious ceremonies, but he went farther than Valdés

186

was willing to go in his denunciation. Consider, for

example, this statement from The Education of a Christian

 

Prince, one of Valdés's most important sources, according

to Montesinos:37

. . . do not think that Christ is found in
ceremonies, in doctrines kept after a fashion,
and in constitutions of the church. Who is
truly Christian? Not he who is baptized or
annointed, or who attends church. It is
rather the man who has embraced Christ in the
innermost feelings of his heart, and who
emulates Him by his pious deeds.38

In another book, the Spanish translation of the Enchiridion

 

Militis Christiani, he seems to take a more moderate posi-

tion, not denying that externals may serve some useful
purpose:

. . . este error de estimar las cosas exteriores

y literales mas que las interioresy espirituales
es una comfin pestilencia que anda entre todos

los cristianos. La cual tanto es mas dafiosa
cuanto mas cerca anda, al parecer, de santidad

y devocién. .Ca no hay vicios ningunos tan
peligrosos como los que quieren parecer virtudes.
Porque allende del peligro en que ponen

aun a los buenos, que se pueden presto engafiar

y caer en ellos, tienen otro mal: que ningunos
vicios son tan dificultosos de corregir ni
emendarse, a causa que el pueblo sin discrecién
piensa que toda la religién cristiana se destruye
cuando estas semejantes devociones exteriores

en cierta manera se reprehenden; y también

porque reclama luego todo el mundo, y ladran

unos vocingleros predicadores que de buena

gana les predican estas cosas, teniendo por
ventura mas respeto a su interese proprio que a

la gloria de Jesucristo.39 Cuya supersticion
grosera y santidad no verdadera me hace

tantas veces protestar que yo no solamente

no reprehendo los ejercicios de los simples

ni las corporales cerimonias de los cristianos,
especialmente las que por autoridad de la Iglesia
estén aprobadas, porque son algunas veces indicios
y muestras de devocién y otras veces ayudan y
aparejan e ella, pero aun digo que puesto caso que
estas cosas sean en alguna manera mas necesarias a

187

105 principiantes que no han entrado por este

caminq y son como nifios recientes en la dotrina

y espiritu de Jesucristo, hasta que crezcan y

se hagan varones perfetos, pero que todaV1a no

cumple que los perfetos las desechen tampoco ni

desprecien, por que a ejemplo suyo no se

escandalicen los mas flacos. As1 que yo apruebo

lo que haces, con tanto que el fin y la intencién

cuanto a lo primero no sea viciosa; y demés desto

con tanto que no hagas hincapié ni te detengas

en el escalén que esta puesto para subir mas

arriba a cosas mas apropriadas a tu salud.40
Even in this more moderate statement Erasmus was positing
a much more radical freedom from the externals of devotion
than Valdés. While it is true that they may be of positive
use to neophytes, as a kind of springboard into Christian
doctrine, the only reason he can adduce for "105 perfetos"
to use them is to avoid giving scandal. On the other hand,
the good married man, one of the characters Valdés puts
forward as an example of a perfect Christian, avails him-
self of the sacraments, specifically the Eucharist (137)
and Extreme Unction (140), and hears Mass on every holy
day as well as on other days when he has time free from his
professional duties (133). It is true that he is not
slavishly tied to these externals, as are some of the other
characters in the book. Nevertheless, he takes advantage
of these things as a means to an end and he seems unwilling,
as Valdés probably was, to prescind from them entirely.
Thus, while both Erasmus and Valdés agree that externals
must be infused by a spirit of charity to be efficacious,41
the former seems to lay the groundwork for a total indepen-

dence from externals, whereas the latter could not posit

such a radical liberty.

188

Returning now to the adviser, we see that he is
guilty of a sin which has never before been observed in a
Spanish Dance of Death: flattering a prince. Describing
the method by which he got his way with the prince, the
adviser says:

Procurava de andar siempre a su voluntad
y nunca dezirle cosa que le pesasse. Si él
dezia algo en consejo, aunque fuesse muy malo,
dezia yo que era lo mejor del mundo, y como yo
tenia Opinion de sanctidad, los otros no
osavan contradecirme, especialmente siendo e1
principe de mi parte. Con esto hazia dos
cosas: ganava 1a gracia y amor del principe y
mucha reputacion con el vulgo. (39)

The influence of Erasmus is obvious here. In The Education

 

of a Christian Prince this is what he has to say about

 

flatterers of princes:

But the objective [i.e. of removing from the
prince's spirit common vulgar ideas and replacing
them with salutary thoughts] cannot be accom-
plished, unless every means is used to stave off
abject flatterers. To this malicious tribe the
good fortune of great princes is especially
exposed. The very innocence of the prince's age
makes it vulnerable to attacks of this evil,
partly because by natural inclination it takes
more pleasure in blandishments than in truth,
and partly because of inexperience. The less one
suspects trickery, the less one knows how to avoid
it. Let no one think that the evil of flatterers
(being a sort of minor evil)42 should be passed
over: the most flourishings empires of the
greatest kings have been overthrown by the tongues
of flatterers. Nowhere do we read of a state
which has been oppressed under a great tyranny in
which flatterers did not play the leading roles in
the tragedy.43

This condemnation of flattery involves an emphasis on the
virtue of charity, as can be seen by a consultation of

Aquinas's analysis of the seriousness of the vice. His

189

views are quoted in detail, because of the frequency with
which this vice is condemned in the Dialogo:

. . . a mortal sin is one that is contrary to
charity. Now flattery is sometimes contrary
to charity and sometimes not. It is contrary
to charity in three ways. First, by reason of

. the very matter, as when one man praises
another's sin: for this is contrary to the love
of God, against Whose justice he speaks, and
contrary to the love of his neighbor, whom he
encourages to sin. Wherefore this is a mortal
sin, according to Isa. v. 20, Woe to_you that
call evil good. Secondly, by reason of the
intention, as when one man flatters another, so
that by deceiving him he may injure him in body
or in soul; this is also a mortal sin, and of
this it is written (Prov. xxvii. 6): Better are
the wounds of a friend than the deceitful kisses
of an enemy. Thirdiy, by way of occasion, as
when the praise of a flatterer, even without his
intending it, becomes to another an occasion of
sin. In this case it is necessary to consider,
whether the occasion were given or taken, and
how grievous the consequent downfall. . . .44

 

 

 

 

Since the adviser's flattery was a case of calling evil
good, his sin is therefore mortal.4S Furthermore, his
simulation of holiness for the purpose of protecting him-
self fromthe criticisms of others is a type of hypocrisy,
like that of the preacher, which is contrary to charity
since it is performed for a purpose contrary to true holi-
ness. The adviser knew that what he was doing was wrong,
but claims that his confessors told him that it was a good
way to "medrar y ganar honra en el mundo" (40) and that
through indulgences gained by pious acts he could make
reparation for the offense to God. It is not the concept

of indulgences per se against which Valdés rails, but

rather their abuse. 'Aquinas would certainly agree that

190

indulgences would not be of any use to Valdés's adviser,

for he says that

indulgences have precisely the efficacy
claimed for them, provided that he who grants
them have the authority, that the recipient
have charity_[emphasis added], and’that as
regards the cause, there be piety which
includes the honor of God and the profit of
our neighbor.46

Thus charity, the highest virtue for Valdés, is the key to
the efficacy of indulgences. The virtue of faith also
plays a part in this incident, for Mercurio ascertains that
the adviser was saddened upon realizing that he was to die.
Explaining to him why he instead should have been glad, he
suggests that his problem may have been due to lack of
faith:

Si tfi te acordaras que aquel cuerpo no era.

sino una carcel en que estabas preso4 y que

no eras morador, sino caminante en aquel mundo,

no solamente no te pesara, mas holgaras de

salir dél. . . . Mas como tfi no teniés respecto

a mas de aquella vida y quica dubdavas si hav1a

otra y para aquella enderegavas todas tus cosas,

y por satisfazer a1 mundo a21as tus buenas

obras, no me maravillo que se te hiziesse de mal
dexarlo. (41)

Thus the adviser is criticized for doubting the reality of
an afterlife, something unheard of in the medieval Dances
of Death. The above lines indicate that Valdés's thought,
like that of Erasmus, is strongly eschatological and has
nothing to do with contemporary man-centered naturalistic
humanism.48 Compare the following quote from Erasmus's

Enquiridion: "Y aun ternia por oracién mas perfeta que

191

deseasen ser sueltos ya deste cuerpo y unidos con Jesucristo

en el cielo. . . ."49

 

Since faith precedes charity by order of genera-
tion, it may be the adviser's lack of faith which prevented
him from acting in a charitable fashion. Mercurio explains
to the adviser why his pious acts could not prevent his
ultimate condemnation. Regarding the matter of his burial
in the habit of Saint Francis, he says:

Ven acé: a conoscerias tfi una raposa en

hébito de hermitafio? éY piensas que Dios no

conosce un ru1n aunque venga en hébito de bueno?

Si tfi bivieras como San Francisco, aunque no

murieras en su hébito, te diera Dios el premio

que did a San Francisco, mas viviendo tfi

contrario a la vida de San Francisco, porque al

tiempo de tu muerte te vestiesses su habito,

apensavas salvarte con San Francisco? Gentil

necedad era la tuya. (42-43)
This may have been taken directly from Erasmus, who says in
the Enquiridion that if you (the impersonal "you," directed
to all Christians) want to be buried in the habit of Saint
Francis, "ten por cierto que si cuando eras vivo no procur-
aste de seguir las costumbres semejables a las suyas, que
no te aprovecharé mucho después desta vida llevar vestidura

semejante a la suya."50

The adviser finally experiences a
posteriori desengano, and his final wish is that he be
allowed to return to earth to take vengeance on those who

deceived him. Of course Mercurio informs him that his

desengano has come too late.

 

' The duke is the next to arrive. Mercurio alludes to.

one of his sins when he says: "Mira, mira, Caron, con

192

quanta arrogancia viene aquella anima? (53). The emphasis
on charity here is implicit in the use of the word "arro-
gancia," for Aquinas says that "arrogance, which is an.
uplifting of self above oneself, is a kind of pride.1
. . ."51 Since pride is a mortal sin by its genus, arro-
gance, a type of pride, must be contrary to charity. (Caron
alludes to the equality of all men in death, a theme tradi-
tionally found in Dances of Death, when he says to the duke:
"Pues, mira, hermano: duques, reyes, papas, cardenales y
ganapanes, todos son iguales en mi barca" [53].) The duke
is another example of a person who thought that he could
save himself through exclusive dependence on devotional
formulas, without any interior commitment to Christ. He
says:

. . . diéronme a entender que rezando la

oracion del conde no morir1a en pecado mortal

ni podria venir al infierno. Pues para el

purgatorio ten1a yo diez o doze bulas del

papa que me libravan dél,52 de manera que

nunca pensé que el para1so se me hav1a de
escapar de las manos. (53)

His life style, however, was completely un-Christian. His
sins were gluttony, lust, covetousness, and hypocrisy. In
answer to Caron's question about how he lived, he says:

Como los otros: comer y bever muy largamente,
y aun a ratos no me contentava con mi muger, y
todo mi cuidado era de acrecentar mi senor1o y
sacer dineros de mis vasallos. Y por que me
toviessen por buen Christiano, y por dexar
memoria de m1, edifiqué y fundé muchos monasterios
y hazia muchas limosnas a frailes, porque me
publicassen por hombre de buena vida. (53)

193

The vices of gluttony, lust,.and covetousness have been
shown to be contrary to charity (supra, Chapter I, Part 1).
Hypocrisy is a mortal sin to the extent that the hypocrite
refuses to attempt actually to be holy, but chooses only
to appear so. This describes the duke, since the only end
his "good" works had was the praise of the world, not the
approval of God. As Aquinas says: "Virtuous acts per-

formed in an undue manner (i.e. out of unlawful superstition

or for vainglory) constitute vices by excess."53 Before he

died the duke could have repented, made an act of contri-
tion, confessed his sins and died in a state of grace, but
the specific manner in which he died prevented this. He
says:

Estando para morir, aunque me havia
confessado y comulgado y me parescia tener
algfin arrepentimiento de mis pecados,
nunca acabé de dexar del todo la
voluntad de tornar a ellos. Allende desto,
havia alli tanta gente llorando, que me
tovieron muy ocupado en hazer mi testamento
y en ordenar la pompa con que mi cuerpo se
havia de enterrar, juntamente con la angustia
y congoxa de dexar tantos bienes de que
ve1a no poder mas gozar, que nunca me pude
acordar de Digs ni demandarle perdén de mis
pecados. Tenia también dos frailes, uno de
una parte y otro de otra, que me estavan
leyendo no sé qué oraciones, que ni ellos
ni yo las entendiamos, y perturbavanme el
entendimiento. De manera que muriendo con
aquella congoxa, quando pensé subir al cielo
me hizieron baxar aca al infierno. (54)

Aquinas says that "for the remission of sin . . . it is

necessary that man should put aside entirely his attachment

to sin, . . ."54 and ". . . the act through which sin is

cast aside is called contrition. . . ."55 The duke's

194

attachment to his worldly pleasures indicates that he had
not fully renounced his sins, and he even admits that he
had not fully determined to renounce them. Without this
sincere contrition it was impossible for him to receive
absolution. Aquinas explains why this is so, and in the
process alludes to the primacy of charity:

Confession is an act of virtue, and is part
of a sacrament. In so far as it is an act of
virtue, it has the property of being meritorious,
and thus is of no avail without charity, which
is the principle of merit. But in so far as
it is part of a sacrament, it subordinates the
penitent to the priest who has the keys of the
Church, and who by means of the confession knows
the conscience of the person confessing. In
this way it is possible for confession to be in
one who is not contrite, for he can make his
sins known to the priest, and subject himself
to the keys of the Church: and though he does
not receive the fruit of absolution, yet he
will begin to receive it, when he is sincerely
contrige, as happens in the other sacraments.

But since this was the duke's last confession and he died
immediately afterwards, there was no time for him to
reach a state of full contrition, especially in view of
the disturbing effect of the bedside prayers of the two

friars.S7

The bishop has no redeeming qualities whatsoever.
His definition of the episcopal state indicates how totally
his mind is bound by a consideration of externals:

Obispo es traer vestido un roquete blanco,
dezir missa con una mitra en la cabeca y
guantes y anillos en las manos, mandar a los
clérigos del obispado, defender las rentas
dél y gastarlas a su voluntad, tener muchos
criados, servirse con salva y dar.beneficios. (61)

195

As Carén points out, by this definition not even Saint Peter
was a bishop. Car6n has his own philOSOphy of what a

bishop should do: take good care of the souls that are
entrusted to him, even laying down his life for them if
necessary; instruct them with sound doctrine and the example
of a holy life; as a prerequisite for the latter function,
have a thorough knowledge of Sacred Scripture; be free from
mundane interests; and finally, give aid to the poor. The
bishop has never heard of any of these considerations, and
he is particularly scandalized by the final one, as the
following exchange reveals:

. . (
An1ma: éPobres? Gentil cosa ser1a que un
pobre se sentasse a la mesa de un obispo.

Caron: De manera que si viniera Jesu Christo a
comer contigo, a no lo sentaras a tu mesa
porque era pobre?
An1ma: No, 51 viniera mal vestido. (62)
This is a very strong condemnation of the bishop; it
includes an emphasis on charity because, as Aquinas says,
mercy results from charity.58 Carén elaborates further
on the subject of the bishop's obligation to succor the
poor, explaining that they have more right to the bishop's
income and property (rentas) than his own servants: ". . .
las rentas de los obispos sé que no fueron instituidas
para sus criados, sino para que con ellas mantuviessen los
pobres" (63). This is one point where a slight difference
between Valdés and Aquinas may be observed. The latter

would certainly agree that part of a bishop's obligation is

to "distribute to the poor the ecclesiastical goods which

196

59 He feels, however, that ecclesiastical

accrue to [him]."
goods are to be used for other purposes besides aiding the
poor. He also makes a distinction between private property
which bishops may own and ecclesiastical goods which they
possess only as dispensers, and deals with the question of
whether or not a bishop sins mortally if he does not dis-
tribute ecclesiastical goods to the poor.60 Although
Aquinas appears to give the bishops more leeway in the
dispensation of goods to the poor than does Valdés, both
concur in making the virtue of charity the main criterion
by which such dispensation is to be judged. The bishop in
the Diélogo is certainly guilty of what Aquinas calls bad
faith, since he is positively indifferent to the poor. He
says: "Sé que los pobres no me servian a mi" (63). His
sins do not end here,-however, He is also guilty of simony,
for he gave benefices to his servants in payment for their
services. Even though no exchange of money took place
here, this was still simony, for, as Aquinas says:

. . . the term money denotes anything that can

have a pecuniary value. Now it is evident that

a man's service is directed to some kind of

usefulness, which has a pecuniary value, where-

fore servants are hired for a money wage. There-

fore to grant a spiritual thing for a service

rendered or to be rendered is the same as to

grant it for the money, received or promised,

at which that service could be valued. Likewise,

to grant a person's request for the bestowal of

a temporary favor is directed to some kind of

usefulness which has a pecuniary value. Where-

fore just as a man contracts the guilt of simony

by accepting money or any external thing which

comes under the head of real remuneration, so too

does he contract it by receiving oraI remuneration
or an equivalent in service rendered.51

 

 

 

197

Simony is a vice contrary to religion, which is a moral
virtue and a part of justice. Justice depends on charity,
however, so that the sin of simony, involving a failure

to render to God His due, is directly opposed to justice
and indirectly to charity.62 The bishop is also guilty of
sloth. According to him, "el ayuno no se hizo sino para
los necios y pobres" (64). Sloth is a kind of moral
inertia which resists the performance of good acts and

is a mortal sin since ". . . any sin which by its very
nature is contrary to charity is a mortal sin, . . . and
such is sloth, because the proper effect of charity is joy
in God . . . while sloth is sorrow about spiritual good

inasmuch as it is a Divine good."63

Finally, he is also
guilty of lust, for he kept a certain concubine by the
name of Lucrecia for his pleasure (who he foolishly thinks
will kill herself as soon as she finds out about his
death). Lust is opposed to charity since it leads to
folly and folly is the contrary of wisdom, which presup-
poses charity.64

The cardinal continues the procession and is accused
of bad faith in the dispensation of ecclesiastical goods,
one of the bishop's vices. The cardinal used the income
from churches, monasteries, and hospitals to sustain the
war. Valdés condemns this very strongly when he has
Mercurio ask the cardinal: "i No tenias vergfienca de vender

las rentas que fueron dadas para mantener pobres, porque

sirviessen para matar homres?" (75). (This condemnation

198

suggests that Valdés assumed that the war the cardinal was
supporting was unjust, although he does not say so in so
many words.) Any action which is an obstacle to peace is
also opposed to charity, since ". . . charity, according
to its very nature, causes peace."65
The despairing nun is the first soul in whom guilt

is mitigated by extenuating circumstances. As a young
woman she was placed in a convent, against her will, by
her parents and brothers, who wished to be able to take
her share of their estate for themselves. Her entry into
the convent led her to despair. She says:

. . . después de entrada nunca tuve un dia

bueno, y ass1, maldiziendo a mis padres y

hermanos y a todo mi linaje, nunca ha21a sino

decir: i O padre. épor qué me engendraste?

. . . . éNo valiera mas que el mismo d1a que

naci me ahogarades y feneciera, que no que

me criarades para que biva malaventurada todos

los amargos dias de mi vida?. . . . En estos

y en otros semejantes’plantos estuve siempre

hasta que yo misma fui causa de mi muerte. (82-83)
Her basic sin may be a type of sloth, for she introduces
herself to Caron by saying "Yo soy la desdichada que,
no gozando [emphasis added] del otro mundo, vengo agora
a penar en estotro" (82). Her sin is thus opposed to joy,
. which is an effect of charity,66 and the sin which is
opposed to the joy of charity, inSofar as it has as its
object the Divine good (as opposed to the good of our

neighbor), is sloth.67

(This is a continuation of the
emphasis on joy observed in Mercurio's earlier remarks

about the persecuted true Christians.) Her despair arises

199

from sloth, for Aquinas states that despair is one of its

6 ~
daughters. 8 Actually, however, the a priori desengano

 

in this incident condemns the parents and brothers much
more than the nun herself. Car6n promises her that her

69 and that he will take vengeance

torment will be reduced
on her parents and brothers by keeping them waiting for
passage. The following exchange then takes place between
him and Mercurio:
Car6n : aQuérmedizes, Mercurio, de la crueldad
que usan los cristianos con sus propias
hijas, encerrandolas en los monasterios
con poca consideracion y aun muchas
vezes contra su voluntad?
Mercurio: Téngolo por una grandisima abominacion,
y assi tengo bien encomendado a los
juezes que a los que tal hazen castiguen
muy crudamente,7O assi como homecidas
que matan y entierran sus propias hijas,
tambien como a ladrones,,que las privan
de lo que por derechq avian de heredar
de sus bienes, y assi como los que andan
a matar animas, pues las hazen desesperar.
(83-84)
The main sin of the nun's family was covetousness, and to
satisfy this inordinate desire they acted contrary to
charity by placing her in a convent so that she could not
inherit her share of the family property. This is contrary
to charity because their intention was to deprive the girl
of her belongings. (If their intention had been to place
her in a convent as an aid to her spiritual well-being, the
action might be considered ill-advised but not sinful.) It
happened, however, that the girl was harmed in more than

just her belongings; convent life led her to despair, and so

200

she was damned. The girl's family is also accountable for
this unfortunate result, even though it may not have been
foreseen, for ". . . on account of his neglecting to con-
sider the harm that might ensue, a man is deemed punishable
for the evil results of his action if it be unlawful."71
In the episode with the next victim, the English
adviser, the political theme intersects with the Dance of
Death motif. He informs Mercurio and Carén that the king
of England (Henry VIII) and the king of France (Francis I)
have publicly declared war on Charles V. The adviser is
not presented as an entirely malevolent character; he
explains that Henry had only one cause for declaring war
against the emperor: "La avaricia y ambicién de un cardenal
que tiene cabe si, por cuya mano se dexa governar" (84).72
He further explains, in response to Car6n's questioning,
that the cardinal was not moved by any love for the king
of France, but rather by a strong hatred of Charles. This
hatred, according to the adviser, had a double cause: the
virtuousness of the emperor made him hateful to the cardi-
nal, since evil people always hate good people; also, the
refusal of the emperor to make the cardinal pope by force
further infuriated him. It happens that the adviser was
condemned for having cast his vote in favor of this unjust
war:
Mercurio: Dime, anima pecadora, a y tu davas tu

voto para que se hiziesse y moviesse
una guerra tan injusta como ésta?

201

An1ma: Sabe Dios quanto me pesava de darlo, mas
no podia hazer otra cosa, 51 yo no quisiera
que me echaran del consejo.

Mercurio: aPor qué?

An1ma: Porque si contradixera 1a voluntad del
cardenal no quedara solo un dia en el
consejo.

Mercurio: ENo te valiera mas estar fuera dél por

bueno que venir al infierno por malo?

An1ma: Si, mas i la honra?
Mercurio: Pues quesiste mas la honra del mundo que
la vida eterna, acé pagarés tu mala
‘elecién. (86)
Thus the adviser is condemned for having given his approval
of an unjust war. This is a sin against charity, for
Aquinas lists war as a vice contrary to peace;73 which is

74

the work of charity. He was moved to do this by a false

sense of honor, for, as Aquinas says, ". . . virtue alone
is the due cause of a person being honored."75 The adviser
mistakenly thought that he could secure his honor through a
sinful act, and so he was condemned.

The next to interrupt Mercurio's narration is the

king of the Galatians, a character whom Valdés uses to

represent pure tyranny. Thus the a priori desengafio of this

 

incident is primarily political and centers on the obliga-
tions of the good prince. (Valdés's most immediate source-

book for political theory was Erasmus's Institutio

 

principis Christiani,76 but his political ideas, at least
in their broad outlines, can be seen to be not radically

different from those of Aquinas.)

202

Caron has the privilege of interrogating the king,
and the first question he asks is whether he was king for
the good of the republic or for his own good. The king's
answer: "aQuién es rey sino para su provecho?" (90) causes
Car6n to respond in this way:

A la fe, hermano, el que piensa ser rey
para su provecho y tiene mas cuidado de lo que
cumple a si mesmo que a la repfiblica, aquel tal
no es rey, sino tyrano. (90) ’

Erasmus and Aquinas would concur in this definition of a
tyrant. Erasmus says:

. . . Aristotle differentiates between a prince
and a tyrant on the basis that one is interested
in his own pursuits and the other is concerned
-for the state. No matter what the prince is
deliberating about, he always keeps this one
thing in mind: "Is this to the advantage of all
my subjects?" A tyrant only considers whether

a thing will contribute to his cause.7

Aquinas's remarks on the same subject could as easily have
been written by either Valdés or Erasmus:

A tyrannical government is not just, because
it is directed, not to the common good, but to the
private good of the ruler. . . . Consequently
there is no sedition in disturbing a government
of this kind, unless indeed the tyrant's rule
be disturbed so inordinately, that his subjects
suffer greater harm from the consequent distur-
bance than from the tyrant's government. Indeed
it is the tyrant rather that is guilty of sedition,
since he encourages discord and sedition among his
subjects, that he may lord over them more securely;
for this is tyranny, being conducive to the private
good of the ruler, and to the injury of the multitude.78

It will be recalled (v. Chapter I, Part 1) that sedition
is a sin against charity since it represents a "failure to
render to each one his right," the definition of justice

offered by Aquinas, and whoever acts against the due order

203

of justice sins mortally.79 Sedition is also a sin against
charity in a more direct way, since it is opposed to peace,

and peace is the work of charity.80

The king is also
accused of waging unjust war, since war was the method
he used for conquering new territories. This recalls the
emperor in the Danca general, to whom Death says:

Aqui perderédes e1 buestro cabdal:

Que athesorastes con grand tyrania,

Fasiendo batallas de noche e de dia. . . .(ed. cit.,

380:2)

As explained in the analysis of the emperor, three things
are necessary for a war to be just: 1) it must be waged
by the authority of the sovereign; 2) it must be waged for
a just cause; 3) it must be waged with a rightintention.81

Here, as was the case with the emperor in the Danca_general,

 

only the first condition is fulfilled. The people the king
attacks do not deserve to be attacked, so that a just

cause is absent. In addition, the king does not attack
them with a proper intention, such as the advancement of

82 but only out of naked

good or the avoidance of evil,
self-interest. This is against charity by being a sin

against justice, for Aquinas says that ". . . tyrants who

take great things by violence, are said to be . . . unjust."83
He is also guilty of frivolousness and lust, for, when

Carén asks him in what he occupied himself, he sais: "En
jugar, cacar, burlar y andar entre mugeres" (92). These

sins are all at least potentially opposed to charity since

they are examples of plunging one's senses into worldly

204

pleasures so that one's mind is led into folly and turned
away from the love of God, which ought to be its primary
concern. In the case of the king, however, they led to
an even greater sin, scandal. Carén, wishing to know
whether there are laws to punish peOple who behave as the
king did, is told that there are, but that the king is
above the law. To this Carén replies:

Dizes la verdad, porque e1 rey devria
ser tan justo, tan limpio y tan sancto y tan
apartado de vicios, que aun en un cabello no
rompiesse la ley, y por esso dizen que ella
no le comprehende; mas el que vive como tu
hazias, muy mas gravemente devria ser castigado
de lo que la ley manda, porque assi como el
buen rey haze mucho fructo con su exemplo, y,
por tanto, deve ser de sus subditos muy amado,
y en mas tenido y estimado, assi el malo haze
mucho deno con el mal exemplo, y deve, por tanto,
ser de los suyos aborrecido, castigado y aun
del reino privado. (92-93)

Scandal is improper behavior which occasions another's
spiritual downfall, and the king, because of his high
station, is more susceptible to this vice than others
(v. supra, Chapter I, Part 1). The emphasis on charity is

implicit because, as Aquinas says, . . . scandal is
opposed to a special virtue, viz. charity."84

Valdés, Erasmus, and Aquinas would all agree that
a monarchy is the best form of government, but that it has
dangers which must be avoided by having a good and virtuous
man for king. That this is Valdés's opinion should be
clear from the foregoing. Erasmus says:

Although there are many types of state, it is

the consensus of nearly all wise-thinking men

that the best form is monarchy. This is accord-
ing to the example of God that the sum of all

205

things be placed in the individual but in such a
way that, following God's example, he surpasses
all others in his wisdom and goodness and, want-
ing nothing, may desire only to help his state.
But if conditions were otherwise, that would be
the worst form of state. Whosoever would fight
it then would be the best man. If a prince be
found who is complete in all good qualities, then
pure and absolute monarchy is the thing. (If
that could only be! I fear it is too great a
thing even to hOpe for.) If an average prince
(as the affairs of men go now) is found, it will
be better to have a limited monarchy checked and
lessened by aristocracy and democracy. Then there
is no chance for tyranny to creep in. . . .35

Aquinas's view is quite similar:

A kingdom is the best form of government of
the people, so long as it is not corrupt. But
since the power granted to a king is so great,
it easily degenerates into tyranny, unless he to
whom this power is given be a very virtuous man:
for it is only the virtuous man who conducts
himself well in the midst of prosperity. . . .
Now perfect virtue is to be found in few. . . .
Hence from the very first the Lord did not set
up the kingly authority with full power, but
gave them judges and governors to rule them.86

Aquinas thus rejects absolutism.87

For him the best form
of government will be a mixed one in which one person is
given the power to preside over all, but with others under
him also having governing powers:

this is the best form of polity, being partly

kingdom, since there is one at the head of all;

partly aristocracy, in so far as a number of

persons are set in authority; partly democracy,

i.e., government by the people, in so far as the

rulers can be chosen from the people, and the

people have the right to choose their rulers.88
Aquinas would not balk at the necessity of deposing a
tyrant, but the king of the Galatians had guarded himself

against such a development. He says:

206

Tenia mis subditos en tanto temor y tan
amedrentados que no osavan rebollirse, quanto
mas levantarse contra mi, por malo que yo
fuesse. (93)

This, of course, merely confirms the absolute tyranny of the
king. Valdés goes on to use him to iterate a point made
earlier in the Diélogo, namely, that the prince should avoid
flatterers. The king explains that there were all kinds of
peOple in his court,good and bad, and that he treated the
evil people very well but refused, as far as possible, even
to speak with the good ones. Caron asks him why he felt
that this was a suitable thing to do:
Porque los buenos nunca me hazian sino

ladrar a las orejas, diziendo que tratava mal

mis subditosry que no hazia lo que deV1a, y por

esto los ten1a aborrecidos; los otros nunca me

de21an cosa que me pesasse, mas todo lo que hazia,

aunque fuesse lo peor del mundo, lo aprovavan

ellos por muy bueno. a No querias, pues, que yo

hiziesse favor y mercedes a estos tales? (94)
Carén, of course, answers negatively because ". . . el
principe mucho mas se deve holgar con quien 1e reprehende
que no con quien le lisongea" (94). Flattery is a mortal

sin, as was seen above in the incident with the adviser.

The difference between the a priori desengano of that

 

episode and this one is that the king is condemned for
being a willing recipient thereof. The king claims to
have done at least one thing for the love of God, and this
would, by definition, be a charitable act, were it not for
the fact that, upon examination, he reveals that it was
his own interest that moved him more than the love of God.
The specific act to which he refers is the waging of war

against the Turks. When Caron asks him how he waged war

207

against them, he replies: "Haziéndoles todo el mal que
podia" (96). Caron explains the method which the king

should have used to induce the Turks to become Christians.

His words indicate that, as Montesinos has observed,89

Valdés's Christian republic is not really tolerant: it
wishes to convert by persuas1on, if possible, but by force
if necessary:

Quando tfi hovieras tan bien governado tus
reinos que los tuvieras en mucha paz y sossiego,
y que tfi y ellos viviérades ya como buenos
christianos, estonces fuera bien que procuraras
de convertir los turcos, primero haziéndoles muy
buenas obras para atraerlos a la fe con amor,
como hizieron los apéstoles que predicaron la
doctrina de Jesu Christo, y después, si por amor
no se quisieran convertir y pareciera cumplir a
la honra de Christo procurar de’hazerlos conver-
tir por fuerca, estonces lo havias de hazer con
tanta moderacién, que los turcos conoscieran que
no les hazias guerra por senorearlos ni por
robarlos, mas solamente por la salud de sus
animas. 90 (96- 97)

This method, however, would have been incompatible with
the king's true motive for waging war, as the following
exchange indicates:

An1ma: Bien creo yo que dizes verdad, mas
juntamente con hazer servicio a Dios
queria yo aprovecharme, acrescentando
mi senorio en las tierras que tomasse

a los turcos.

’ f .
Carén: Dessa manera mas te mov1a tu 1nteresse
particular que la honra de Jesu Christo.

An1ma: No te lo puedo negar. (97)
Thus the war he waged against the Turks was waged for a
just cause but with a wicked intention, and this renders

it a sin against charity. Like so many other characters

208

in the Diélogo, the king thought that he could indulge
himself liberally in all these vices and still be saved
by purely external acts of devotion, such as building
monasteries, reciting prayers which he couldn't under-
stand, going to confession (without being sincerely
repentant), and collecting indulgences granted him by
pOpes. In addition to these purely ineffectual means, he
also relied on the mercy of God. This is the sin of pre-
sumption which is contrary to the theological virtue of
hope91 (as opposed to the presumption which is contrary
to magnanimity). Aquinas says:

. . . as to the hope whereby a man relies on

the power of God, there may be presumption

through immoderation, in the fact that a man

tends to some good as though it were possible

by the power and mercy of God, whereas it is

not possible, for instance, if a man hope to

obtain pardon without repenting, or glory
without merits.92

93 and

This type of presumption arises directly from-pride,
is a sin against charity to the extent that, by trusting
in Divine mercy, a man does not refrain from doing that

which is directly contrary to God and his neighbor. But

this precisely describes the modus vivendi of the king of

 

the Galatians, whom Valdés consigns to the torments of
hell.

Valdés's “galofobia”94 surfaces in his treatment

 

of the next soul, the French adviser.95 Caron alludes to
one of his vices when he asks him "éDénde cobraste tanta

sobervia?" (104). The adviser was a secretary to the king,

209

although his main claim is that he put together more than
eighty thousand ducats in less than ten years. Although
covetousness may be a mortal or venial sin, in the adviser's
case it was mortal, since he satisfied it through unchari-
table acts of duplicity and fraud. He explains the method
by which he made himself rich:

Lo primero ue yo hazia era dar a entender
a todos que ten1a tanta parte con el Rey, que
hazia dél lo que yo queria y que ninguna cosa
él determinava sin mi. Con esto hazia que todos
los negoziantes acudiessen a mi, y a los que
me davan algo hablava yo con el bonete en la
mano y les dava a todas horas audiencia; a los
otros amostrava muy mala cara hasta que les
sacava algo. Si vacava 0 se havia de proveer
alguna cosa y la pedian dos o tres, a todos
prometia yo de ayudar, si me prometian ellos
de pagérmelo, y a las vezes no hablava por
ninguno, mas cuando se proveian, aunque yo no
hoviesse hecho nada, todavia levava por entero
lo que havian prometido, dando a entender que
yo lo havia hecho, y muchas vezes havia sido
contrario. De manera que de quanto se proveia
por mis manos, y aun a ratos por las agenas,
llevava yo mi repelén. Y con esta arte,
prometiendo yo a entramas partes, no se me
podian escapar. Allende desto, si se deter-
minava alguna cosa en consejo en favor de
alguno, luego se la hazia saber con diligencia,
déndole a entender que tal y tal 1e havian sido
contrarios y que yo solo lo havia mantenido;
siendo esto muchas vezes al contrario, que ellos
lo favorecian y yo solo lo acusava. (105-106)

This is similar to the actions of the lawyer in the anga
general who took fees from both sides. The adviser's sin
is basically that of lying, and any lie told for the pur-
pose of injuring one's neighbor in his possessions is

a mortal sin contrary to charity.96 In order to get away

with this in the council he resorted to discord, another

sin also contrary to charity:

210

Procurava yo de tenerlos discordes. Iva a1

uno y deziala que el tal havia dicho tal y tal

cosa contra él y que lo queria mal, encargandole

que no me descubriesse, y después iva al otro y

deziale otro tanto, de manera que como yo

sembrava discordia entre todos y no se osavan

fiar unos de otros, cada uno procurava de

agradarme por tenerme de su parte, y assi los

traia a todos a mi voluntad y ninguno osava

abrir la boca contra mi. (106)
Aquinas explains why discord is contrary to charity:

Discord is opposed to concord. Now, as stated

above . . . concord results from charity, in as

much as charity directs many hearts together to

one thing, which is chiefly the Divine good,

secondarily, the good of our neighbor. Wherefore

discord is a sin, in so far as it is opposed to

this concord. .
All the adviser's sins were thus inspired by self-interest:
"Hiziesse yo mi provecho y fuesse como quiera" (107).
Yet his vices do not end here, for once again the politi-
cal theme and the Dance of Death motif intersect. Caron,
wishing to know if the adviser ever performed any notable
service to the king, is proudly told that he was the one
who came up with the scheme to free the king from impri-
sonment under Charles V. He advised the king to make
promises to the emperor in order to be released from
prison and then, once released, to renege on all the things
he had promised. He thus advises the king to sin, and so
shares in his guilt. As Carén says: ". . . de tal conse-
jero tan [sic] consejo" (108). He is also guilty of pro-
moting an unjust war, for he played a vital part in getting
the pOpe and the king of England to challenge the emperor.

He shamelessly admits that in all these actions his only

motive was covetousness: ". . . todo mi intento era dexar

211

muy gran estado, y para hazerlo no tenia mejores medios
que estos" (108). He attempts to justify himself by saying
that his type of behavior is required for court life, at
least if one wants to be praised as a "buen cortesano"
(109) and not despised for his virtue. To solidify this
rationalization he invokes the relativism of the law of
custom:
Hermano, menester es vivir como en la tierra

donde hombre se halla, y pues se requiere esto

para vivir en las cortes de los principes, no te

maravilles que yo me conformasse con la contumbre. (109)
Valdés will directly contradict this idea later on through
the character of the married man. Aquinas, for his part,

98

agrees that custom has the force of law, but with a

vital qualification, namely, that it cannot change natural

99 But since all the adviser's sins are

and Divine laws.
contrary to the theological virtue of charity (which has
God as its object), they are against Divine and natural

100 so that his excuse is completely invalid.

law,
The most overt emphasis on the virtue of charity in
the Diélogo occurs in the incident with the hypocrite. He
is under the mistaken impression that he is going directly
to heaven, and he has a very inflated image of himself:
"Fui de los christianos que se llaman perfectos" (115).
Mercurio accuses him of pride when he says "Muy gran sefial
es de no haverlo sido pensar tfi que lo eras" (115).
Predictably, the hypocrite's Christianity was composed

exclusively of externals, such as being a priest, renouncing

his possessions (according to Mercurio, poverty "mas consiste

212

en la voluntad que en la possessién" [116]), saying Mass
every day, fasting strenuously, and other similar acts.
Mercurio explains that such externals are a means to true
internal worship of God, and asks the hypocrite the vital
question:

Mercurio: éTenias caridad?

Anima: éA qué llamas caridad?

Mercurio: Si amavas a Dios sobre todas las cosas
y a tu pr6x1mo como a ti mesmo.

Anima: Esso era lo principal que yo hazia. (117)
Upon further questioning the hypocrite reveals that his
life was not in fact infused by a spirit of charity. He
sought to take vengeance on those who criticized his
faults, saying that they were evil and persecuted the
Christian religion, even though he knew these charges were
false. Aquinas uses the word "vengeance" to refer to a

virtue, namely, ". . . the infliction of a penal evil on

101

one who has sinned." Consequently, it is necessary to

use a word which, in Aquinas's language, more nearly
describes the behavior of the hypocrite, and this word

is "backbiting." This Aquinas defines as "the blackening

102

of another's character by secret words." It is a sin

against charity because

sins of word should be judged chiefly from the
intention of the speaker. Now backbiting by
its very nature aims at blackening a man's good
name. Wherefore, properly speaking, to back-
bite is to speak ill of an absent person in
order to blacken his good name. Now it is a
very grave matter to blacken a man's good name,
because of all temporal things a man's good
name seems the most precious, since for lack

213

of it he is hindered from doing many things well.
For this reason it is written (Ecclus. xli. 15):
Take care of a good name, for this shall continue
with thee, more than a thousand treasures precious
and great. Thereforei backbiting, properly speak-
ing, is a mortal sin.
Some of the faults his critics attacked were lust, envy,
and the spreading of superstitious beliefs for monetary
gain. Lust is potentially contrary to charity since it
is one means of inducing folly, or blindness of mind,

whereby a man's attention is turned away from God and toward

the enjoyment of worldly pleasures (cf. the squire, the

 

sacristan, and the alfagui in the Danca general). Aquinas
explains why envy is contrary to charity:
Envy is a mortal sin, in respect of its genus.

For the genus of a sin is taken from its object;

and envy according to the aspect of its object

is contrary to charity, whence the soul derives

its spiritual life, according to 1 Jo. iii. 14,

We know that we have passed from death to lifeg

because we love the brethren. Now the object

both of charity and of envy is our neighbor's

good, but by contrary movements, since charity

rejoices:u1our neighbor's good, while envy grieves

over it. . . . Therefore it is evident that envy

is a mortal sin in respect of its genus.104
Superstition, as indicated above, is indirectly contrary to
charity by being a sin against the highest moral virtue,
religion, which is a part of justice. Thus, by encourag-
ing superstition the hypocrite failed to render to God His
due, and so sinned mOrtally. Mercurio suggests that it
would have been better for the hypocrite to sustain him-
self by honest labor instead of these tricks. The latter

replies: "No era honesto que siendo yo sacerdote traba-

jasse" (119). Mercurio counters immediately with the

214

example of Saint Paul, who labored with his hands by night

in order to have enough to eat, so that he would not be a

burden to his neighbor.105 He also quotes Saint Paul in

order to prove to the hypocrite that charity is the

highest virtue:

Mercurio: aNo has leido lo que escrivié San
Pablo a los corinthios: que aunque
toviesse todas las otras virtudes,
si 1e faltava caridad no le val1a
todo nada?

Anima: Assi lo dezian.
Mercurio: Pues assi te acaece agora a ti, que
todos tus trabajos y todas tus buenas
obras no te aprovechan, porque
vinieron desnudas y vaz1as de caridad. (122)
Manuel J. Asensio states that this strong emphasis on
charity as the manifestation of living faith is typical of
the erasmistas.106 To prove his point he quotes the above

passage from the Diélogo de Mercurio y Caron and the two

following passages, from Juan de Valdés's Dialogo de

 

doctrina cristiana and Luis Vives's Socorro de los pobres,

 

respectively: "Charidad no es otra cosa sino amor de
Dios y del préximo . . . sin ella, no podemos ser chris-
tianos . . ."; "No pueden subsistir la piedad ni e1 cris-
tianismo sin el socorro mutuo. . . . El mandata mas
imperioso para el cristiano es la caridad."107 The
hypocrite's engafio was so thorough that, even faced with
this irrefutable evidence, he cannot come to realize the
error of his ways; his reply to Mercurio's explanation is

"No te puedo creer" (122).

215

The theologian has already been discussed briefly in
connection with Valdés's critical attitude toward Scholastic
theology. By now the compatibility of Valdés's ideas and
those of Aquinas should be obvious, so that it must be
assumed either that Valdés had a false opinion of what
Scholastic theology is, or that he was caricaturizing a
specific theologian of his acquaintance. The theologian is
in the Diélogo certainly bears no resemblance to a figure
like Aquinas, for example. For him, to be a theologian
"Saber disputar pro y contra y determinar quistiones de
theologia" (125).. This is part of the truth, of course,
but he goes on to add that he won his disputations using
a true 9; a false argument, depending on what seemed most
expedient at the time. He is thus criticized for being

indifferent to truth (like the rabbi in the Danga general),

 

which is the same as being indifferent to God, since God

is truth.108

His attempt to prove to Caron that he is a
"cabrén" humorously illustrates this difference:‘ "El
cabr6n tiene barbas y nunca se las peina, tfi tienes barbas
y nunca te las peinas, luego tfi eres cabrén" (125). A
theologian (or philosopher) who would blatantly misuse a
syllogism in this fashion cannot possibly be motivated by
a concern for truth.109 Nevertheless, the fact is that
Valdés does not view Scholastic theology as being a suit-

able means of access to what he calls "la verdadera doc-

trina Christiana" (127). The a priori desengano of this

 

incident contains a strong emphasis on what might be called

216

"evangelical theology." Karl Barth, the great German
theologian, says that "'evangelical' refers primarily and
decisively to the Bible. . . . What the word 'evangelical'
will objectively designate is that theology which treats

110

of the God of the Gospel." That this is the type of

 

theology with which Valdés is primarily concerned is
indicated by the following dialogue:
Caron: éNunca leiste las epistolas de San Pablo?
An1ma: Ni aun las oi nombrar sino en la missa.
Carén: éY los evangelios?
An1ma: Lo mesmo.
Carén: Pues, écémo eres theologo?

An1ma: IComo si para ser theélogo fuessen menester
las epistolas ni evangeliosi

Caron: Pues équé leias?

Anima: Scoto, Sancto Thomas, Nicolas de Lira,
Durando y otros semejantes doctores, y
sobre todos Aristételes.

Caron: éY los Testamentos Viejo y Nuevo, San
Geronimo,lll San Joan Chrisostomo, Sanct
Ambrosio y Sanct Agust1n y los otros
sanctos doctores éno los le1as?

Anima: Algunas vezes, mas pocas, porque no tienen
essa sotileza destos otros.

Thus, according to Valdés, true Christian doctrine is to
be derived primarily from Sacred Scripture and the Fathers
of the Church.112 This incident highlights again the fact,
alluded to above, that in his mind there is an intimate

and necessary connection between the virtue of charity

and Christian doctrine.

217

With the arrival of the married man the a priori
desengano functions for the first time through positive

rather than negative example,113

for this is the first
soul who has merited salvation. He is also the first one

who has experienced a posteriori desengano during his

 

lifetime. As a young man he kept bad company and thus
acquired a number of Vices of which he found it difficult
to rid himself, but at the age of twenty-five he experi-
enced a moral conversion which he describes in this
manner:

Quando entré en los veinte y cinco afios,

comencé a considerar conmigo mesmo la

vida que tenia y quan mal empleava

e1 conoscimiento que Dios me havia

dado, y hize este argumento, diziendo:

O esta doctrina cristiana es verdadera o

no; si es verdadera, éno es grandisima

necedad mia vivir como vivo, contario

a ella? Si es falsa, épara qué me quiero

poner en guardar tantas cerimonias y
constituciones como guardan los christianos?
Luego me alumbr6 Dios e1 entendimiento,114

y conosciendo ser verdadera la doctrina
Christiana, me determine de dexar todas

las otras supersticiones y los vicios, y ponerme
a seguirla segun devia y mis flacas fuercas
bastassen, aunque para ello no me faltaron,

de parientes y amigos, infinitas contrariedades;
unos dezian que me tornava loco, y otros

que me queria tornar fraile, y no faltava

quien se burlasse de mi. Sufrialo yo

todo con paciencia por amor de Jesu Christo. (130-131)

From this point on his life was a model of Christian per-
fection. Even more important than this, however, is the

fact that this state of perfection was achieved by a man

living in the mainstream of society.115 Although he

considered at one time becoming a monk in order to flee

the temptation of ambition, he decided not to do so on the

218

advice of one of his friends who was himself a monk and
who told him that there was as much ambition in the
monastery as outside of it. Instead he decided to marry,
but without being sidetracked by considerations of exterior
beauty or temporal goods, which he seems to regard as the
source of most marital difficulties. Nor did he have any
use for pilgrimages, for, as he says, ". . . me parecia
simpleza ir yo a buscar a Hierusalem lo que tengo dentro
de mi" (133).116 Nevertheless, although he exemplifies
internal Christianity, the married man does not totally
prescind from deVotional externals. For example, he hears
Mass every feast day and at other times when he is able,
and he avails himself of the sacraments, particularly the
Eucharist. Thus Valdés does not depart from orthodox
Catholic teaching on the subject of the sacraments and
celebrations, but only insists that, in order for them to
be efficacious, they must be performed in the proper
spirit, which is a spirit of charity. The married man's
life is a model of charity, for everything that he does
is motivated by the love of God and his neighbor. As he
says: "Las cosas que tocavan a mi oficio exercitava como
aquel que pensava ser puesto en 61, no para que me
aprovechasse a mi, sino para hazer bien a todos . . ."
(136). In order to sustain in himself this charitable
attitude, he spent his spare time reading sound doctrine.
(This indicates again that Valdés has chosen to make the

intimate connection between charity and doctrine explicit

219

rather than implicit [as in the Danga general].) In

 

striving to attain the Christian ideal which he had set

for himself, the married man took great care also to be a
pleasant companion to his friends, ". . . porque ni me
toviessen por hyp6crita ni pensassen que para ser los
hombres buenos christianos havian de ser melanc6nicos" (136).
This is the same emphasis on Christian joy that was noted
earlier in Mercurio's commentary about the persecuted
Christians. It is perfectly consistent with Valdés's
insistence that charity is the highest virtue, since

. . . spiritual joy, which is about God, is caused by
charity."117

But the most important aspect of Car6n's interro-
gation of this particular soul is that it constitutes one
of Valdés's contributions to the tradition of agtgg
moriendi, which was quite popular in the sixteenth cen-
tury.118 The married man's death is characterized by

serene confidence and assurance-not the presumptuous

confidence of the monk in the Danca general, but rather

 

that which has as its source "[1a] fe de los hombres en
la gracia‘que los justifica. . .":119 he thus exemplifies
Saint Paul's teaching that death without sin has no

sting.120

Since his entire life following his conversion
had been informed by the virtues of faith, hOpe, and
charity, he was indifferent about the external details of

his funeral, such as the place of his burial, or how many

times the bells should toll for him. Exasperated by the

220

priest's solicitousness about these trivialities, he
rebuked him sharply:

Yo le dixe: Padre, por amor de Dios que no

me fatiguéis agora con estas cosas. Yo lo

remito todo a vos, que lo hagais como

mejor os pareciere, porque yo en 5610 Jesu

Christo tengo mi confianca. S6lamente

os ruego que vengéis a darme la extrema

unci6n. Dixome que si 61 no oviera

confessado me toviera por gentil o pagano,

pues tan poco caso hazia de lo que los

otros tenian por principal. (139)121
He wanted his death to occasion no sadness on the part of
his family, for he was ". . . muy alegre en salir de la
cércel de aquel cuerpo . . ." (140). His final hours, like
those of Cornelius in Erasmus's Funus, were spent listening
to readings from Sacred Scripture, and his last words
were: "Jesu Christo, recibe ésta mi anima pecadora" (141).
Thus, for the true Christian death is not an evil but
rather a boon, a liberation from the prison which is the
human body.122 In order to prepare himself for this liber-
ation, the Christian must fulfill his worldly duties to the
best of his ability, for this is conceived by Valdés as an
act of charity. This insistence on the importance of
worldly duties should not be construed as a movement toward
complete secularization, the creation of a human paradise
on earth, for, in Valdés's view, as his treatise on Chris-
tian death reveals, ". . . todo lo terreno sélo adquiere

"123 When he has

sentido y valor sub specie aeternitatis.
gone on his way, Mercurio says to Car6n: "Mira, Car6n,
este es uno de aquellos que yo te dixe que seguian muy de

veras 1a doctrina Christiana" (141).

221

The married man was the last soul to be interro-
gated in the first book of the Diélogo. The a priori

desengano throughout the second book continues to function

 

through positive rather than negative example, for in the_
second book all the souls are saved. Montesinos surmises
that ". . . después de negar tanto, Valdés debi6 sentir la

necesidad de afirmar."124

Nevertheless, this tendency to
affirm is counterbalanced by more than a modicum of
pessimism underlying his treatment of most of the char-
acters.

The first soul, the good king Polidoro, is the
direct antithesis of the king of the Galatians, who was so
roundly condemned by Valdés in the first book. It is in
his treatment of Polidoro that Valdés's indebtedness to
Erasmus's The Education of a Christian Prince is most
noticeable. Polidoro's intention was to imitate the
Divine attributes, for Mercurio says to him:

Tu presencia muestra tu poder, tu habla

manifiesta tu saber y tu camino tu bondad,

de manera que muestras bien quanto cuidado

toviste de parecer a aquel gran Dios de quien

vas a gozar. (163)125
However, like the married man, Polidoro did not always lead
such a virtuous life, for, as he says, ". . . yo no supe
antes de ser principe qué cosa fuesse ser hombre . . ."

126

(164). He lays part of the blame for this situation

on the fact that he was poorly educated:

( I I
. . . como fu1 cr1ado y doctr1nado como los
otros, la simiente de ambicién que en mi
animo echaron prendi6 tan presto, y se

222

arraig6 de manera en mi, que todo mi

pensamiento y todo mi cuidado era no

en c6mo regiria bien mis subditos y

governaria mis reinos, mas en c6mo

ensancharia y augmentaria mi senorio. (164)127
By being subjected to constant incitements to immoral
behavior, Polidoro soon found himself trapped in a laby-
rinth from which it was almost impossible to escape.
Waging constant war with neighboring princes he neglected
the proper governing of his kingdom, which should have
been his principal concern. Since he had already invested
a great deal of time and money into his war enterprise, he
felt that he could not abandon it for fear of the losses
he would sustain, even though he sincerely wanted to do
this. The process of his conversion is initiated by one
of his servants, who whispers in his ear: "Torna, torna
en ti, Polidoro" (166). This leads Polidoro to a lengthy
examination of conscience in which he realizes that he has
not treated his subjects as a father would treat his
children nor as a shepherd his sheep, but rather as a
master would treat his slaves.128 As he says:

Mala sefial es quando e1 pastor quiere

‘més ovejas de las que el sefior 1e quiere

encomendar; sefial es que se quiere

aprovechar dellas y que las quiere,

no para governarlas, mas para ordefiarlas. (167)129
Realizing how much suffering he has caused, at the end of
his examination of conscience he makes a promise to God:

Desde agora, Senor, protesto que no quiero

ser Rey para mi, sino para ti, ni quiero

governar para mi provecho, sino para bien
deste pueblo que me encomendaste. (168)130

223

The rest of Polidoro's statement explains the means by
which he achieved this virtuous end. His first act was
to rid himself of "viciosos, avaros y ambiciosos" (169),
knowing that bad advisers can cause more evil than bad
kings,131 and replace them with virtuous people upon
whose integrity and judgement he could depend. He also
insisted that all the children of his knights learn
mechanical as well as liberal arts in order to ". . .
evitar la ociosidad, de que nascen infinitos males . .7."

(l96).132

He enabled religion and Christian piety to
flourish in his kingdom through ecclesiastical reforms,
especially in handling of bishoprics and in reforming the
bishops themselves.133 Next he reformed the legal system
and ordered punishment for lawyers who defended mani-

festly unjust causes.134

Since justice is a moral virtue
dependent on charity, actions undertaken to secure justice
are, indirectly, charitable actions. An emphasis on
charity is also discernible in the king's use of clemency
with those who had sinned through ignorance or because of
unfortunate circumstance, for, as Aquinas says:

As to clemency, inasmuch as it mitigates

punishment, it would seem to approach nearest

to charity, the greatest of the virtues,

since thereby we do good toward our neighbor,

and hinder his evil. 35
Polidoro granted positions of preeminence to those who
truly followed Christian doctrine, and soundly condemned
those who, under the guise of religion, peddled supersti-

' tions. (Superstition, it will be recalled, is a vice

indirectly contrary to charity.) Thus,

224

con esto procuravan todos en mi corte

de vivir como cristianos y de alli se
desparzi6 y derram6 tanto esta buena

doctrina [emphasis added] por todos mis reinos,
que desde a pocos afios los juezes eran los menos
ocupados y las salas de mis audiencias

se hallavan muchas vezes vaz1as, sin

tener pleitos que ver, de manera que se

vivia en todas partes con tanto plazer,

amor y caridad [emphasis added], procurando
cada uno vencer a1 otro con buenas obras,
qmedesde alli comencévamos a sentir

aquella bienaventuranca de que gozan los
sanctos en el cielo. (173)

This passage highlights the fact that for Valdés there is
a causal connection between Christian doctrine and charit-
able works. The remainder of Polidoro's discourse
basically constitutes a reiteration 0f certain points that
have already been made earlier in the Dialogo. The death
of Polidoro, for example, gives Valdés an opportunity to
restate his philosophy of death, which might properly be

described as a kind of joie de mourir. Before he dies, he

 

summons his son to his side and advises him about the way
in whiCh a good Christian prince should act. Most of the
points he mentions have already been touched upon by

Valdés earlier in the book. Some of these are: the good

136

prince must seek true honor through good works; he

must govern well the territory he has, without trying to

expand it needlessly;137 he should discourage flatterers

and encourage virtuous advisers to point out to him his

138

defects; he should try to be loved by his subjects

rather than feared;139 he ought to despise common opinion

140

and adhere more to the ideas of philosophers; he

225

should learn Christian doctrine by heart and follow it;141

as far as possible he must avoid war, for, ". . . mas vale

desigual P32 que muy justa guerra" (183);142

and finally,
the advice which sums up Valdés's political philosophy:
"Si todas tus obras enderecares a1 bien de la repfiblica,
serés rey, y si a1 tuyo, serés tyrano" (180).143
This is, of course, a much more optimistic portrait
than the vast majority of those in the first book, but
Valdés chose to end it on a note of skepticism. After
the king has departed to his reward, Car6n says to Mercurio:
"Quanto que si 105 otros principes fuessen como éste, bien
podria yo tener vacaciones. Mas con todo esso, me huelgo
de una cosa: que su hijo queda en el reino, porque 32251

nunca se v16 un sefialado var6n dexar hijo fitil a la

repfiblica [emphasis added]" (186-187). This vision of a

 

utopia ending in cynicism is, for Montesinos, a very

Spanish characteristic.144 He says:

Todo depende del principe; la voluntad
del principe moldea e1 Estado. Polidoro
ha sido un gran rey; su hijo, ac6mo

seré? . . . 6C6mo garantir la continuidad?
Los sistemas dependen de los hombres.
Tocébamos las nubes; henos otra vez

en el suelo. . . . Con las palabras de
Car6n . . . termina Valdés amargamente

su fantasia politica, derivada integramente
de Erasmo, y con todo, tan personal y tan
castellana. 45

This final note of skepticism strengthens rather than
attenuates the emphasis on Christian doctrine and charity,

for it indicates the need for personal commitment to Christ

226

on the part of the prince, given the fact that everything
depends on him.

The good bishop is the next soul to interrupt
Mercurio's discourse, and through him Valdés outlines his
views on religious reform. The bishop emphasizes that he
was elected to the episcopal office, for, as he says,

". . . ni aun me pass6 por pensamiento dessearlo,
conosciéndome tan inabil y insuficiente para ello . . ."
(194). It will be recalled that Aquinas states that it
is unlawful under almost all circumstances for a man to
desire the episcopal office (v. supra, Chapter I, Part 1,
n. 35), for it would be presumptuous for a man to desire
a position of preeminence over others in order to do them
good. The bishop was finally forced to accept the posi-

tion because of the constant insistence of his superiors.

His action reveals an a priori desengano with an emphasis

 

on charity and humility, for Aquinas says that it is
also unlawful for a man absolutely to refuse to accept
an episcopal office, and for two reasons:

first, because this is contrary to the love

of our neighbor, for whose good a man should
offer himself according as place and time
demand: hence Augustine says (De Civ. Dei,

xix. 19) that the demands of charity_under-

take an honestiiabor. Secondly, because

this is contrary to humility, whereby a

man submits to his superior's commands. . . .145

 

Once he was installed in office, the bishop attacked the
problem of immorality with a judicious combination of

good example and Christian doctrine. The former was

 

III."

 

227

necessary because he did not feel that he would be able to
criticize vices in others, such as ambition, pride, lust,
and greed, from which he also suffered, and the latter
because ". . . no basta dar buen exemplo si no se amonesta
a1 pueblo lo que ha de hazer. . ." (196). It is pure
Christian doctrine in which he is interested, ". . . sin
mezcla de vanidades ni supersticiones" (196). Another
weapon of which the bishop made use of his reform effort
was censorship. His argument supporting the need for
censorship is not substantially different from Aquinas's
justification of the non-toleration of heretics. The
bishop says:

éC6mo? Castigéis al que con cosas hediondas

inficiona la ciudad, porque es cosa dafiosa

a los cuerpos, a y no castigaréis a éstos que

con sus abhominables palabras esparzen

tanta poncofia en las animas? (197)
Aquinas, on his part, makes the following similar remark:

. . . it is a much graver matter to corrupt

the faith which quickens the soul, than to

forge money, which supports temporal life.

Wherefore if forgers of money and other evil-

doers are forthwith condemned to death by

the secular authority, much more reason is

there for heretics, as soon as they are

convicted of heresy, to be not only

excommunicated but even put to death.147
The bishop examined all the books in his district and for-
bade the selling of those dealing with "cosas prophanas"

(197) and those of "historias fingidas" (197),148

the
former being injurious to the soul and the latter a waste
of time. His task was more complicated regarding reli-

gious books, for base ideas are frequently covered up by

228

the guise of religion. Nevertheless, he examined them all
and took out ". . . todo aquello que parecia ser en alguna
manera contrario, no solamente a la fe, mas a la doctrina
cristiana" (198). The bishop insisted that doctrine be
orthodox, free from superstition and idolatry. He found
[many prayer books particularly offensive, and he explains
why:

En otras oraciones quité los titulos, que

dezian unos que el que la dixesse no (

moriria en pecado mortal, o que le ser1an

perdonados todos sus pecados o que veeria

a Nuestra Senora tres dias antes de su

muerte o que le diria la hora della;

hallando por m1 cuenta que muchos,

fiandose en estas oraciones y en otras

semejantes devociones, o por mejor dezir,

supersticiones que traen entre las manos,

nunca dexan de pecar, pensando que

sus devociones les darén la gloria, aunque

por otra parte perseveran continuamente

en ofender a Dios, engano por cierto digno
de llorar. (198)149

As soon as he had banished all evil books from his district
and replaced them with good ones, true Christian living
began to flourish. This was due to the salutary effect
of Christian doctrine, which is nowhere else in the Dialogo
more strongly emphasized than here. Like the previous one,
this interview also ends on a note of pessimism, for, in
answer to Car6n's question about how many such prelates
Mercurio found in his travels among Christians, the latter
replies: "gQuéntos, me preguntas? Digote que anduve toda
la cristiandad y ni aun éste pude hallar" (203).

The next to commence his journey to heaven is the

good preacher,150 Valdés's model of what a priest should

 

‘4‘. (IV
.4» ' u 5
rv ~

[2“ 7:; 1'... a“.

 

229

really be like.151 He is a divinely inspired preacher in

the evangelical tradition152 who is burning with ". . .

fuego de caridad y153 amor de Dios y de aquellos mis

pr6ximos . . ." (209). The subtleties of theology he

considers useless; his only purpose is to make manifest

. . . la grandeza y bondad de Dios" (211) for the sake
of ". . . e1 bien universal" (211). Valdés reveals his
indebtedness to Erasmus by using this character to speak
to the necessity of internalizing Christianity. This can
most profitably be seen in the preacher's views on prayer.

He does not go so far as to condemn oral prayer out of

hand,154 for, as he says:

Antes la (i.e. la orac16n vocal) tenia por
muy sancta y necessaria, mas también tenia por
muy mejor la mental, porque hallava muchas
vezes en la sagrada escriptura reprehendidos
los que oravan con la boca teniendo el corac6n
apartado de Dios, y hallava en la doctrina
cristiana que los verdaderos adoradores adoravan
al Padre en’spiritu y en verdad, porque, como
Dios sea sp1ritu, quiere ser con el spiritu
adorado. (210)

Erasmus has similar views on the value of mental prayer.

In his Enquiridion he says:

 

Tu, por ventura, cuando oras solamente tienes
ojo a cuantos salmos mal rezados has pasado por
la boca, y iensas que en el mucho parlar esta
puesta toda 55 la virtud de la oraci6n. Y éste
es un v1c1o principalmente de aquellos que aun
son como ninos principiantes en la letra sin
levantarse ni crecer a la madurez del espiritu.
Mas oye lo que en este caso nos ensena Cristo
por San Mateo: "Cuando oréredes no curéis de
multiplicar muchas palabras, como hacen las
gentes que no conocen a Dios, que piensan ser
o1dos por su mucho hablar. No queréis vosotros
parecer a éstos, pues sabe vuestro Padre celestial

 

“I" irJHA—n Mn. -m
‘ .
.Al

230

lo que habéis menester antes que se lo pidais."

Y Sant Pablo tiene en mas cinco palabras bien

sentidas y que salgan del corazén que diez mil

pronunciadas asi solamente por la lengua.’ No

hablaba Moisén palabra por la boca, y deciale

Dios: "’Qué me quieres para que me llames tan

recio?" A dar a entender que no e1 ruido de

los labrios, mas el deseo ardiente de las

entranas es el que toca las orejas de Dios mas

adentro que ningunos alaridos recios por acé

defuera. '
For prayer to be effective it must be sincerely felt and
spring from true love of God, that is, it must be charit-
able, in the broad sense of the word. The preacher always
spent part of his sermons admonishing his listeners,
especially if they suffered from superstition or ignorance
in doctrine, and in order to do this effectively he made
a point of finding out as much as possible about the people
in a particular area. In this way he could be sure that
his admonitions would be germane, for he was outraged by
the manner in which some preachers, such as the bad
preacher in the first book, deliberately refused to speak
to the point, ". . . reprehendiendo los vicios absentes y
halagando, y aun a las vezes manteniendo los presentes"
(212). To encourage one to continue in evil is contrary
to charity in two ways, first by being contrary to the love
of our neighbor, since he will suffer spiritually if he
yields to the temptation, and secondly by being contrary
to the love of God, insofar as it encourages the sinner
to continue being a source of offense to Him. The common

folk were as a rule reprehended by the preacher publicly,

en masse, from the pulpit, but people holding high offices,

“

Baa—‘A‘i. ‘ ' 1".)

[hr
'1

231

such as princes, prelates, and judges, were dealt with in

a somewhat different fashion. He would first rebuke them
in the privacy of their own homes, ". . . porque el vulgo
no les perdiesse la reverencia, obediencia y acatamiento

que les deve tener, de que conoscia seguirse muchos y muy

grandes inconvenientes . . . (212). But if they were

obstinate in their evil ways, he would not fail to excori-

ate them publicly, in order to shame them into fulfilling

their obligations. Bataillon calls this a "concepcién

157

atrevida, revolucionaria," but Aquinas's view is not

far removed, for he says that the precept of fraternal

correction . . . requires a secret admonition to precede

"158

public denunciation. In any case, this involves an

emphasis on charity since fraternal correction is a pre-

cept of charity,159 and one which chiefly concerns

. 160
pr1ests.

This episode, too, contains an undercurrent of

pessimism, for the preacher was severely persecuted during

his lifetime, and Valdés would have it that this persecu-

tion was a direct consequence of the preacher's true

commitment to Christ. After he has gone his way, Mercurio

says to Car6n:

Ay entre cristianos un género de gente que
tiene usurpado el nombre de perfici6n y sanctidad,
y estén muchos dellos tan lexos de lo uno y
de lo otro como nosotros de subir al cielo. Y
como éstos veen que alguno con obras 0 con
palabras comienca a mostrar en qué consiste 1a
perfeci6n cristiana y la religi6n y sanctidad
que los cristianos deven tener, luego aquellos

x-——.—.wl}‘~ _
p. ~ .flfl'

232

como lobos se levantan contra 61 y lo persiguen,

interpretandole mal sus palabras y levéntandole

que dixo lo que nunca pens6, lo acusan y

procuran de condemnar por herege.16l De manera

que apenas hay hombre que ose hablar ni vivir

como verdadero Christiano. (214-215)
Thus the true Christians are consistently outnumbered by
those who wear the cloak of sanctity, but who secretly
despise the Christian religion.

Valdés's pessimism also comes to the surface in

his treatment of the good cardinal, one of the most briefly
sketched characters in the Dialogo. The cardinal's case
is somewhat curious, due to the fact that he attains
salvation in spite of having been guilty of a rather
serious sin, simony. Perceiving the fact that Christendom
was nearly totally corrupt and hence desperately in need
of reform, he decided that he wanted to have a hand in
this holy enterprise and that the best way to do it was
to have a position of great authority in the Church, such
as that of cardinal. This would be a sin of presumption,
except for the fact that the object of his desire was the
good work of reform and not the "precedence in dignity."162
However, there is no way of excusing his next action:
". . . sabido que no se alcancava aquella dignidad sino
o por dineros o por manos o por favores de principes o por
luengo servicio, tomé por mejor partido comprarla, y de
verdad me cost6 mas de veinte y cinco mill ducados . . ."

(220). The pessimism in this incident derives from the

cardinal's discovery that the Church was utterly beyond

~w§§1
o‘-

-‘1

5.- man—- ‘4'...
.4
a'

A" '

 

233

reform and that his only salvation was to flee the hier-

archy and take refuge in a monastery. Thus, as Montesinos

 

observes, "el cardenal renuncia . . . a reformar la Iglesia;

r . "163
se contenta con reformarse a $1 mismo.

It seems strange
that Valdés does not condemn the cardinal's sin of simony,
especially since it is one of the sins against which he

rails most frequently. Perhaps his abandonment of the

 

hierarchy involves a tacit renunciation of his sin,
although Valdés does not say so in so many words.
The good monk is the character Valdés uses to ”W
suggest that God can be served in monastic life as well as
in a secular occupation, provided that the personality of
the individual is truly suited to such a life and that he
realizes that formalistic adherence to the monastic rule
is not automatically equated with service to God. The
monk is careful to explain that he is not one of
aquellos que piensan consistir la religi6n
en andar vestido de una 0 de otra color, 0
en traer el habito desta 0 de aquella hechura,
0 en andar calcado o descalco, 0 en traer
camisa de lana 0 de lienco, 0 en tocar o
dexar de tocar dineros. (225)
Mercurio, playing the devil's advocate, then launches into
an attack upon the monastic life, raising every sort of
objection against it, every one of which is refuted by
the monk. Mercurio, for example, objects to the concept
of a monastic rule, basing his argument on the fact that

there are so many different types of human personality and

physical constitution that a single rule cannot apply to

234

them all. The monk replies that nobody is forced into
monastic life; each person who wishes to enter a monastery
should do what he did and examine very carefully the
different orders of their respective rules and choose the
one which most suits him:

La regla esta ai; cada uno la puede ver y

saber; el que se contenta della, pareciéndole

conformasse con su condicién, t6mela mucho en

buena hora; el que no, déxela, que a ninguno

se haze fuerca, y el que neciamente se mete

fraile, neciamente se muere, y aun quigé

se va al infierno, y lo mismo podemos dezir

del clérigo y del casado. (227)
He personally chose to avoid the corruption of the world
by entering a monastery, ". . . no porque no conosciesse
poder servir a Dios fuera dél, mas porque me inclinava
mas a aquella manera de vivir que a otra alguna" (227).
Thus the primary consideration in one's choice of profes-
sion should be charity. Everybody must honestly ask him-
self how he can best serve God, and to adopt any other
consideration as the primary one is uncharitable since
it suggests that the person loves something else above
God. The remainder of the monk's discourse consists
primarily in demonstrating that the monastic life should
not be condemned out of hand just because some people
abuse it through their worldliness, sloth, gluttony,
hypocrisy, backbiting, ambition, superstition, and other

similar vices, all of which are opposed to the principal

virtue of charity.

235

The final soul to dialogue with Mercurio and Car6n
is the good married woman. After her parents taught her
to read, she immersed herself totally in Sacred Scripture
and became determined to conform her life with what she
read. Although she realized that virginity is a higher
state than matrimony, she decided that marriage was more
in keeping with her own inclinations and that she could
best serve God in that capacity. Marriage is a charitable
institution, according to Aquinas, since its primary and
secondary ends are directed toward the good of our neigh-
bor; the primary end is the good of the offspring and the
secondary end is the mutual good of the married persons.164
One of the married woman's most charitable acts was the
gradual conversion of her husband to a life of virtue
similar to hers. This is an act of charity because ". . .
to do away with anyone's evil is the same as to procure
his good: and to procure a person's good is an act of
charity, whereby we wish and do our friend well."165 Her
other principal act of charity was the virtuous upbringing
she gave her daughters. She says: "Las cosas que en si
son siempre y en todo lugar buenas, y que sin pecado no
se pueden dexar, les encomendava yo sobre todo, procurando
que solo un punto no se apartassen dellas" (238). She
was very careful to make sure, however, that there should
be no superstition or hypocrisy in her home, her desire

n

being . . . que hoviesse mucho mas en lo interior de lo

que se mostrava en lo exterior" (238).

236

In conclusion, the a priori and a posteriori

desengano in the Diélogo de Mercurio y Car6n primarily

 

 

emphasizes the virtue of charity. This is especially clear
in the treatment of the hypocrite, in which charity is
proved to be the greatest of the virtues by an appeal to
the teachings of Saint Paul. Supporting this emphasis on
charity is an ancillary emphasis on doctrine, especially
notceable in the treatment of the theologian, the good
bishop, and the good preacher. It is orthodox doctrine
that Valdés emphasizes, free from superstition and derived
mainly but not exclusively from Sacred Scripture. That
Valdés does not insist on an exclusive appeal to the Bible

is evident from the fact that the a priori desengano

 

in the incident with the theologian contains an emphasis
on the value of patristic theology. This implies that
for Valdés truth can be found bgth in Scripture and in
Church tradition. It must be admitted, however, that
Mercurio and Car6n support their arguments primarily by
an appeal to the Old and New Testaments, so that it would
be rash to go so far as to conclude that this incident
implies a condemnation of the Reformers' motto of £213
Sgriptura.l66 Nevertheless, there is one point in the
book, as we have seen, where the Protestant schism is,

if not condemned outright, at least portrayed in an
unfavorable light. It occurs when Mercurio refers to the
social upheaval caused by the Lutheran rebellion in

Germany. Valdés's political desires for "un monarca, un

237

imperio y una espada"167 may possibly have had more influ-

ence on him here than strictly religious considerations;
the fact that he does not elucidate the reasons for his
stance makes it difficult to say with certainty. Irres-
pective of these considerations, this passage requires
the Dialogo de Mercurio y Car6n to be classified as a
Dance of Death containing references to heterodoxy. This

indicates that the concept of desengano has one again

 

been modified by changing historical circumstances.

FOOTNOTES--CHAPTER III, Part 1

Bruce Wardropper, Introduccién a1 teatro religioso
del siglo de oro (Salamanca: Ediciones Anaya, 1967),
p. 123.

 

 

2There is, of course, a certain amount of chronolo-
gical overlapping regarding these two periods. Pedraza's
farsa, for example, could have contained references to
Protestantism, since it was written in 1551, the date of
the beginning of the second stage of the Council of Trent
(New Catholic Encyclopedia, s.v. "Spain: Reform and Counter)
Reform [1517-1700]"). Conversely, Alfonso de Valdés's work
is an unusually early example of a Dance of Death contain-
ing references to specific Protestant sects, since it was
probably completed between 1528 and 1530 (José F.
Montesinos, "Algunas notas sobre el Dialogo de Mercuriogy
Car6n," Revista de filologia espafiola 16 [1929]: 230T.
Nevertheless, the tendency of the Dance of Death in Spain
to proceed from an emphasis on charity (Middle Ages) to
'an emphasis on faith and doctrine (Renaissance), and
finally to an emphasis on orthodoxy in opposition to the
Protestant schism (Renaissance and Baroque period) is
basically a chronological development, even though there
are certain exceptions to the rule.

 

Alfonso de Valdés, Dialogo de Mercuriogy Car6n,
ed. José F. Montesinos (Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, 1965f.
All references are to this edition of the work and are
identified in the text by page numbers.

 

The use of Aquinas's thirteenth century philoso-
phical system as a means of studying sixteenth century
literature is not the anachronism it appears to be.
Actually, Aquinas was beginning to acquire more importance
in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries than he had
enjoyed in the thirteenth, due to the great revival of
Scholasticism that was taking place in Europe, and
especially in Spain. In fact, Cajetan (1468—1534) was
". . . the first to take Aquinas's Summa theologica as a
theological textbook instead of the Sentences of Peter
Lombard; and both Dominicans and Jesuits looked on Saint
Thomas as their Doctor" (Frederick Copleston, S. J., A
History of Philosophy, 8 vols. [Garden City, New York:
Image Books, 1963], 3 [part 2] : 163).

 

 

238

239

5Thomas Gilby, O. P., ed. Summa Theologiae, by
Saint Thomas Aquinas, 2 vols. (Garden City, New York:
Image Books, 1969), 1: 11.

6On the subject of Charles's political career see
Karl Brandi, The EmperOr Charles V: The Growth and Destiny
of a Man and of a World Empire, trans. C. V. Wedgewood
(London: Jonathan Cape Paperback, 1965).

7E. Segura Covarsi, "Sentido,dramético y contenido
liturgico de 'Las danzas de la Muerte'," Cuadernos de
literatura (Madrid) 5 (1949): 260.

8That this part of the Diélogo is in the Dance of
Death tradition is the opinion of Marcel Bataillon, who
says of Valdés that ". . . su primer designio fue pasar
revista a los diferentes 'estados' de la sociedad para
distribuirles sus criticas, segun la tradicién medieval de
las Danzas de la muerte . . ." (Erasmo y Espana, trans.
_Antonio Alatorre MeXico and Buenos Aires: Fondo de
Cultura Econ6mica, 1966 , p. 391).

9On the subject of Charon as a Death figure in
ancient Greece Leonard P. Kurtz has the following observa-
tions to make: "The popular opinion of Greece regarded
the soul as a winged being, a butterfly flying away at
death. The Greeks believed that Charon ferried the souls
in a narrow two-oared boat over the Styx, Acheron or the
Cocytus to the kingdom of Hades. Death was then not a
being that killed, but simply one that fetched away and
escorted to the underworld" (The Dance of Death and the
Macabre Spirit in European Literature [New York: Coiumbia
University Institute of French Studies, 1934], p. 3).
Thus the possible objection that this work cannot be a
Dance of Death since it lacks a Death figure is not really
valid. Charon is just as much a Death figure in this
work as his counterpart was in the Danga general and, to
some extent, at least, it can be stated that he performs
a similar function, namely, interrogating and reprimanding
(and occasionally praising) the souls who have died.

10See J. Bronowski and Bruce Mazlish, The Western
Intellectual Tradition (New York: Harper and Row, Harper
Torchbooks, 1960), Chapter 6, passim.

11

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Montesinos, "Algunas notas," p. 248.

12Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.93, Art.2.

l3Copleston, History, 2 (part 1): 15.

240

l4Manuel Carrasco says that ". . . Fernando de
Valdés était du nombre de ces nobles espagnoles qui,
repoussant l'Oppression de l'Eglise et les méthodes
stériles de la scolastique, s'étaient livrés avec passion
a l'étude des lettres, que la Renaissance avait réveillé
dans la péninsule" (Alfonso et Juan de Valdés. Leur vie
et leurs écrits religieux. Etude historique [Genevaz
Chez Les Principaux Libraires, 1880]} P. 10).

15This appears to be a sparing use of the locus
amoenus motif. For a history and analysis of this anc1ent
topos of landscape description see Ernst Robert Curtius,
European Literature and the Latin Middle Ages, trans.
Willard R. Trask (New York: Harper and Row, Harper Torch-
books, 1963), pp. 195-200.

l6Alastor is one of the lesser known characters in
Greek mythology. His name means "avenger." See Robert
Graves, The Greek Myths, 2 vols. (Baltimore: Penguin
Books, 1955), 2:51.

l7Copleston, History, 3 (part 1): 27-28.
18The fact that this new type of desengano does not

form part of the 1520 Seville printing of an enlargement
of the Dangageneral‘Zde la Muerte does not really contra-
dict this thesis. (For the text of this work see José
Amador de los Rios, Historia critica de la literatura

~ . ; I f
espanola, 7 vols. Madr1d: Imprenta a cargo de Joaqu1n
Mufioz, 1865 , 7:507-540.) This is not a new Dance of Death,
but rather a reprinting of the Dangaggeneral with the addi-
tion of twenty-five new characters. The opening and clos-
ing stanzas of the medieval poem, which contained a
synthesis of its a priori desengano, are retained more or
less intact, with slight variations of placement. The
author does not introduce a new type of desengano through
the new characters, for they all share the same types of
vices as the characters in the Danga general, such as
robbery, fraud, gluttony, and covetousness. The main dif-
ference between the original and the additions is one of
style, or literary merit. The humorous metaphors of Death
in the original, each one being uniquely applicable to the
victim in question (as, for example, when Death, speaking
to the merchant, pictures himself as having a store full
of "buuas y landres" which he wishes to give away free
rather than sell) are missing from the added stanzas. The
author was also careless about maintaining the structure
of the dialogue between Death and the victims, whereby
Death called the next victim in the eighth line of his reply
to the former. After the santero the author inadvertently
drops this format but then, apparently realizing his error,
returns to it thirteen victims later when he has Death

 

 

 

 

 

241

summon the atahonero (miller). Thus Florence Whyte can
justifiably state of the author that ". . . his addition
injures the literary effect of the poem as a whole . . ."
(The Dance of Death in Spain and Catalonia [Baltimore:
Waverly Press, 1931], p. 26Y.

19

 

 

9Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.l3, Art.2.

201bid., 0.92, Art.1.

211bid., Q.81, Art.5.

221bid., Reply Obj. 3.

23Ibid., Q.81, Art.6.

24Ibid., 0.59, Art.4.

25Bataillon, Erasmo, pp. 206-214.

26Montesinos, "Algunas notas," p. 15.

27Bataillon, Erasmo, pps. 173-174.

28Bataillon distinguishes two more or less rival
tendencies within the movement of iluminismo, recogimiento
and dejamiento. Those who represent the tendency of
recogimiento attempt to withdraw from the world and them-
sevles in prayer in order to reach a state of quietude in
which the soul, "sin pensar ya ni en si misma ni en Dios,
se unia sin embargo a El" (Ibid., p. 169). On the other
hand, the exponents of dejamiento, suspicious of methods
of prayer of the recogidés and the occasionally ecstatic
results obtained théreby, taught the value of complete
surrender to God. They were suspicious of any visible
manifestation of divine love and took pains to point out
that the love of God is not only the end of spiritual life
but also its beginning. For a detailed _explanation of
the differences between these two tendencies v. Erasmo,
pp. 166-176.

29

 

 

Ibid., p. 1750

30Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.162, Art.5.

311bid., Supl. Q.25, Art.2.

32£2£Q.' Pt. 11.11, 00111, Art.4.

33Ibid.

34Bataillon, Erasmo, p. 393.

242

35For historical data regarding this reference see
Bataillon, Erasmo, p. 393, n.26.

36Montesinos, "Algunas notas," p. 258.

37Ibid., p. 245.

8Desiderius Erasmus, The Education of a Christian
Prince, trans. Lester K. Born TNew York: W. W. Norton and

Co., 1968). p. 153.

39These lines suggest the first soul to request
passage, the bad preacher.

 

40Quoted by Marcel Bataillon in Erasmo, p. 200.

41It will be recalled that Aquinas, too, states
that mere externals have no connection with the internal
worship of God (v. supra, n.12).

42Perhaps Erasmus here has in mind Augustine's ser-
mon on Purgatory in which he states that the flattering of
a person of higher standing, out of choice or necessity, is
a slight sin (quoted by Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.llS,
Art.2).

43Erasmus, Education, p. 193.

 

44Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q. 115, Art.2.

45On the subject of the similarity between some of
Valdés's ideas and those of Aquinas, it may be observed
that the Spanish humanist condemns the adviser's flattery
by availing himself of the exact same quote from Isaias
used by the Doctor angelicus for that purpose. Mercurio
says: "6T6 no veias que esso era contra Dios, dezir bien
de lo malo y mal de lo bueno? aNunca leiste: Vae gui
dicitis bonum malum [et] malum bonum?" (39).

46Aquinas Summa Suppl., Q.25, Art.2.

47Cf. Chapter I, Part 1, n. 104.

48Corliss Lamont also makes this distinction in The
Philosophyyof Humanism (New York: Frederick Ungar Publish-

‘49Quoted by Bataillon, Erasmo, p. 198.

SOIbid., p. 199.

243

51Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.llZ, Art.1, Reply

Obj.2.

52Valdés appears to believe in the efficacy of
bulls, for Mercurio said to a previous victim, the adviser,
"Sé que la bula del Papa no era sino contra las penas del
pulgatorio, y tu agora vienes al infierno" (41).

53Aquinas Summa Pt. I-II, 0.64, Art.1, Reply
Obj.3.

54Ibid., Suppl. Q.l, Art.1.

55lbid.

 

56Ibid., 0.9, Art.1.

57This criticism of formalistic, oral prayer may
reflect the influence of the iluminismo movement, which
favored a type of mental prayer that was independent of.
specific words and forms (Bataillon, Erasmo, p. 173).

58

 

Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.30, Art.3, Obj.3.

591bid., Q.185, Art.7.

60"The same is not to be said of their own goods
which bishops may possess, and of ecclesiastical goods.
For they have real dominion over their own goods; where-
fore from the very nature of the case they are not bound
to give these things to others, and may either keep them
for themselves or bestow them on others at will. Never-
theless they may sin in this disposal by inordinate affec-
tion, which leads them either to accumulate more than they
should, or not to assist others, in accordance with the
demands of charity; yet they are not bound to restitution,
because such things are entrusted to their ownership.

On the other hand, they hold ecclesiastical goods
as dispensers or trustees. . . . Now dispensing requires
good faith. . . . Moreover ecclesiastical goods are to
be applied not only to the good of the poor, but also to
the divine worship and the needs of its ministers. . .
Accordingly if the goods which are assigned to the use of
the bishOp are distinct from those which are appointed
for the use of the poor, or the ministers, or for the
ecclesiastical worship, and if the bishop keep back for
himself part of that which should be given to the poor,
or to the ministers for their use, or expended on the
divine worship, without doubt he is an unfaithful dispenser,
sins mortally, and is bound to restitution.

244

But as regards those goods which are deputed to his
private use, the same apparently applies as to his own
property, namely that he sins through immoderate attachment
thereto or use thereof, if he exceeds moderation in what he-
keeps for himself, and fails to assist others according to
the demands of charity. '

On the other hand, if no distinction is made in the
aforesaid goods, their distribution is entrusted to his good
faith; and if he fail or exceed in a slight degree, this
may happen without prejudice to his good faith, because in
such matters a man cannot possibly decide precisely what
ought to be done. On the other hand, if the excess be very
great, he cannot be ignorant of the fact; consequently he
would seem to be lacking in good faith, and is guilty of
mortal sin." (Ibid.)

61Ibid., Q.100, Art.5.

62For a more detailed explanation of the Opposition

of simony to charity, v. supra, Chapter II, Part 1.

63Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.35, Art.3.
64£2£Qoy Q-45, Art.4, Reply Obj.3.
65

Ibid., Q.42, Art.1.

66Ibid., Q.28, Art.1.

67Ibid., 0.35.

681bid., Art.4, Obj.2.

69V. Aquinas Summa Pt. I-II, Q.73, Art.2, in which
it is implicitly stated that there are degrees of suffering
in hell.

70V. supra, n. 69.

7lIbid., Art.8.

72For the details and motives of Wolsey's machination
against Charles see Brandi, The Emperor Charles V, pps.
231-232.

73Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.39 (Introduction).

74£§19.. 0.29, Art.3, Reply Obj.3.

 

751hid., Q.63, Art.3.

245
76 - u u
Monte51nos, Algunas notas, p. 245.

77Erasmus, Education, p. 161.

 

78Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.42, Art.2.

791bid., 0.59, Art.4.

8°;p;g.. 0.29, Art.3, Reply Obj.3.

81Ibid., 0.40, Art.1.

821bid.

83;§;g., Q.118, Art.8, Reply Obj.5.

84Ibid., Q.43, Art.3.

85Erasmus, Education, p. 173.

 

86Aquinas Summa Pt. I-II, Q.lOS, Art.1, Reply

Obj .2.

87According to Father Copleston, "the theory of the
divine right of kings, as put forward by William Barclay
in his De regno et regali potestate (1600), by James I in
his Trew Law of Free Monarchies and by Sir Robert Filmer
in his Patriarcha (1680) was not so much a theoretical
reflection of practical absolutism as an attempt to
support a challenged and passing absolutism. . . . The
theory of the divine right of kings was not really a
philosophical theory at all" (History, 3 [part 2]:124).

88Aquinas Summa Pt. I-II, Q.105, Art.1. (N.B. A
more detailed exp051tlon of Aquinas's political theories
may be found in his De regimine principum.)

 

 

9Montesinos, "Algunas notas," p. 248.

90Montesinos cites this passage as indicative of
a difference between Valdés and Erasmus, stating that
the former could not, because of the constant wars with
the Turks, go as far as the latter, who condemned war in
every case (Ibid.). Yet this does not seem to fit with
the following statement from Erasmus himself, which is
very similar to Valdés's position in the Diélogo:
"Not even against the Turks do I believe we should rashly
go to war, first reflecting in my own mind that the king-
dom of Christ was created, spread out, and firmly estab-
lished by far different means. . . . First let us see
that we ourselves are genuine Christians, and then, if

it seems best, let us attack the Turks" (Education, p.
256).

 

246

91Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.21, Art.3.

921bid., Art.1.

93Ibid., Art.4.

94

Montesinos, "Algunas notas,‘ p. 234.

95Marcel Bataillon states that this character is
an allusion to Valdés's enemy, Jean Lallemand (Erasmo,
p. 403). ‘

96Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.110, Art.4.

97Ibid., 0.37, Art.1.

981bid., Pt. I-II, 0.97, Art.3.

99Ibid., Reply Obj.1.

100For Aquinas's analysis of the various kinds of
law see Ibid., Q.9l.

lOIIbid., Pt. II-II, Q.108, Art.1.

lozIbid., Q173, Art.1.

103Ibid., Art.2.

104Ibid., Q.36, Art.3.

105Juan de Valdés speaks of Saint Paul in similar
terms in his Diélogo de doctrina cristiana: "por sus
propias manos ganaua de comer para si y‘IOS que traya
consigo" (quoted by Manuel J. Asensio, "La intenci6n
religiosa del Lazarillo de Tormes y Juan de Valdés,"
Hispanic Review 27 [1959]: 86).

lOGIbid., p. 84.

107Ibid., p. 84, n. 19. It scarcely need be men-
tioned that there is nothing radically new in these views,
for-they do not differ from the teaching of Aquinas on
the subject of charity.

108Aquinas Summa Pt. I, Q.16, Art.5.

247

109Technically, this is the fallacy of the undis-
tributed middle term. According to the third rule of the
categorical syllogism the middle term must be distributed
(the predicate of a negative proposition is said to be
distributed) in at least one premise. V. Joseph B. Walsh,
S. J., Logic (New York: Fordham University Press, 1940).

110Karl Barth, Evangelical Theology, trans. Grover
Foley (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Co., Anchor
Books, 1964), p. 3.

111Given the fact that the a priori desengano of
this episode contains an emphasis on the importance of
reading Sacred Scripture, Valdés's mention of Saint Jerome
is particularly appropriate. The saint, having acquired
a taste for profane authors, dreamed that he died and was
". . . dragged before the Judge's judgement seat. I was
asked to state my condition, and replied that I was a
Christian. But He Who presided said, 'Thou liest; thou
art a Ciceronian, not a Christian. For where thy treasure
is, there will thy heart be also.‘ Straightaway I became
dumb, and then I felt the strokes of the whip - for He
had ordered me to be scourged. . . . At last the bystanders
fell at the knees of Him Who presided, and prayed Him to
pardon my youth and give me opportunity to repent of my
error, on the understanding that the extreme of torture
should be inflicted upon me if ever I read again the books
of the Gentile authors. . . . This experience was no
sweet or idle dream. . . . I profess that my shoulders
were black and blue, and that I felt the bruises long
after I awoke. ... . Henceforth I read the books of God
with greater zeal than I had ever given before to the
books of men." Quoted by Will Durant, The Age of Faith
(New York: Simon and Schuster, 1950). p. 52.

112Karl Rahner and Herbert Vorgrimler say that
"according to the definition of Vincent of Lerins (mid-
5th century), Fathers are those writers of Christian
antiquity who each in his own time and locality were
accredited doctors of the one faith in communion with the
Church. They are distinguished in the following ways:
(1) orthodox doctrine, which, to be sure, does not
imply infallibility and does not exclude actual errors in
particular matters; (2) a holy life in the sense of
Christian antiquity; (3) recognition by the Church, which
need not be explicit but may be expressed by quotation
from their writings; (4) they must have lived in patristic
times, that is, before the death of Isidore of Seville
in the West or Saint John Damascene in the East (about the
middle of the 8th century). .They are of special authority
when they teach a doctrine by unanimous consent, for then

 

 

248

they can be unreservedly taken to be transmitting and
bearing witness to the teaching of the Church" (Theolo i-
cal Dictionary [New York: Herder and Herder, 1965I,

p. 171).

113On the subject of the similarities between this
character and the author himself see Bataillon, Erasmo,
p. 396.

114An appeal to Aquinas does not suffice to
explain these lines, for the young man's conversion illus-
trates a doctrine which is more typically Augustinian than
Thomistic, namely, the theory of illumination. As
Copleston says, ". . . Augustine thought it necessary to
postulate a special illuminative action of God, beyond
His creative and conserving activity, in the mind's real-
isation of external and necessary truths, whereas St.
Thomas did not" (Histor , 2 [part 1]: 81). A. A. Parker
makes a similar 0 servation about Ca1der6n when he states
that the general framework of his ideas is Augustinian
rather than Thomistic. As he says, "man in the autos
never attains to the knowledge of God's existence By means
of his unaided reason, but always by an 'impulso divino'.
Calder6n, that is to say, accepts St. AugustineTs theory
of Illumination" (The Allggorical Drama of Calder6n
[Oxford and London: The Dolphin Book Co., 1943], p. 69).
This establishes a nexus between Valdés and Calder6n, for
an "impulso divino" is precisely what accounts for the
conversion of the young man in the Diélogo de Mercurio_y
Car6n.

 

 

 

 

 

115This may be a reflection of the influence of
iluminismo, for in his Tercer abecedario espiritual Fray
Francisco de Osuna is, in the words of Bataillon, W. . .
muy lejos de considerar esta elevada via espiritual
(i.e. the method of recogimiento - v. supra, n.28) como
reservada a los religiosos, o bien imcompatible con el
estado de matrimonio. 'Dirige su ensefianza, de manera
expresa, a las personas que viven en el siglo" (Erasmo,
p. 174-175). 1

116Again, this passage seems to reveal the influ-
ence of iluminismo, for Bataillon states that recogimiento
"es un método por el cual el alma busca a Dios en su
propio seno . . ." (Ibid., p. 167). Cf. Augustine:
". . . my God, I would not be, I would in no wise be,
unless you were in me" (Confessions [trans. John K. Ryan],
1.2). Also cf. 1 John 4:15-16: ["7 . . where a man
acknowledges that Jesus is the son of God, God dwells in
him, and he in God."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

249

117Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.28, Art.1.

118Valdés's mentor, Erasmus, made two notable con-
tributions to this genre, his Funus (a colloquy) and
Praeparatio ad mortem. The latter was, according to
Bataillon, the primary source of inspiration for ". . .
1a Obra maestra de la literatura ascética espanola en la
época de Carlos V, la Agonia del transito de la muerte
del Toledano Alejo Venegasfl(Bataillon, Erasmo, p. 565).

119

 

 

Ibid., p. 559.

1201 Cor. 15:55-56.

121Bataillon, after pointing out Valdés's indebted-
ness to the second part of the Funus for his treatment of
the married man's death, observes that ". . . e1 personaje
valdesiano llega a demostrar respecto a todos esos ritos
mas impaciencia que el de Erasmo. Es mas abrupto en su
discurso al cura de su parroquia" (Erasmo, p. 396). For
purposes of comparison it might be usefuI to quote Corne-
lius's reply to his priest, for Bataillon does not do
so: "Pastor, I'll be none the worse off if no bell tolls;
or if you deem me worthy of one burial service, that will
be more than enough. Or if there is anything else that
because of the Church's public custom can scarcely be
omitted without scandal to the weak, I leave that to your
judgement. I do not desire to buy up someone's prayers
or deprive anyone of his merits. There is sufficient
abundance of merits in Christ, and I have faith that the
prayers and merits of the whole Church will benefit me
only if I am a true member of it. In two 'briefs' rests
my entire hope. One is the fact that the Lord Jesus, the
chief shepherd, took away my sins, nailing them to the
Cross. The other, that which he signed and sealed with
his own sacred blood, by which he assured us of eternal
salvation if we place our whole trust in him" (The Collo-
guies of Erasmus, trans. Craig R. Thompson [Chicago:
The University of Chicago Press, 1965], p. 371).

122Cf. Erasmus: "Death is not to be feared, nor
should we wail when it comes to others, unless it was a
foul death" (Education, p. 149).'

123Ludwig Pfandl, Historia de la literatura nacional
espanola en la Edad de Oro, trans. Jorge Rubié Balaguer
(Barcelona: Editorial Gustavo Gili 1952), p. 47. Although
Pfandl is not speaking here specifically of Valdés but
rather of what he calls "la nueva [i.e. non-medieval]
concepci6n, ascéticamente orientada" (Ibid.), his words
perfectly describe Valdés's attitude.

 

 

250

124

Montesinos, "Algunas notas,‘ p. 230.

125Cf. Erasmus: "Christian theology attributes
three prime qualities to God -the highest power, the
greatest wisdom, the greatest goodness. In so far as
you can [Erasmus is addressing a Christian prince] you
should make this trinity yours" (Education, p. 158).

 

126Cf.: ". . . there can be no good prince who is
not also a good man" (Ibid., p. 189).
127

As Erasmus says, "since the natures of so many
men are inclined toward the ways of evil, there is no
nature so happily born that it cannot be corrupted by
wrong training (Ibid., p. 143).

128Cf.: "Nature created all men equal, and slavery
was superimposed on nature, which fact the laws of even
the pagans recognized. Now stOp and think how out of
proportion it is for a Christian to usurp full power over
other Christians, whom the laws did not design to be
slaves, and whom Christ redeemed from all slavery" (Ibid.,
p. 177).

129Cf.: "Christ himself, who is the one Prince and
Lord of all, has most clearly set off the Chiistian prince
from the pagan, saying, 'The princes of the Gentiles
exercise dominion over them, and they that are great
exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so
among you.‘ If it is the part of pagan princes to exer-
cise dominion, it does not then become Christian princes"
(Ibid., p. 168).

130Polidoro is careful to explain that God, not
himself, is the efficient cause of his conversion:
“. . . dando gracias a Dios que me havia librado de una
tan ciega tiniebla y de una tan trabajosa ceguedad,
queriendo executar e1 buen desseo que me d16 . . ."
(168-169). Thus, like the married man, Polidoro is con-
verted by an impulso divino (v. supra, n. 113).

131Cf.: ". . . the condition of the state is more
bearable when the prince himself is wicked than when he
has evil friends" (Erasmus, Education, p. 211).

132Cf.: ". . . the great mass of the worthless
crowd in every state is created through idleness, which
they all seek in different ways. Those who have once
become accustomed to an idle life will resort to any evil
course, if they have no other means of supporting it. The
prince will therefore always be on the lookout to keep the
proportion of idlers down to the minimum among his court-
iers, and either force them to be busy or else banish
them from the country" (Ibid., p. 225).

 

 

251

133Erasmus believes that holy priests contribute
to the strengthening of the state (Ibid., p. 248).

134Cf.: "A good prince should punish none more
severely than those who are corrupt in their administra-
tion of the laws, since the prince himself is the first
guardian of the laws" (Ibid., p. 234).

135Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.157, Art.4. Cf.
Erasmus: "Clemency inspires to better efforts those who
are aware of their faults, while forgiveness extends hope
to those who are now eager to make recompense by vir-
tuous conduct for the shortcomings of their earlier life
and provides the steadfast with a happy reflection on
human nature" (Education, p. 209).

136Cf.: "No one gets more honor than the man who
does not exact it. To no one are men more willingly
obedient than to him who does not seek such attention.
To no one do they more willingly pour out their wealth
than to him whom [gig] they know will expend it for the
development of the state and return it with interest"
(Erasmus, Education, p. 180).

137Cf.: "The prince will understand some day that
it was useless to extend the territory of the kingdom and
that what in the beginning seemed a gain was in reality
tremendous loss, but in the meantime a great many
thousands of men have been killed or impoverished" (Ibid.,
p. 250).

138Cf.: "When asked what animal was the most
dangerous of all, [Diogenes] said 'If you mean among the
wild beasts, I will say the tyrant; if among the tame
ones, the flatters'" (Ibid., p. 193).

139Cf.: "The king rejoices in the freedom of his
people; the tyrant strives to be feared, the king to be
loved" (Ibid., p. 164).

140Cf.: "Plato is nowhere more painstaking than in
the training of his guardians of the state. He does not
wish them to excel all others in wealth, in gems, in dress,
in statues and attendants, but in wisdom alone. He says
that no state will ever be blessed unless the philosophers
are at the helm, or those to whom the task of government
falls embrace philosophy. By 'philosophy' I do not mean
that which disputes concerning the first beginnings, of
primordial matter, of motion and infinity, but that which
frees the mind from the false opinions and the vicious
predilections of the masses and points out a theory of
government according to the example of the Eternal Power"
(Ibid., PPS. 133-134).

 

 

252

l4le.: "There is only one Master of Christian men.
Why, then, do those who assume His functions, prefer to
take their pattern of government from anyone except Him,
who alone is in all ways to be imitated?" (Ibid., p. 177).

142Cf.: "Let the good prince always lean toward
that glory which is not steeped in blood nor linked with
the misfortune of another. In war, however fortunately
it turns out, the good fortune of one is always the ruin
of the other" (Ibid., p. 254).

143Cf.: "The king [as opposed to the tyrant]
judges everything by the standard of its value to the
state" (Ibid., p. 165).

144Montesinos, "Algunas notas," p. 249.

145Ibid.

146Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.185, Art.2.

147Ibid., Q.ll, Art.3.

148The condemnation of "Historias fingidas" in a
book which is itself an "historia fingida" seems quite
remarkable. Perhaps this represents a carry-over of what
Ernst Robert Curtius has called "... . the_medieval view
of poetry" (Eurgpean Literature and the Latin Middle Ages,
trans. Willard R. Trask [New York: Harper and Row,

Harper Torchbooks, 1963], p. 591). He explains by saying

that "poetry [Curtius appears to use this term to refer

to imaginative literature in general] was viewed as part

and parcel of the inheritance of paganism. It ranked with

grammar, rhetoric, mythology, and the rest" (Ibid.). He

says that "the great scholastics of the thirteenth century

are not interested in poetry. You will look in vain for

a scholastic vindication of it" (Ibid.). In any case,

Valdés's discussion of the bishop's program of censorship

is somewhat vague,for at one point (already quoted in the

text) he has him condemn profane books, while at another

point he has him tacitly approve of at least some of

them: "Determindado, pues, qué libros se hav1an de

leer y qué de vedar y dexar, y puesto en orden, emendado

y aderecado lo que se avia de leer, assi de cosas sacras

como profanas [emphasis added] . ..."’(1984I99).
149Cervantes alludes to the same problem, albeit

in a more humorous manner, in Rinconete y Cortadillo.

 

253

150See Bataillon, Erasmo, pps. 298-299 for specula-
tion on whether or not Valdes intended this soul to
represent the preacher Pedro Ruiz de Alcaraz, whom his
brother Juan had heard some years earlier. For additional
information on Alcaraz see José F. Montesinos, ed.,
Diélogo de la Lengua, by Juan de Valdés (Madrid: Espasa-
Calpe, 1964), pps. xii-xv.

151"Su calidad de sacerdote va implicada, sin duda,
en el hecho de que predica libremente en el pfilpito. No
se menciona de ninguna otra manera" Bataillon, Erasmo, pps.
398-399, n. 49).

152While the word "evangelical" has come to be
identified primarily with the Protestant tradition, Karl
Barth points out that not all Protestant theology is
evangelical (Paul Tillich, for example, mentions the
existence of Protestant scholastic theologians such as
Johann Gerhard in his Perspectives on Nineteenth and
Twentieth Century Protestant Theology [New York: Harper
and Row, 1967]] p. 10) and that there is evangelical
theology in the Roman Catholic tradition (Evangelical

Theology, p. 3).

153The use of this conjunction is somewhat
infelicitous, since it suggests that what follows is some-
thing distinct from caridad, which, of course, is not true.

154Bataillon speculates that Valdés may have taken
warning from the Edict of 1525 condemning the alumbrados
(Erasmo, p. 399).

155This word was added by the translator (Ibid.,
p. 194, n. 16). It has the effect of tempering Erasmus' 5
view somewhat.

 

 

 

 

56Quoted by Bataillon, Ibid., p. 194.

157Ibid., p. 399.

158Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.33, Art.7.

lsgIbid., Art.1.

lGoIbid., Art.3, Reply Obj.1.

161 . .
Erasmus was also opposed to such 1rrespons1ble

condemnations, as indicated by the following passage in
Johan Huizinga' s Erasmus and the Age of Reformation, trans.
F. Hopman (New York: Harper and Row, Harper Torchbooks,
1957), p. 143: "In April 1519 Erasmus addressed himself
by letter to the elector Frederick of Saxony, Luther's
patron. He begins by alluding to his dedication

254

of Suetonius two years before; but his real purpose is to
say something about Luther. Luther's writings, he says,
have given the Louvain obscurants plenty of reason to
inveigh against the bonae literae, to decry all scholars.
He himself does not khOw Luther and has glanced through
his writings only cursorily as yet, but everyone praises
his life. How little in accordance with theological
gentleness it is to condemn him offhand, and that before
the indiscreet vulgar! For has he not proposed a dispute,
and submitted himself to everybody's judgement? No one
has, so far, admonished, taught, convinced him. Every
error is not at once heresy. The best of Christianity

is a life worthy of Christ. Where we find that, we should
not rashly suspect people of heresy."

 

162Aquinas SEE 3 Pt. II-II, 0.185, Art.1.
163Montesinos, "Algunas notas," PPSo 252“253°
164Aquinas ngma Supl. Q.4l, Art.1.

lesigig., Pt. II-II, 0.33, Art.1.

166

This heterodox view was condemned at Session IV
of the Council of Trent, April 8, 1546 (Robert McAfee
Brown, The Spirit of Protestantism [New York: Oxford
University Press, 1965], p. 173).

l67Montesinos, "Algunas notas," p. 248;

Part 2:

Las cortes de la Muerte of Micael de Carvajal

 

and Luis Hurtado de Toledo

Anti-Protestant invectives reach a fever pitch in
this play,1 begun by Micael de Carvajal and finished by
Luis Hurtado de Toledo.2 It was printed in Toledo in
1557,3 twelve years after the opening session of the
Council of Trent (1545),4 and, even though the decrees of
the Council were not authorized for publication in Spain
until July 19, 1564, Bruce Wardropper surmises that
" . . fécilmente podian llegar a Espafia noticias indirectas
del sentido general del Concilio."5 Although it is true
that the Council did not mention the reformers by name,6
one of its effects was to attack Lutheran teaching,
especially on the subject of justification.7 It may well
have been the influence on the author of this anti-Lutheran

spirit of the Council that induced him to end his work

with an auto de fe in which Luther is burned at the stake.

 

In any case, this play is not informed by any kind of
ambivalence toward the Reformers; they are soundly con-
demned while the authority of the Roman church is affirmed.

The play is, in the words of J. P. W. Crawford, ". . .

255

256

too long and at times . . . dull, . . ."8 but it is useful

as a vast compendium of ideas and themes relative to the
Dance of Death genre.

The desengano motif is immediately introduced in

 

the prologue (introito), spoken by a hermit. "Todos
estados probé," (2:1) he tells us, but he was unable to
find peace and contentment until he fled from ". . . el
mundo y sus trajes" (2:2). As a result of his vast
experience he has been chosen by the souls in Purgatory
as a messenger to the world. His job is to remind them
of the nearness of Death, the impending final judgment,
and the reality of Heaven and Hell:

Oid los que estais dormidos,
Despertad del suefio grave,
Desatapad los oidos,

Quitad 1a mundana llave

Con que cerrais los sentidos.
Entienda todo mortal

Que tiene cerca 1a Muerte:
Tenga en la memoria cual

Seré 1a trompeta fuerte

De aquel juicio final. (2:1)

He announces that Death will hold court and
. . . acortar camino

A muchos que piensan ser

Larga su estrella y su sino. (2:2)
He then exits and has no further part in the play.
In the first scene Death calls her two assistants,9
Pain and Old Age, and explains that she wishes to hold
court in order to undeceive the world: i

'Y pues que el mundo esta ciego,

Le quiero desengafiar
Y dar a entender e1 juego. (3:1)

257

She believes that these cortes generales are necessary

 

because all people and all estates feel that they have a
grievance against her and her two assiStants who, in the
opinion of the masses, quite unreasonably ravage the earth.
Thus, when Death says that she wishes to "dar a entender

e1 juego,‘ she means that she wishes to explain to every-
body that their complaints are unjustified; Time, the

pregonero of the cortes, says that

 

Ella [i.e. 1a Muerte] quiere descargarse

De la culpa que le es puesta,

Y en este caso allanarse,

Y por razones mostrarse

Cuénfcon razon los molesta.

Y as1, sepan los mortales

Que sintiendo esta injuria,

Hace cortes generales. (3:2)
Two angels will protect the people who come to the cortes
from the enemies, who are Flesh, Satan, and the World.
Three attorneys are opposed to these enemies, Saint
Augustine, Saint Jerome, and Saint Francis. Death's
macebearer informs her that the solicitors of all the
different estates have arrived and they wish to request
the same favor that she granted the ancients, that is,
longer life. Death then launches into her general address
to the court in an attempt to justify herself to all those
who feel they have a complaint against her. The essence
of her argument is that those who are grieved by her
arrival have nobody to blame but themselves:

Mezquinos, gde qué os quejais?
Quejaos: quejaos de vos mismos,
Que de m1 no 05 acordais

Hasta el punto que llegais
A 103 infiernos y abismos. (4:2)

258

They allow themselves to live in a state of illusion,
unaware of death and the final judgment which must
inevitably follow. Therefore, their tendency to view death
as something unmitigatedly evil is a logical consequence of
their failure to see things in their proper order and to
recognize and live up to their moral obligations. Death
views herself quite differently, however, and tends to

look upon her activity as an act of mercy:

. . . éno es gran merced que os hago
Sacaros de Babilonia?

éNo es gran dicha y gran ventura
Y bienes nunca pensados
Sacaros de niebla escura
Y llevaros a1 altura
Para do fuistes criados? (4:2-3)

Thus men complain of Death because they have forgotten

about their last end, which is happiness,10 and which

. . can consist in nothing else than the vision of

11

the Divine Essence." If they were not living in this

state of illusion, they would not view the coming of

Death with such apprehension, for, as she herself says,
". . . soy un suefio sabroso . . ." (4:3). She does not
operate on her own power, but rather fulfills the Divine

will:

De contino soy mandada
Como instrumento de Dios. (4:3)

Thus, Death's message to mankind is

Que nadie duerma ni ciegue
Con los deleites mundanos,
Porque sabed, mis hermanos,
Que no hay plazo que no llegue.

259

Y e1 alma en cuerpo venida,

Mire c6mo trata y vive;

Contino esté apercebida,

Que en el libro de la vida

Todo se asienta y escribe.

Y tengan por cosa cierta

Que sin saber c6mo y cuando,

Los llamaré muy despierta;

Porque a1 viejo est6 a la puerta,

Y a1 mozo voy acechando. (4:3)
The threatening overtones in this passage are a logical
consequence of the acknowledgement of the presence of sin
in the world; Death will be a source of fear only to those
who are self-deceived and living in a state of sin.

A brief hiatus in Death's analysis is caused by
the entrance of Satan and his two friends, Flesh and the
World. This scene indicates that a powerful condemnation
of the Protestant heresy plays a major role in the a priori

desengano of this play: Satan has been ordered by Lucifer

 

to attend Death's court as the solicitor for the "Estado/
De todos los infernales" (5:2), and the lawyer who will
assist him in this enterprise is Luther. The following
exchange between Satan, Flesh, and the World leaves little
doubt as to the author's position vis-a-vis the Protestant
reformers:

Satanés
5N0 conoces a1 Lutero
Fuente de las herejlas?
Mundo

Ya, ya: este es el traidor
Y pastor de aquella grey
Que esta fundada en error.

260

Satanés

Este es el profanador
De la evangélica ley.

Mundo
éNo es este el que confisiones
Ha quitado y sacramentos?
Satanés
Y aun misas y devociones,
Y el que sembro confusiones
Entre frailes y conventos.
Carne
Este es el que di6 maridos
A monjas como a seglares.
Satanas

Y a los frailes recogidos
Que casen, y sean raidos
Los sanctos de los altares.
Con estas cosas, é osadas
E1 se ha hecho tan bien quisto,
Que se van tras sus pisadas
A banderas desplegadas.
Carne

30h qué hermoso Antecristo! (5:2)
This simplistic and militantly anti-Protestant position, a
classic example of what S. I. Hayakawa termed the "two-
valued orientation,"12 forms an integral part of the
a priori desengano of the play and reflects the growing
fear of religious schism.

Satan is conceived as an enemy Of Death, as she

reveals upon encountering him:

{Oh Satanés tentador}

Dime a qué, enemigo eterno,

Vienes a cortes, traidor,

El mayor perseguidor
Que se halla en el infierno? (5:3)

261

Death, continuing her explanation of death and the meaning
it should have for Christians, affirms that all men must
die because of original sin. Since death is inevitable,
men must do battle with the World:
éNo miran que tienen guerra

Con el mundo y su atadura,

Y aquella carne tan perra,

Y que un pié esta ya en la tierra,

Y el otro en la sepoltura? (6:1)

Death defines herself in exclusively eschatological terms:

No soy sino un breve paso
Puesto entre entramas las vidas. (6:1)

Basically, therefore, the philosophy of death outlined in
this play is rather optimistic, but not euphorically so,
for the threatening presence of sin is always recognized:

Por mi pasan los mortales

A aquel precioso jardin

De deleites celestiales,

Si por sus culpas y males

No pierden tal bien sin fin. (6:1)
Death concludes her presentation by reminding men that they
were created for higher things than "ollas podridas" (6:1),
a phrase she uses to symbolize the physical world in
general.

The bishop is the solicitor for the clerical
estates. Death mildly criticizes him for his showy and
costly manner of dress and compares him unfavorably to
Saint Peter, who dressed in a simple fashion, more suitable
to a disciple of Christ. The bishop's request is that
Death grant the clergy longer life, like that which the

ancients enjoyed, since they are involved in an infinite

262

number of good works. Death explains why it is not in her
power to grant the bishop's request:

. . . a la vida del hombre
Tiene Dios término puesto.
Y llegado ya aquel punto
Que Dios le hubo senalado,
Yo me parto, y alli junto
Le hiero y dejo defunto,
Porque e1 término ha espirado.
Ansi, que no es en mi mano
Alargar ni acortar vidas,
Sino solo el Soberano
Es el que tarde 6 temprano
Las quita 0 las da cumplidas.
Para pasar 1a carrera
Y esta vida de amargor,
Desta jornada ligera
No soy sino mensajera
Y un ministro del Senor, (7:1-2)

Death thus affirms that her role is merely that of an
executor of the Divine will. She reveals that she does

not take pleasure from the performance of her function,

 

as did her counterpart in the Danga generai:

El que non quisiere poner diligencia

Por mi non puede ser mas esperado. (ed. cit.,

380:1)

Death in this play, however, does more than merely refrain
from such incursions into vindictiveness; she is positively
magnanimous, at least in comparison with Death in the
'Danca general, for she accepts the bishop's affirmation of
the elevated morality of the clergy and agrees to inter-
cede on their behalf with God, asking Him to grant them
longer life. Thus Angel Lasso de la Vega y Argfielles
was correct in his assertion that "la Muerte no es en este

auto la fria ejecutora de sus sentencias, que es sorda a

todo ruego, y solo atiende é descargar el golpe feroz que

263

extingue la existencia del viviente."l3 Saint Augustine

concurs in Death's decision to intercede on behalf of the
clergy, but he adds a word of warning to the bishop, tell-
ing him to see to it that the clergymen are ". . . honestos

y templados, /Castos y caritativos [emphasis added] . . ."

 

(7:2). Saint Jerome also emphasizes the virtue of charity
when he says that Satan, Flesh, and the World are adver-
saries of mankind who ". . . impiden la caridad . . ."
(8:3).14
The knight is the solicitor for the military
estate. His request is also for longer life for the members
of his estate, but some of the reasons he adduces for this
requrest are truly laughable:
Pidente todos postrados
No les lleves como sueles,
Ni derrueques sus estados,
Porque estan ahora ocupados
En guerras grandes, crueles:
Unos por acrecentar

Sus principados y tierras,
Y gentes é quien mandar. .

. (9:2)

Somewhat more valid is his request that Death grant the
members of his estate time to correct their lives and make
reparation for their sins. Death explains that a long

life without such reparation increases the guilt due to

the original sin and she tells the knight that the military
estate is obliged to fight for God against the three enemies

who send them cartas de desafio: the Devil, Flesh, and

the World:

264

. . . e1 caballero cristiano
Que contra el vicio no esta
Siempre la lanza en la mano,
Con Cristo, rey soberano,
Ninguna paz él terna. (10:1)

The solicitor for the rich indicates that he and
those he represents are guilty of hypocrisy; they claim to
want to use their riches to serve God, but they don't have
a truly Christian attitude. All their effort is to accumu-
late more and more money and to enjoy it, strictly for its
own sake:

Amontonan cada hora

Ducado sobre ducado,

Y en darse priesa a llegar

Primero que otros lo cojan,

Quieren ellos madrugar;

A ver si pueden matar

Su sed, el mundo despojan.

Solamente les da penas

Que otros tengan mas ducados. (10:3)

These last lines indicate that the rich are also guilty
of envy, a sin which is contrary to charity, since

. . . the genus of a sin is taken from its
Object; and envy according to the aspect
of its object is contrary to charity, whence
the soul derives its spiritual life. . . .
Now the object of both charity and of envy
is our neighbor's good, but by contrary
movements, since charity rejoices in our
neighbor's good, while envy grieves over
it. . . . Therefore it is evident that
envy is a mortal sin in respect of its
genus.

Death condemns the rich for their vanity and informs them
that everybody is equal in death:
Que cuando e1 ojo se cierra,

No lleva mas pies de tierra
El rico que el pobrecillo. (10:3)

265

Appropriately, it is Saint Francis who offers advice to the
rich, encouraging them to undeceive themselves and realize
how dangerous their estate is for the true Christian:
30h, estado tan peligroso

Para todo fiel cristiano!

iOh, robador del reposo

Si aquel Alto Poderoso

No 05 substenta con su mano! (11:3)
He advises them not to be diligent in attempting to acquire
riches and to avoid the sin of avarice. He does not say
that the rich are automatically condemned, but rather that
they must have the proper attitude toward their wealth if
they wish to be saved:

Usen bien dellas [i.e. las riquezas] 1e ruego;

Porque rico fué Abrahan

Y otros muchos (no lo niego),

Mas miren que son un fuego

Muy peor que de alquitran. (12:2)
This particular rich man and those on whose behalf he
speaks are condemned very severely, however. Saint Francis
explains that since they received their reward here on
earth, it would not be appropriate for them to receive
further rewards in heaven, but rather punishment and
suffering in hell for their evil deeds. He accuses them
_Of great evil (Vuestra maldad sobrepuja/ Tanto . . ."
(12:2), so that it appears that their covetousness was
not merely a venial, but rather a mortal sin. The mere
inordinate desire of riches is not enough to condemn a
man unless, through this love of riches, he does not fear

to act counter to God's law.16 The rich man, upon hearing

266

this, experiences a posteriori desengano and expresses it

 

thus:

10h, c6mo voy despachado!
Negras nuevas te daré.
(Oh desventurado estado,
Y como vas condenado
A1 infierno! Y ved por qué.
Por un polvo, una basura,
De que hacemos caudal;
Noche de gran amargura
Desdichada y sin ventura
Nos espera y tanto mal. (12:2-3)

The attitude shown by the solicitor for the poor
recalls that of the old poor man in Diego Sanchez de

Badajoz's Farsa de la Muerte, for he comes seeking Death,

 

rather than trying to avoid her. On behalf of all the
poor he requests "Que les des 1a sepoltura" (14:2). They
are dying by the hour from sheer starvation and they want
Death to end their sufferings. All the rich are criticized
for the insensibility to mercy by which they allow such
unmerited suffering to go uncorrected, but those who are
most severely condemned are "aquellos que rigen/ La
iglesia de Jesu Cristo" (14:3). They close their ears to
the pleading of the indigent and refuse to remember that
Christ himself was poor. All the rich who fail to succor
the poor are thus accused of insensibility to mercy. This

means that the a priori desengano of this incident involves
17

 

an emphasis on charity, since mercy results from charity.
In the face of their extreme suffering the poor conclude
that "e1 morir es el remedio/ Mas seguro" (15:1), although

they are consoled to some degree by Saint Jerome and

267

Saint Dominic, who assure them that the final judgment
is imminent and that they will be rewarded for their
travails in heaven, while their oppressors will suffer
for all eternity in hell.

The solicitor for the nuns very strongly recalls

the despairing nun in Valdés's Dialogo de Mercurio y Car6n.

 

She has come to complain of the bitterness and remorse
that causes so much dissension in the convents; she claims
that there are very few, if any, nuns who do not wish to
be freed from their vows, and she explains the reasons for
this attitude:

Porque nifias y muchachas
Nos metieron; que no vimos
Tantos dafios, tantas tachas;
Mas estabamos borrachas
Cuando tal yerro hicimos.
Que nuestros padres, por dar
A los hijos 1a hacienda,
Nos quisieron despojar,
Y sobre todo encerrar
Donde Dios tanto se ofenda.

Porque alli nos maldecimos
Cada hora y cada rato,
Desde el dia en que nacimos,
E que tristes entendimos
La negra clausura y trato.
Y zpluguiera a mi gran Dios
Que al mas pobre guillote
Que se hallara entre nos,
Padre, me diérades vos,
Y no a tal yugo y azote! (16:2-3)

The nun goes on to state that there are very few women who
have been successful in guarding their virginity, and that
those few who have been successful are fearful of going
the way of the majority who have succumbed to temptation.

Her request to Death, therefore, is that she intercede

268

with God and implore Him to protect this small contingent
from the snares of temptation until their days are ended.
The solution, according to Death, is resignation and
perseverance:

Monja, en tanto que durare

La vida, sin discrepar

Trabajen, y nadie pare;

Porque el que perserverare

Hasta el fin, se ha de salvar.

Flechen su arco, y flechado,

No dejen de resistir;

Pues esta claro y probado

Que ninguno es mas tentado

Que lo que puede sufrir. (17:2-3)
This is an oblique allusion to the traditional Catholic
doctrine of free will, which maintains that man has it in
his power to resist any and all temptations.18 The nun
must therefore struggle constantly against the Devil's
temptations, but she consoles herself with the considera-
tion that ". . . en fin, la tempestad / Deste mundo poco
dura" (8:1).

The next solicitor, the married man, indicates
that marriage can be as difficult as celibacy. He has
come to Death's court primarily on behalf of the mal
casados, who are all living a life of unequaled torments.
Their complaint is that Death continually ignores them,
instead of delivering them from their life of misery.
Death in this play has a broader range of emotional feel-
ings than her counterparts in some of the earlier Dances
of Death, for she sympathizes with some of her would-be

victims. Upon hearing the message Of the married man she

says:

269

10h, tristes y desastrados!

Y atantos males padescen

Los miserables casados?

Raz6n tienen los cuitados

De llamarme, y lo merescen. (20:2)
She once again emphasizes, however, that it is not in her
power to decide when an individual's hour has arrived, for
that privilege belongs to God alone. She reminds them
that it may well be that the sufferings they endure were
sent to them by God as a means for them to achieve
salvation; what they must do is resign themselves to God's
will, for He knows what is best for each of them. An
angel reminds them that matrimony is a holy state and
that many saints achieved holiness while they were married.
Then a chorus of angels sings a phrase from the Apocalypse

of Saint John (14:13) which is central to the a priori

desengano of this work: "Beati mortui qui in Domino

 

 

moriuntur" (21:2).

 

The widow contrasts the unhappiness of her present
estate with the joy she knew while married. One of her
major afflictions is gossip:

Todo el mundo os atalaya

Con mil ojos, y esta a ver

Si pasais de aquella raya,

Y qué manto, toca y saya

Traeis y poder [sic] traer. (21:3)
The widows also complain of not being able to defend
themselves from those who would take from them everything
they own. Death admits that the widow is correct in

everything she says and she agrees to intercede with God

on her behalf, asking Him to give the widows the strength

270

to resist the temptations of Satan. Death advises the
widow, however, that the demands of charity require a
perfectly upright life:

Abracen 1a honestidad,

Y esos.vicios y palacios

Se escusen por caridad. . . . (22:1)

Pride is the vice of the solicitor for the judges,

who paints a picture of the activities of the members of
his profession that is so flattering that it is literally

incredible. As Death says to him,

Esos jfieces, hermano,
Dioses se pueden llamar. (22:3)

Saint Augustine attempts to temper the presumption of the
judges somewhat, reminding them that they will be judged
by God and that it will be impossible for them to deceive
Him.

The lawyer is summarily dismissed by Death and
handed over to Satan as soon as he tries to prove that it
is inadvisable for Death to take the lives of the members
of the legal profession. The vices of the lawyers are
not mentioned specifically, but Saint Hieronymus accuses
them of having destroyed many people; regardless of the
manner in which this took place, it is a sin contrary to
charity in so far as it damages a neighbor's spiritual or
earthly well-being.

The solicitor for the doctors is possibly the most
Severely criticized character in the entire play. His

argument is that the doctors are absolutely essential to

271

the well-being of society and that Death should therefore
leave them in peace

. . . hasta que el mundo vaya

De un golpe terrible y grave,

Y aqueste artificio caya. (23:3)
Death will hear none of his arguments, however, but
launches instead into a violent condemnation of doctors
(who are traditionally the objects of some of the harshest
attacks):

Diles que pues desbaratan

Todo este mundo a remate

Con sus purgas, y maltratan,

Que de cuantos ellos matan,

Justo es que yo los mate.

Que a un triste porque mat6

Por desastre otro varon,

Luego en horca padescié,

Y ellos matan mas que yo;

Y que vivan no es razon. (23:3)
Death virtually promises the doctors eternal damnation for
their abuses of the profession of medicine. Saint Francis
severely denounces them for their covetousness and decep-

tion, reminding them that

. . . e1 Médico verdadero
A cada cual curara (23:3),

an allusion to the impending Divine judgment.

With the solicitor for the farmers, Death shows
herself capable of considerable kindheartedness. When
he arrives at the court and beholds Death, her appearance
strikes fear into his heart, so that he is afraid to

approach her, but she consoles him by saying

272

ion, mezquino labrador!

Ven acé: no temas verme.
Pierde, pierde esos temores,

Y dime ya tu embajada. (24:1)

The solicitor complains that the farmers are subject to
extreme injustices, since they work harder than anybody
but do not receive rewards for their labor. They always
end up owing more than they have earned, and when they
are able to keep a pittance for themselves, they are soon
divested of it by exploiters and opportunists. What they
want from Death is their final rest:
Y agora los miserables
Querrian ya descansar
De trabajos tan notables
En las sillas perdurables,
Si pudiesen alcanzar.
Vengo a ver si por ventura
En estas cortes se da
Remedio a su desventura;
Porque si mucho les dura
Tal trabajo, équién podré? (24:2)
Death warns them against covetousness (which Aquinas con-
siders the root of all sins)19 and advises them to resign
themselves to their suffering, for their reward is in
heaven.
Beatriz, the solicitor for the women of easy vir-
tue, is shocked by the ugly appearance of Death:
zOh trago terrible y fuerte!
Oh gesto tan desgraciado,
Tan feo, triste y horrible!
aQuién tan fea te ha parado? (26:1)

The answer is the traditional one: sin, for Death is not

a creation of God. The harlots' request is

273

Que tfi, Muerte, las esperes,
A que lleguen a vejez;

Y disimules con ellas,
Hasta qu' esta mocedad
Puedan gozar todas ellas;
Que hayas lastima de vellas
Morir en tan buena edad.
Que alla en el tercio postrero
De la vida enmendaran
Sus vidas muy por entero,
Y a su gran Dios verdadero
Prometen que serviran. ~(26:2)

They are so self-deceived that their situation is almost
laughable. Death marvels at the fact that these women do
not discover their illusions until it is too late and
advises them to change their way of living:

Déjense desas consejas,

Y muden ya las pellejas,

Busquen seguro reposo. (26:2)
Death in this play is thus placed in the very charitable
role of helping her future victims to attain salvation.
She disillusions Beatriz by pointing out that the
prostititues are incapable of merit, which is chiefly a
function of charity,20 because they are living in sin with
no desire for true repentance:

Estas tristes no han mirado

Que no puede aprovechar

Ningun bien que hayan obrado,

Esténdose en el pecado,

Sin se querer enmendar. (26:3)
This means that salvation will surely escape them, unless
they change their ways, since ". . . the merit of life
everlasting pertains first to charity, and secondly, to

the other virtues, inasmuch as their acts are commanded by

charity."21 Death ends this scene on a rather macabre

274

.note which recalls the words spoken by her counterpart in

the Danca general to the two maidens:

 

Mujeres, no deis lugar
A deleites en el suelo.
Dejaos ya dese afeitar,
Porque yo suelo quitar
La tez muy a1 redropelo;
Y porque desas locuras
Os quiteis tan peligrosas,
Veis aqui las hermosuras,
Los colores y blancuras
De dos infantas hermosas.
(Aqui muestra dos calaveras.)
Conocémelas si son
Blancas o negras aqui;
Dadme aqui cuenta y razon
De su matiz, presuncion;
aQué se hicieron? deci.
Mirad toda la frescura
Si ha escapado de mis manos
Aunque sea de mas altura;
Y la falsa hermosura
Si 1a comieron gusanos. (27:3)

Thus Death emphastically demonstrates the caducity of
false (i.e. physical) beauty; true beauty is the spiritual
perfection which will ultimately merit "seguro reposo."

An emphasis on correct doctrine comes to the fore
in the next scene, in which two philosophers, Heraclito,
the sad phiIOSOpher, and Dem6crito, the happy philosopher,
expound their views and make their requests of Death.
Heréclito requests more time to live so that he can have
his fill of weeping. The source of his sorrow is the
moral decadence into which the world has fallen:

aQuién no terna pesadumbre
Y dara cient mil gemidos
Viendo el mundo en tal costumbre,

Los malos tan en la cumbre,
Los buenos tan abatidos? (28:1-2)

275

Dem6crito was similarly impressed by this "corrupcion de
costumbres" (29:1), but his response was quite different:
he blinded himself so as not to have to perceive it. His
occupation is to laugh at the world's follies, especially
those of women. Here he shoWs himself a thoroughgoing
misogynist:

aQuiefi te diré su locura,
Y aquella desenvoltura
Que ya tiene, y desvergfienza? (30:1)

Death, however, reproves both of the philoSOphers for being
even more vain and presumptuous than those they condemn,
and it is here that the emphasis on doctrine becomes clear:

. . . sabed, mis hermanos,
Que vosotros largamente,
Aunque vivis muy ufanos
Con vuestra ciencia, mas vanos
Sois que toda esotra gente.
éPor qué quereis presumir
De sabios, habiendo visto
Que de vos se han de reir,
Pues que no quereis seguir
La escuela de Jesu-Cristo? (30:3)

Death's advice to the philoSOphers is a kind of memento
mori, for he reminds them to

Memorar siempre e1 morir,
Considerar y medir

Esos cuerpos miserables,

Ver que los que por locura

De soberbia y presuncién

No caben en gran anchura,

Yo en la chica sepoltura

Mido bien cuan chicos son. (31:1)

It is appropriate that it is Saint Augustine who most

seriously rebukes the philosophers for their failure to

276

follow Christ, for the words spoken by the character in the
play truly resemble the views of Saint Augustine himself:

10h, fil6sofos perdidos,
Sin luz ni sin fundamento,
C6mo estais endurecidos,
Que no quereis ser traidos
Al sano conocimiento!
Dejaos desas opiniones
Errores, tras de que andais,
Y 08 llevan las aficiones;
Y fijad los corazones
Dentro en Cristo, a quien dejais.
Que no hay mas filosofia
De ver que este es el Senor
De las cosas, y las cria;
y el que de aquesta armonia
Ha sido fabricador. (31:2)22

Death implies that the philosophers must rid themselves of
their errors if they are to hope for salvation. Thus both
Death and Saint Augustine pass over a consideration of the
many vices to which the philosophers alluded in their
accusations of moral corruption in order to concentrate

on a condemnation of the erroneous opinions of the phil-
osophers themselves, thus indicating that correct doctrine

forms an important part of the a priori desengano of this

 

play.

A totally new element in the Dance of Death tradi-
tion makes its appearance in the next scene: the Indian
controversy. The author's sympathy is clearly with the
Indians, for a cacigue comes to Death's courts to complain
of the treatment they are receiving at the hands of the
Christians. He feels that it is ironic that whenthey were
pagans they lived in peace, whereas now that they have

become Christians

277

Parece que desafueros

Homicidios, fuegos, brasas,

Casos atroces y fieros,

Por estos negros dineros

Nos llueven en nuestras casas. (31:3)
The Indians provide a detailed account of all the abuses
they suffer at the hands of the Christians, and Death
sympathizes with them totally:

on cuanta ra26n teneis

De quejaros, mis hermanos,

Dese mal que padeceis,

Porque no lo mereceis,

Especial siendo cristianos. (33:1)
Nevertheless, her message is again one counselling
resignation; they must trust in God to deliver them (by
inference, in the afterlife) from these "lobos robadores"
(33:1). Thus Death's advice to the Indians is essentially
the same as her advice to certain other characters in the
play, such as the nun, the farmer, and the widow, for
example. The virtue that these people must cultivate is
that of patience, which ". . . safeguard[s] the good of
. . "23
reason aga1nst sorrow, lest reason give way to sorrow.
This emphasis on the virtue of patience contains a slight
but perceptible ancillary emphasis on charity, since
patience ". . . is caused by charity, . . ."24 and is
therefore impossible without grace.

Death is not so sympathetic toward the characters

in the next scene: four Jews, two Moors, and a Portuguese

Christian, all of whom are shown to be self-deceived in

one way or another. Don Far6n, one of the Jews, claims

278

that a certain rabbi has prophecied the coming of the
Messiah in the year 1629, and his request of Death is
Que no nos hagas morir
Con tu guadafia y lision
Hasta ver si ha de venir

El Mesia y redemir
Aquesta hebrea nascion. (34:2)

Death accuses the Jews of being "llenos de errores" (34:2)25
and turns them over to the saints, who undeceive them by
explaining orthodox Catholic teaching on the subject.

Satan is very disturbed by this turn of events and he thus

reveals himself to be favorable to engano and hostile to

desengano. He says to the saints:

 

Grande agravio me habeis hecho
Que seais alumbradores

Destos judios traidores,
Viniéndome tal provecho. (33:1)

Saint Francis makes the same point more directly when he
says to the Jews
aQué os parece del pesar

Que e1 Demonio tiene, hermanos,
De veros desenganar?

 

Thus the a priori desengano of this episode emphasizes
orthodox doctrine as opposed to the Judaic heresy (Satan
refers to the Jews as "cargados de herejias" [33:1]).

A similar emphasis on orthodoxy can be seen in
the condemnation of Islam. The request of the Moors is
that they be allowed to live until they see the unity of
all religions in Islam:'

Te pedimos ahincadoj26

Con toda la Berberia,

Que de ti no jean llevadoj
Hajta que todoj cuitadoj

279

Podamos ver aquel dia;

Cuando te hacen jaber

Que tienen muy gran sefial

Que las leyej han de jer

Todas una, sin haber

Mas de un pajtor y un corral.

Y tenemoj por muy cierto

Que nuejtra ley ha de jer,

Por jer ley de mas concierto,

Y por jer maj firme puerto,

Do se pueden acoger. (33:2-3)
This statement provokes a heated altercation between the
Moors and the Jews. In the middle of the dispute a
Portuguese wanders on stage and is asked by Don Far6n,
one of the Jews, to settle the dispute and tell whether
Judaism or Islam will be the triumphant religion. He
soon reveals, however, that he is even more self-deceived
than the others, for he replies:

Judeos, el que ha quemado

Las cellas allé en la escola,

Vos daré deso recado,

Que yo todo mi cuydado

Es en damas y viola. (36:3)
The Jews realize their error and convert when Saint
Augustine explains Catholic teaching to them, but the
Moor527 and the Portuguese (the latter being a traditional
object of scorn in Spanish literature) are not so easily
undeceived. The latter instead proceeds to make his
request to Death, namely, that she not go to Portugal to
claim any "fidalgo honrado" (37:3) as a victim, and that
she not enter Portugal at all without the express consent
of the king. Such foolishness prompts a very harsh reply

from Death, who condemns not only this individual but all

Portugal as well:

280

IProvincia tan desdichada,
Lusitania, en la verdad,
Que siempre fuiste notada,
De criar gente tocada
De locura y necedad! (37:3)

These lines prompted Florence Whyte's remark that "Portugal

is represented as an unfortunate country where all are

mildly insane."28

The only remaining characters to make requests of
Death are two allegorical figures, Old Age and Youth, and
the Auctor. Old Age wishes to know why Death mercilessly
cuts down those who have finally attained wisdom and are
therefore most valuable to society, whereas Youth pre-

dictably complains of having to die prematurely. Death,

as usual, defends herself well:

iOh, hombres, que no entendeis

Lo que pedis en pedir

Las vidas que pretendeis!

Y ano es mejor que goceis

Del que es la vida y vivir?
Seguis tras ese apetito

Del mundo, y de su mal nombre.

Sancto Domingo bendito,

Respondedles con 10 escrito

De la miseria del hombre. (38:3)

There follows a paraphrase of certain sections of the Book
of Job, in which Death is seen to be a gift of God:

. . . el mayor bien que Dios d16

A 105 hombres fué la muerte.

Pues la vida peligrosa

6A quién habré que no asombre? (39:1)

The next scene is, in the words of Miss Whyte, ". . . a

carelessly inserted dialogue between the Auctor
and Death."29 The former complains of the latter's fury,
but Death once again defends herself, explaining that

man's purpose on earth is to regain what was lost through

281

original sin and travel from this world to the next.

Death's role as an agent of desengano can be clearly

 

perceived when she says that incorruptibility is a property
of God alone30 and explains that

. . . porque solo a Dios

Este honor se debe eterno,

Os los lleva d'entre vos

Una a una, y dos a dos,

Para el cielo y el infierno;
Porque mejor conozcais

Donde va vuestra esperanza,

Y en el mundo no tengais

Fe con lo que mas amais,

Pues es vana confianza. (40:1-2)

Thus the function of Death is to bring men to a state of

desengano in which they abandon their attachment to the

 

world and its pleasures. A bishop sums up this moral
message precisely when he says to his listeners:

iOh, hermanos, qué buen consejo

La Muerte aqui nos ha dado!

Pues tenemos aparejo,

Tengémosle por espejo

Y por un rico dechado [emphasis added].
Quitemos las esperanzas

Del mundo y su vanidad,

Pues que en él no hay confianzas,

Y con grandes alabanzas

Se alabe su Majestad. (40:3)

The play ends with a violent auto de fe. Satan,

 

Flesh, and the World decide to consult the record of the

court proceedings which Luther was supposed to have made31
and discover that ". . . todo el registro va / Falsado por
un traidor" (41:2). They therefore tie him to a stake and

burn him alive, while Car6n says:

282

zSus! zSus! fenezca e1 maldito,
De los malos e1 peor,
Pues ha falsado lo escrito;
Aqui do hizo el delito
Pague la pena e1 traidor. (41:3)

It seems reasonable to assume here that 10 escrito is a

 

veiled reference to Sacred Scripture, which Luther is
assumed to have falsified and betrayed through his
heterodox interpretations. Thus the Protestant schism

is manifestly condemned in the most emphatic way possible,

a dramatic representation of an auto de fe.

 

In conclusion, the a priori desengano of this

 

play continues the tradition of the medieval and Renaissance
Dances of Death with their emphasis on charity and doctrine,
but adds a new element, the condemnation of specific

heresies. The change in the concept of desengano is due

 

to a change in historical circumstances in Spain. In the

year 1557, when the play was printed, there were Protes-

tant communities in northern and southern Spain,32 and

R. Trevor Davies states that in that year the suspicion of

the Inquisition was finally aroused.33 Las cortes de la

 

Muerte reflects this growing awareness of the Protestant
schism through its condemnation of Luther's innovations,
specifically his abolition of certain sacraments, includ-
ing penance; his suppression of the Mass and other devo-
tional practices; his precedent-setting marriage with a
nun (Katharina Von Bora); his unorthodox reading of
Scripture; and, finally, his iconoclasm. Thus there is

a dialectical tension (heterodoxy vs. orthodoxy) in the

283

emphasis on doctrine in the a priori desengano of this work

 

that was absent in the Renaissance Dances of Death, such

as Gil Vicente's Auto da barca da Gloria.

 

FOOTNOTES--CHAPTER III, Part 2

lMicael de Carvajal and Luis Hurtado de Toledo,
Las cortes de la Muerte, in Biblioteca de autores espanoles:
romancero y cancionero sagrados, ed. by Justo de Sancho
(Madrid: Ediciones Atlas, 1950), 35: 1-41. All references
are to this edition of the play and are identified in the
text by page and column numbers. This work should not be
confused with another play of the same title, falsely
attributed to Lope de Vega. This auto could be adduced
as an example of a Spanish Dance of Death with an a priori
desengano condemning heterodox sects and doctrines, as can
be seen by the following partial list of errors which it
condemns: Gnosticism, Manicheanism, Arianism, Apollinarian-
ism, Calvinism, and Lutheranism. It will not be discussed
in a separate chapter, however, for George I. Dale has
proved that it was compiled by an anonymous plagiarist
perhaps as late as the nineteenth century who borrowed
'1ines from Lope, Mira de Amescua, Francisco Térrega, Fran-
cisco de Rojas, Tirso de Molina, and Agustin Moreto. He
concludes that ". . . the auto is a hoax, and should not
merit our further consideration as a unified dramatic
composition" ("Las cortes de la Muerte," Modern Language
Notes 40 [1925]:280).

 

 

 

2For an analysis of the question of the respective
contributions of each author, see Florence Whyte, Egg
Dance of Death in Spain and Catalonia (Baltimore: Waverly
Press! 1931): pps. 109-111.

31bid., p. 100.

4Karl RahnerarmiHerbert Vorgrimler, Theological
Dictionary (New York: Herder and Herder, 1965), p. 467.

5Bruce W. Wardropper, Introduccién a1 teatro
religioso del siglo de oro (Salamanca: Ediciones Anaya,
1967) I p0 1250

 

 

Rahner and Vorgrimler, Theological Dictionary,

 

p. 467.
7

A. G. Dickens, The Counter Reformation (Harcourt,
Brace and World, 1969), pps. 114-115.

284

285

8J. P. Wickersham Crawford, Spanish Drama before

Lope de Vega (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania
Press, 1937), p. 153. '

 

 

9This is the first Spanish Dance of Death in which
Death has assistants. Miss Whyte traces the idea to
Lucian's Charon (Whyte, Dance of Death, p. 101, n. 3).

 

lOAquinas Summa Pt. I-II, Q.1, Art.7.

llIbid., 0.3, Art.8.

125. I. Hayakawa, Language in Action (New York:
Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1941), pps. 164:i85.

13Angel Lasso de la Vega y Argfielles, La danza de
la Muerte en la poesia castellana (Madrid: Casa Editorial
de Medina, 1878), p. 68.

14It is true that both saints mention other virtues
in addition to charity, but, as my analysis in the preced-
ing chapters indicates, these can ultimately be reduced to
charity, the mother of all virtues.

15

 

 

Aquinas, Summa Pt. II-II, Q.36, Art.3.

l6Ibid., Q.118, Art.4.

l7Ibid., Q.30, AVt.3, Obj.3.

l8v. Ibid., Pt. I, Q.83, Art.1.

lgIbid., Pt. I-II, Q.84, Art.1.

201bid., Q.114, Art.4.

21Ibid.

22Cf.: ". . . he (i.e. Christ) is meek and humble of
heart, and he guides the meek in judgement, and he teaches
the mild his ways, seeing our abjection and our labor, and
forgiving all our sins. But those men who are raised up on
the heights of some toplofty teaching do not hear him as
he says, 'Learn of me, for I am meek and humble of heart,
and you shall find rest to your souls.‘ 'Although they know
God, they do not glorify him, or give thanks, but become
vain in their thoughts, and their foolish heart is darkened;
for professing themselves to be wise, they become fools'"
(Augustine Confessions [trans. John K. Ryan] 7.9).

 

23Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.l36, Art.1.

286

24Ibid., Art.3.

25Although it is, strictly speaking, outside the
province of this study, it might be profitable to compare
the function of Death in these Medieval and Golden Age
Dances of Death with her function in a modern work of
the same genre, such as Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal.
In the older works Death is usually presented as a figure
who is aware of her role as a messenger of God, a figure
to whom eternal truth is transparently accessible. Such
is not the case in The Seventh Seal, however, a work which
is not Catholic in its philosophical presuppositions, but
rather agnostic. Death cannot assuage the anxiety of the
agnostic knight, for she herself knows nothing. This is
made clear by the following exchange. The knight has been
playing chess with Death in an effort to gain time to
perform one meaningful act:

 

 

Death: Now I see something interesting.

Knight: What do you see? .

Death: You are mated on the next move, Antonius Block.
Knight: That's true.

Death: Did you enjoy your reprieve?

Knight: Yes, I did.

Death: I'm happy to hear that. Now I'll be leaving

you. When we meet again, you [gig] and your
companions' time will be up.

Knight: And you will divulge your secrets.

Death: I have no secrets.

Knight: So you know nothing.

Death: I have nothing to tell.

(Ingmar Bergman, The Seventh Seal, in Four Screenplays of
Ingmar Bergman, trans. Lars Malmstrom and David Kushner
[New York: Simon and Schuster, 1960], pps. 158-159.)

26

 

 

 

The j's are used to simulate the speech of the
Moors.

27The fact that the a priori desengano of this work
contains a condemnation of Islam as well as of Protestan-
tism may respond to the fact that, as R. Trevor Davies notes,
there was the possibility that during the reign of Phillip II
". . . Protestantism and Islam might join hands against
their common enemy. For there are examples on record of
Moriscos who became Protestants, and there is the ominous
fact at the end of the century that Morisco conspirators
turned naturally for help to the Huguenots of France and to
the Protestant Government of England" (The Golden Century
of Spain: 1501-1621 [New York and Evanston: Harper and
Row, Harper Torchbooks, 1965], p. 141).

 

 

287

28Whyte, Dance of Death, p. 108.

 

291bid., p. 109.

30This is theologically imprecise, since angels are
also incorruptible by their nature (Aquinas Summa Pt. I,
Q.50, Art.5).

31This function of Luther's was not made clear in
the beginning of the play, and is further evidence of its
careless construction.

32Trevor Davies, Golden Century, pps. 141-143.

 

33Ibid., p. 141.

Part 3:

El suefio de las calaveras of Francisco de

Quevedo y Villegas

As in Las cortes de la Muerte the a priori desengano

 

of this work1 involves a condemnation of heterodoxy,
although here the condemnation acquires more muted tones.
This representative gggfig is an example of the Dance of
Death tradition in the seventeenth century, although
strictly speaking, it might be more accurate to refer to
it as a Dance of the Dead based as it is on the ancient
legend of skeletons rising from the cemetery.
The narrator, having fallen asleep reading Dante,
has a vision of Judgment Day in which, at the sound of
a trumpet, ". . . comenz6 a moverse toda la tierra y a dar
licencia a los huesos que anduviesen unos en busca de
otros" (29). One of the ways in which Quevedo reveals the
a priori desengano in this gggfig is by showing the aver-
sion that the souls have to be reunited with certain
parts of their bodies:
Después, ya que a noticia de todos lleg6

que era el dia del juicio, fué de ver c6mo

los lujuriosos no querian que los hallasen sus

ojos, por no llevar a1 tribunal testigos

contra si; 105 maldicientes, las lenguas; los

ladrones y matadores gastaban los pies en huir
de sus mismas manos. (30)

288

289

This a priori desengano condemns some of the acharitable

 

vices against which authors of earlier Dances of Death
also railed, namely, lust, backbiting, theft and murder.2
All these vices, with the exception of lust, are opposed
to charity directly, while lust is indirectly contrary to
charity to the extent that it contributes to folly, or
blindness of mind. Quevedo condemns covetousness, another
vice which is frequently an obstacle to charity, by
ridiculing a man who was asking whether he would be

likely to regain possession of some of his moneybags, since
all the buried were to be resurrected that day. This
lightly humoristic approach characterizes Quevedo's satire
throughout this gggfig: rather than denounce the vices of
his characters with trenchant force, as does the author

of the Danga general, he prefers to see them as a source

 

of mirth. This does not mean, however, that his satire
is strictly for comic effect and devoid of moral purpose,

for the dedicatoria makes it clear that such is not the

 

case: "A manos de vuecelecencia van estas desnudas
verdades, que buscan, no quien las vista, sino quien las
consienta" (25).! Thus Quevedo is trying to convince his
readers to avoid the vices he condemns, but his methods
are relatively low-key compared with those of the authors
of previous Dances of Death.

One of the most strongly condemned characters in
Horozco's Coloquio de la Muerte con todas las edades

y estados, the escribano, is also severly reproved by

 

290

Quevedo, and for the exact same vice: theft. The fact that

the escribanos are held in lower esteem by Quevedo than

 

some of the other targets for his satirical barbs is
indicated by their inability to inspire him to laughter:
Riérame si no me lastimara a otra parte e1
afan con que una gran chusma de escribanos
andaban huyendo de sus orejas, deseando no

las llevar por no oir lo que esperaban. . . .(30-31)

He is not condemning all the escribanos, just those who

 

had their ears cut off as punishment for theft. He adds
that it is by sheer oversight, however, that they are not
the majority. Theft is of course directly contrary to
charity since it is ". . . a means of doing harm to our
neighbor in his belongings. . . ."3
Quevedo also directs a great deal of criticism

against the vanity of beautiful women, many of whom
'reproach the narrator-author for not having had more
respect for women. They appear to experience a posteriori
desengano, but since they have already died, it is of
course too late for them and they must simply await their
fate in the final judgment:

Salieron fuera muy alegres de verse

gallardas y desnudas entre tanta gente

.que las mirase; aunque luego, conociendo

que era el dia de la ira y que la hermosura

las estaba acusando de secreto, comenzaron

a caminar a1 valle con pasos mas entretenidos. (31)
This fear of final judgment suggests that the vainglory of
the women was a mortal sin, which is the case whenever the

temporal good in which one glories is preferred to God.4

291

A doctor and a judge are both accused of neglect
of duty, a vice which is contrary to justice (and there-
fore to charity also) since it involves a failure "to
render to each one his right." The doctor is accused by
the victims he diSpatched from life "sin raz6n y antes de
tiempo" (32). His motives for malpractice are not made
clear, but his behavior is uncharitable by virtue of the
fact that he did not render his patients their due,
namely, his best effort on their behalf. The judge can be
assumed also to be guilty of injustice since he is trying
to wash his hands of the stains accumulated from his
dealings in certain unspecified but definitely unsavory
affairs, ". . . por no parecer con ellas de aquella
suerte delante de la universal residencia" (32-33).

Several other souls are criticized in passing for
their various faults before the beginning of the tribunal
proper. A tavernkeeper is accused of having cheated his
customers by watering his wine. A torturer says to him:
"Harto es que sudéis el agua y no la vendéis por vino"
(33). One of the tailors attempts to argue that he
couldn't possibly be guilty of theft since he was always
starving to death, upon which he is accused of neglect
of duty: "Y 105 otros le decian, viendo que negaba haber
sido ladr6n, qué cosa era despreciarse de su oficio" (34).
This is a vice which is very similar to theft except
that it involves a failure to render rather than a taking

away of sOme-good. Both are contrary to charity.

292

The narrator's words "Al fin vi hacer silencio
a todos" (35) indicate the beginning of the tribunal. The
appearance of Jupiter5 depends upon the degree of moral
rectitude of those who perceive him: "Jfipiter estaba
vestido de si mismo, hermoso para los unos y enojado
para los otros" (35). Thus the divine presence is a source
of comfort for the truly pious and a cause for fear for the
sinners, who are worried about what type of excuses they
will be able to proffer. This dual effect of the divine
presence forms the essence of the author's a priori

desengano.

 

-One of the first souls to be examined in the
tribunal is'a pompous master of fencing, an allusion by
Quevedo to Luis Pacheco de Narvéez, one of his mortal
enemies.6 The irony of his situation is that even though
he is an acknowledged master of self-defense, he does not
know any defenses against the enemies of the soul, only
against those of the body. He is quickly dispatched,
presumably to hell.

Quevedo uses a clever play on words to introduce

a condemnation of theft into the a priori desengano of

 

the next incident, involving several stewards:

Y llegaron unos despenseros a cuentas,
y no rezéndolas,7 y en el ruido con que
venia la trulla, dijo un ministro:
- Despenseros son.
otros dijeron:
No son.
otros:
Sis6n. (40)

lf<li<

293

Thus the stewards are all accused of being petty thieves,
for which they too are sent directly to hell.

They are soon followed by a pastry cook who is
condemned for alimentary fraud:

. . . cuando él v16 que se les probaba a

sus pasteles haberse hallado en ellos mas

animales que en el arca de Noé, porque en

ella no hubo ratones ni moscas, y en ellos

si, volvi6 las espaldas y dej6los con la

palabra en la boca. (42)
This is essentially a sin against justice (and therefore
against charity also) since it involves a failure to
render to his customers their due.

Avarice is condemned in the person of a soul who
is caught trying to get through the very narrow door
leading to salvation. When he is told that ". . . los
preceptos guardaban aquella puerta de quien no 105 habia
guardado," (43) he replies that ". . . en cosas de guardar

era imposible que hubiese pecado,’ (43) thus revealing
his avarice. His attempt to interpret the commandments
in such a way as to make himself appear worthy of salva-
tion fails and he too is sent on his way.
A verdugo accuses a doctor, a druggist, and a
barber of malpractice:
- Ante este doctor han pasado los mas
difuntos, con ayuda de este boticario y
barbero, y a ellos se les debe gran parte
deste dia. (46)
A solicitor speaks on behalf of the druggist and says that

it should be considered that he gave liberally to the poor.

294

His argument is to no avail, however, for another verdugo
replies that

habian sido mas danosos dos botes de su

tienda que diez mil de pica en la guerra,

porque todas sus medicinas eran espurias. . . . (46)
He is therefore condemned for a type of fraud similar to
that of the pastry cook and the tavernkeeper, whereas the
doctor and the barber are saved.8

Unjust advocacy is briefly condemned in the person

of a lawyer who is sent to hell because ". . . tenia todos
los derechos con corcovas . . ." (46). He is quickly
followed by a group of innkeepers who watered their wine
in order to increase their profits. They had been living
in a state of illusion, for they always gave pure wine to
a hospital for the sacrifice of the Mass, assuming that
this supposedly charitable act would be enough to redeem
them from their vices. A small group of rich foreigners
is found guilty of theft, since "todos los demés hombres
. . . dan cuenta de lo que es suyo; mas éstos, de lo ajeno
y todo" (47). A knight stands condemned for covetousness,
and a sacristan for a whole series of vices: stealing oil
from the lamps, taking sections from the ornaments in order
to make clothes for himself, making personal use of the
tray and cruets (instead of reserving them for the ecclesias-
tical services), and abbreviating the services. These
offenses are all contrary to charity since they stem from
greed and self-interest. He is followed on the path to

hell by a woman of easy virtue who had been an adulteress.

295

Adultery is simultaneously a sin of lust and injustice,9
and is therefore contrary to charity.

It is at this point that Quevedo introduces an
emphasis on orthodox doctrine in Opposition to the
heresies of Luther and Muhammad. After all the previous
souls have been judged, the only three remaining are
Judas, Luther, and Muhammad. When a minister of the
tribunal asks which one is Judas, the other two both
identify themselves as him, Obviously thinking that their
punishment will be less severe if they pay for Judas's
sin rather than for their own. This is Judas's thinking
too, for he immediately rushes forth and declares in a
loud voice:

-Sefior, yo soy Judas, y bien conocéis

vos que soy mucho mejor que éstos: porque,

si 05 vendi, remedié a1 mundo, y éstos,

vendiéndose a si y a vos, lo han destruido

todo. (50)
Judas thus sees himself as an important instrument in the
Divine plan of salvation and the others as major obstacles
of that plan. His defense is clever, but ultimately use-
less, for all three are condemned together. Thus Quevedo
condemns heterodoxy absolutely, but without making
detailed accusations regarding its specific evils.10

After the last victim is dispatched, the tribunal
ends and nature once again takes on a pleasing appearance:

Huyeron las sombras a su lugar, qued6
el aire con nuevo aliento, floreci6 la
tierra, ri6se el cielo, Jupiter subi6

consigo a descansar en si 108 dichosos
y yo me quedé en el valle. (51)

296

The gggfig ends on a light note, in keeping with the gently
humoristic tone maintained by the author throughout:
"Di6me tanta risa ver esto, que me despertaron las
carcajadas, y fué mucho quedar de tan triste suefio mas
alegre que espantado" (52).

The a priori desengano in this seventeenth cen-

 

tury Dance of Death is very similar to its counterpart

in the sixteenth century, as seen in works such as Egg
cortes de la Muerte. There is still a heavy emphasis on
charity, which is appropriate in Christian didactic liter-
ature, since charity is the greatest of the virtues. But
in addition, by way of response to the Protestant schism,
there is an emphasis on orthodox doctrine, including
specific condemnations of heresy. Quevedo has added very

little ideological content to the tradition of desengano

 

in Dance of Death literature, but he has treated it with

cOnsiderable style and wit.

FOOTNOTES--CHAPTER III, Part 3

1Francisco de Quevedo y Villegas, El suefio de las
calaveras, in Los suefios, ed. Julio Cejador y Frauca, 2
vols. (Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, 1967), 1:21-52. All refer-
ences are to this edition of the work and are identified
in the text by page numbers.

 

 

 

2Most Dances of Death involve some kind of proces-
sion of charaCters who represent the various estates.
Since, however, as E. Segura Covarsi has noted, "en
Quevedo, esta galeria humana se hace interminable,"
("Sentido dramatico y contenido liturgico de 'Las danzas
de la Muerte'," Cuadernos de literatura, 5 [1949]: 267)
only those characters will be analyzed who are more than
casually mentioned in the suefio.

 

3Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.66, Art.6.

41bid., Q.132, Art.3.

5The terminology of the Suefios was originally
Christian rather than pagan. Cejador y Frauca surmises
that Quevedo may have altered them to appease the Duke
of Olivares (ed. cit., l:xviii).

6Ibid., p. 38, n. 3.

7This is a play on two meanings of cuenta, a) an
accounting, and b) a rosary bead.

8Cejador y Frauca notes that in the 1631 Pamplona
editiontfimasalvation of the doctor and the barber is
effected by the intercession of Saints Cosmas and Damien
(ed. cit., p. 46, note).

9Aquinas Summa Pt. II-II, Q.154, Art.1, Reply
Obj.2.

297

298

0Quevedo is not so circumspect in his condemnation
of heresy in all the Suefios, however, for in one of them,
Las zahurdas de Plut6n, he provides a detailed list of
heretics, grouping them into three basic categories:
heretics before the birth of Christ, heretics after the
birth of Christ, and contemporary heretics. He is also
more emphatic in his denunciations, as the following passage
reveals: "Volvime a un lado y vi todos los herejes de
ahora, y topé con Maniqueo. iOh, qué vi de Calvinistas
arafiando a Calvino! Y entre éstos estaba e1 principal,
Josefo Scaligero, por tener su punta de ateista y ser tan
blasfemo, deslenguado y vano y sin juicio" (ed. cit.,
1:180-181). For an analysis of Quevedo's condemnation of
heresy in this suefio see Margherita Morreale, "La censura
de la geomancia y de la herejia en 'Las Zahurdas de
Plut6n', de Quevedo," Boletin de la Real Academia Egpafiola
38 (1958): 409-419.

Part 4:
El gran teatro del mundo of Pedro Calder6n

de la Barca

This auto sacramental1 represents the zenith of
theological precision in the Dance of Death tradition in
Spain. The dual emphasis on charity and orthodox doctrine
is presented here in a manner which reveals their inter-
dependence; in former Dances of Death the emphasis on
orthodoxy was often introduced in a somewhat random fashion,
more as an afterthought than anything else. Ca1der6n,
however, without mentioning the names of Specific reformers
or heterodox sects, presents the outlines of a theology
of grace and justification that is directly opposed to
its Protestant counterpart at certain key'points. He thus
condemns Protestant theological deviations and at the same
time affirms the importance of charity, since charity is
a manifestation of grace.2

The gggg is essentially based on a metaphor that
compares human life from birth through death (followed by

reward or punishment) with a play. E1 Autor (i.e. God),

 

having already created the world, wishes to stage "una
comedia" (71) using actors whose function it will be to

"representar con estilo oportuno" (71). El Mundo is

 

299

300

simultaneously the stage upon which they will perform and
the stage manager, and his function is to "fabricar
apariencias" (71).

El Mundo's long romance which follows his reception

of his instructions from e1 Autor is important since it‘

 

presents the Thomistic distinction between three kinds of
eternal law: natural law, written law, and the law of grace.

Natural law is the eternal law as knowable by sound human

 

reason without the aid of supernatural revelation,3 and its
basic precept is "Do good - avoid evil."4 This type of law
would be sufficient for man if he had a purely natural end
to attain. But man has a supernatural destiny, the vision
of the Divine Essence.S In order for him to attain. beati-
tude Divine revealed law is necessary. Calder6n, following
Aquinas, divides Divine law into two kinds, imperfect and
perfect. The "ley escrita" (76) is the Old Law, the law

of God expressed in the Old Testament. Its effect was to
repress concupiscence and prevent sin, but it was

incapable of conferring the grace that man needs to reach
his supernatural last end; this was reserved to Christ.6
Thus, what Calder6n calls the "ley de gracia" (77) is the
law of the New Testament. It is mainly the law of grace
given through faith in Jesus Christ,7 and it is this law
and only this law that justifies.8 Since remission of
guilt is impossible without this infusion of grace,9 and
since grace is the principle of merit through the virtue

of charity,10 it follows that the characters in the play

301

(i.e. the play within the play) who achieve salvation do so
principally through charity and grace.
The characters are all assigned their roles by

e1 Autor, for, as la Hermosura says,

 

 

los papeles puedes dar,

pues en aquesta ocasién

no tenemos elecci6n

para haberlos de tomar. (80-81)
God realizes in His divine wisdom that if men were free
to choose their stations in life, none would freely choose
states involving poverty or hard work, but would rather
prefer temporal power and riches,

sin advertir

que en acto tan singular

aquello es representar

aunque piense que es vivir. (81)
Thus a distinction is made between the part and the actor
and, by extension, between social states and the men who
pertain to them. This is further clarified by e1 Autor
when he says:

En la representaci6n

igualmente satisface

el que bien a1 pobre hace

con afecto, alma y accién,

como el que hace a1 rey, y son

iguales éste y aquél

en acabando e1 papel. (84)
The characters are therefore essentially equal since their
function is to "representar con estilo oportuno" and
accidentally unequal since the parts they are to play
represent different and unequal levels in the social

hierarchy. When the play is over, however, the characters

will be rewarded or punished solely on the basis of how

302

well they acted their parts, not on the basis of which part
they happened to play:
Y la comedia acabada
ha de cenar a mi lado
el que haya representado,
sin haber errado en nada,
su parte més acertada. (84)
If any character fails to achieve his last end, it will be
his own fault, for, as el Autor says,
. . . yo, Autor soberano,
sé bien qué papel hara
mejor cada uno; asi va
repartiéndolos mi mano. (81)

And later:

Justicia distributiva
soy, y 56 lo que os conviene. (83)

Because God gives each man the part most suited for him to
achieve his last end, no one will be able to complain that
he would have achieved his salvation if only he had had a

different role to play. As el Labrador says,

 

51 yo errare este papel,
no me podré quejar de 61,
de mi me podré quejar. (81)

A. A. Parker explains some of the consequences of these
ideas for individual members of society:

. . . though the organization of society is
pre-ordained, individuals are not sacrificed
to this organization. It is, in a sense,
adapted to them, for their welfare comes
first. It follows that the purpose of
society is fulfilled in and through the
fulfillment of each man's individual pur-
pose, and society exists to further the
individual salvation of each of its members.
Society, and social distinctions therefore
exist for the individual, not the individual
for society. . . . The good of the individual
is inseparable from the good of society: by

303

neglecting or going counter to the good of
others the individual will not be furthering
his own.11

The title of this play is to be "Obrar bien, que

 

Dios es Dios," (85) and it must be performed successfully
with no rehearsa1.. The only assistance the characters

will have will come from 1a Ley de Gracia, who is to be

 

the prompter:

Yo, que Ley de Gracia soy,

1a fiesta introduzqo hoy;

para enmendar a1 que yerra

en este papel se encierra

la gran comedia, que Vos

compusisteis 5610 en dos

versos que dicen asi:

(Canta.) Ama al otro como a ti,

y obra bien, que Dios es D105. (92)
With only this basic idea to guide them, the characters may
be compared to the actors in the Italian Commedia Dell'
Arte who worked primarily from skeletal scenarios and
improvised the details of their performance.12 Thus
Ca1der6n's actors know that they must achieve their salva-
tion by acting their parts well through obeying the ley
de gracia which has been revealed to them all. The exact
details of how they will go about this task are unknown
to them, however.

Once the ley deAgracia has been revealed to the

characters, they must use their libre albedrio, or free

 

choice,13 to choose the real good that will lead to their
salvation, as opposed to the apparent good that will lead
to their condemnation. It is at this point that Calder6n's

condemnation of heresy might be most profitably brought

304

into sharp focus. William J. Entwistle has pointed out that
"en cierto modo, todo auto sacramental es polémico"l4 and
that "la mayor parte de la polémica de Calder6n se dirige

contra el ladr6n de casa, el Protestantismo."15

 

This gggg
is no exception: even though he does not mention Luther by
name, Calder6n posits a doctrine of grace, free choice,

and justification which is offered as a criticism of the
reformer's ideas. Calder6n's theories would also have been
acceptable, at least in their broad outlines, to the author

of the Danca general, but he did not feel the necessity of

 

stating those theories explicitly because they had never
been seriously challenged, and so were more or less assumed~
to be valid. The problem of justification, however, was
perhaps the key theological issue of the Reformation, due
to the fact that it involved a conflict between two ways
of conceiving the function of grace. The importance of
the issue thus becomes clear if it is remembered that, for
Catholics and Protestants alike, salvation is impossible
without the grace of Jesus Christ.

Calder6n's emphasis on freedom of choice provides
a means of perceiving the difference between the two
points of view, but it is not itself the main difference.
He suggests that men are free for a purpose, namely, to be
able to merit with their actions. At one point, after the

play within the play has begun, e1 Autor says:

 

305

Yr), bien pudiera enmendar

los yerros que viendo estoy;
pero por eso les di

albedrio superior

£1 las pasiones humanas,

por no quitarles la accién

(me merecer con sus obras. (101)

Caiflunlics and Protestants at the time of the Reformation

vwduld agree on certain basic points in the theology of

justification before parting ways:l6 man is in a fallen

state, due to original sin; he is thus in need of salva-
tion and cannot effect it on his own, without supernatural
assistance; the gospel message Of the New Testament says
that men are saved in Jesus Christ, and that justification
is the application of the grace of Christ to individual
persons. The key differences between the two views, at
least for an understanding of this particular ggig, are

the role that each one assigns to God and man in justifi-

cation and the different ways they each conceive the

state of man after justification. For the Protestant, man

does nothing but receive God's gift passively; he cannot

co-Operate freely with grace because he is a sinner

incapable of any salutary act, even after his reception

 

of God's grace. God, in the Protestant view, imputes jus-

tice to the sinner without changing him objectively. The

Catholic view, on the other hand, admits that the initia-

tiwais God's and that justification is entirely God's
wofim,but affirms that one of the effects of grace is to

enafle man to freely co-operate with grace.17 A logical

cxmsanmnce of these differences is that Protestantism

 

306

and Catholicism have two different views of good works and

merit. Both agree that man cannot merit the first grace
which justifies him; both also agree that good works should
follow justification. The Protestant, however, denies

that these good works are meritorious, while the Catholic
affirms that, once justified, a man can merit an increase

of grace, and therefore of charity also, since "grace is
the principle of merit through charity."18 Thus the mean-
ing of the words of e1 Autor (v. supra) becomes clear: the

lines sung by Lgy de Gracia immediately prior to the

beginning of the play ("Ama al otro como a ti,/ y obra
[92]) represent the first grace

bien, que Dios es Dios.
which justifies all the characters.

they are all capable of either freely co-operating with

From that point on,

grace, thereby meriting an increase of grace and reaching

their last end, or freely falling into mortal sin and
cutting themselves off from God. Robert McAfee Brown

has stated that the Protestant denial of the meritorious

value of good works was partly a reaction against hollow

formalism. O In this auto Calder6n reaffirms the salu-

tary nature of good works in a manner which shows how
Thus he affirms

closely they depend on grace and charity.

the primacy of the virtue of charity and condemns Protes-

tant heterodoxy.
After el Autor has assigned the roles and explained

how the characters are finally to be judged, e1 Mundo

distributes the trappings that each will need to play his

 

307

part. The only one to receive nothing at all is e1 Pobre;

in fact, e1 Mundo even divests him of what little clothing

he has, so that his poverty may be total. Prior to the

beginning Of the play 1a Discreci6n representing religion,
reveals one of the standards of human behavior:

Alaben a1 Senor de tierra y cielo,

.el sol, luna y estrellas;

alébenle las bellas
flores que son carécteres del suelo;

alébele la luz, e1 fuego, e1 yelo,
la escarcha y el rocio,

e1 invierno y estio,
y cuanto este debajo de ese velo

que en visos celestiales,
arbitro es de los bienes y males. (91-2)
All of nature exists for the purpose of glorifying God.

Ley de Gracia sums up the morality which must guide men

 

in their behavior: "Ama al otro como a ti,/ y obra bien,

que Dios es D105" (92). The last four words are the

most important part of the ley de giacia for they reveal

the aspect under which others are to be loved and good

works performed. The love of one's neighbor is not a

meritorious act unless it is done for God's sake, out of

charity. This reveals man's dependence on grace, for

neither charity nor any of the other theological virtues

can be acquired by any act or effort of man; they must

be supernaturally infused. 21

There are two doors on the stage through which the

characters will enter and exit. One bears the picture of

a cradle and the other a tomb. The play begins with ig

Hermosura and 1a Discreci6n making an entrance through the

 

 

308

dmnrwifluthe picture of a cradle. La Hermosura tries to

tamn:lalnscreci6n into admiring the beauties of nature

as ends in themselves. She is reproved by 1a Discreci6n

wmaexphnns the aspect under which it is appropriate to

admire these things:

Gozarlas para admirarlas

es justa y licita acci6n

yrdarle [i.e. a Dios] gracias por ellas,
gozar las bellezas n6
para usar dellas tan mal
que te persuadas que son
para verlas las criaturas
sin memoria del Criador. (94)

The beauties of nature are not ends in themselves, and it

is wrong to admire them as though they were, just as it
is wrong to love our neighbor as though he were our last
end instead of loving him out of charity for God's sake.22

Through typically Baroque contrast Calder6n shows that

la Discreci6n and la Hermosura are moving in opposite

 

directions, one of them being morally sound and the other

reprehensible:

.Discrecu: aQué haré yo para emplear
bien mi ingenio?
Hernmx3.: aQué haré yo para lograr mi
hermosura? (94)
"Obrar

At this point the prompter, Ley de Gracia, sings:

que Dios es D105," (95) but la Hermosura fails to

bien,
'Thij; ignorance is probably culpable, for it com-

hear.
pounds her vainglory. In order to see how this is so, it

is necessary to examine the four possible relations of will
the will is not

and object. As noted above (n. 13),

 

309

totally free, for its function is to tend toward the uni-

versal good. The intellect apprehends objects and presents
them maths will for choice. The four possible relations
of will and Object are therefore as follows: 1) When a

finite good is correctly known by the intellect and pre-

sented to the will as finite, there is room for free choice,

for the will is not limited to any pgrticular good; 2)

When an infinite good, namely, God, is not fully known by

the intellect and is presented to the will as a partial

good, there is also room for free choice. God is always

apprehended this way (at least in this life) since the

rational intellect operates through sense. It is thus

possible that our attention can be turned to some finite

good incompatible with God's friendship, which is how sin

occurs; 3) Some finite good may be incorrectly known by

the intellect and presented to the will as unlimited, in

which case there is no room for free choice; 4) The

final possibility occurs only in the beatific vision,

in which God's infinite goodness is known directly a_g
These

there is no room for choice.

infinite . Here , too,

we have freedom

four possible relations mean that ".

of specification with regard to contingent means toward an

end, but not with regard to happiness or the perfect

good. "24 The third relation is the one that describes

la Hermosura: she falsely perceives her beauty as an

infinite good, and so she blindly tends toward it with

her will. Her ignorance, however, is vincible and therefore

 

310

asfln, flnrshe was obliged to know that her beauty was a

[temporal good and a means to a higher end. She was also

dfliged'ulknow that her purpose was to "obrar bien, que

mks esInos." Her failure to know these things is the

cmnsayxnme of a culpable refusal to co-operate with God's

grace, 5 and this makes charity impossible for her.

E1 Rico reveals himself to be given over com-

pletely to hedonism:

Pues pr6digamente el cielo
hacienda y poder me di6,
pr6digamente se gaste

en lo que delicias son. (95)

He is aware that God is the efficient cause of his richness,
but he declines to conclude from this fact that he is
obliged to use his wealth in a charitable fashion. His

only desire is to indulge himself in vice:

Sea mi lecho la esfera

de Venus, y en conclusi6n
la pereza y las delicias,
gula, envidia y ambicién

hoy mis sentidos posean. (95)26

El Labrador is a character who is not satisfied

 

with his station in life:

gQuién.vi6 trabajo mayor
que el mio? (95)

 

Ike is rust so morally culpable as e1 Rico and la Hermosura,

however, for, as A. A. Parker-notes, he is at least aware

of the fact that his vestidura is a means to an end rather

than an end in itself. His bitterness and dissatisfac-

tion, however, lead him to desire to exploit his fellow

 

311
mania/fonflng him to pay more than a just price for his

produce:

Mas,pmes trabajo y lo sudo,

los frutos de mi labor
melulde pagar quien los compre

a1 precio que quiera yo. (96)
Atifirstgflance this appears to be a sin of covetousness,

butsnufllis not really the case. A. A. Parker explains

that'fii he wishes to introduce discord into the harmoni-
cns wOrking of the social hierarchy it is because others
have already done so and singled him out as the victim.

They despise him as being of a lower order:

Soy a quien trata siempre el cortesano
con vil desprecio y bérbaro renombre;

y soy, aunque de serlo mas me aflijo, 29
por quien en gi, e1 vos y el 3g se dijo." (115)
His guilt is thus extenuated by the fact that he sees

himself as a victim of injustice. Since he takes no real
pleasure in the idea of possessing wealth,30 he cannot be

described as covetous in the normal sense of the word.

Discord is a much more serious sin, however, for it is

l 0
whereas covetousness 1s Opposed to

opposed to charity,3
Aquinas

liberality,32 a virtue connected with justice.

Considers discord a daughter of vainglory since it

involves a man's holding fast to his own will to the
exclusion of the will of other people. This tendency

to obstinacy also explains e1 Labrador's failure to hear

the apunto:

Discrec.: éC6mo el apunto no oiste?

Labrad. : Como sordo a tiempo soy. (96)

 

312

 

Thustmecnfly extenuating circumstance for e1 Labrador is
thatluapmrceives his would-be victims as themselves being
gmmpetraflns of discord, which does not excuse him entirely,

of mmuse,knu;does mitigate his guilt somewhat.
The attitude of el Pobre is perfectly in line with

rightlxmmon, for he asks God for the patience to endure

Ins sufferings. This itself reveals an emphasis on charity

and grace, for patience is caused by Charity, and charity

is impossible without grace.35 Ca1der6n contrasts his

attitude with that of e1 Rico:

aQué haré yo para ostentar

 

Rico.
mi riqueza?
Pbore. éQué haré yo para sufrir mis
desdichas?
Ley. (Canta.) Obrar bien, gue Dios es Dios.
Pobre. iOh, c6mo esta voz consuela!‘
Rico. 30h, c6mo cansa esta voz! (97)

El Rico hears the voice, but refuses to heed it; his heart

is completely hardened. El Pobre finds in it his only

for he has no worldly possessions whatever

to bring himpleasure.36

The first impression we receive of el Rey is one

consolation,

of vainglory, the object of his glory being his posses-

sions and temporal power. He seems to have forgotten

that these vestiduras came from God:

De' cuanto circunda el mar
y de cuanto alumbra e1 sol
soy el absoluto dueno,
soy el supremo senor.

 

313

Los vasallos de mi imperio
se postran por donde voy.
éQméhenwnester yo en el mundo? (98)

Lflualalkumosura's, his intellect seems to falsely appre-
His ignor-

 

fmndlus pifitical power as an unlimited good.

ance,likermrs, is vincible and therefore culpable,

 

to secure the obedience of all the characters.37
In:

At this point e1 Pobre becomes the center of the

kmcaumetflm lgy de gracia has been sufficiently promulgated

axnfion as we see whether or not the characters have taken
He is

seriously the admonition "ama a1 otro como a ti."
the perfect choice for this function because, as A. A

Parker notes, he has no temporal goods which he can give

This by itself is an insufficient

to anybody else.
reason for using e1 Pobre in this role, however, based as

it is on a too narrow conception of almsgiving as an act

In fact, almsgiving is divided into

and e1 Pobre, in spite

of charity.
corporal alms and spiritual alms,

<of his poverty, is capable of performing any of the

These are: "to instruct the ignorant,

spiritual alms.
to comfort the sorrowful, to

to counsel the doubtful,
reprove the sinner, to forgive injuries, to bear with those
41
II

who trouble and annoy us, and to pray for all.

The other reason for using e1 Pobre to gauge the charity

of the other characters is that his own charity is not in

 

question, as we have seen; he and la Discreci6n are the

only two characters who are totally beyond reproach.

314

When el Pobre approaches 1a Hermosura to ask for
alms, the latter is so engrossed in a consideration of her
beauty that she literally does not even hear him. Ei

Mundo comments on this situation and offers two of the

play's finest lines:

aPor qué ha de cuidar de ti
(99)
...J

 

quien de si se descuid6?

These lines suggest that the phrase "ama a1 otro como a ti"

contains a very profound truth: without true self-love,

 

based not on vainglory but on an awareness of one's self

as a creature of God with a supernatural end to achieve,

no true love of others is possible. The Biblical injunc-

tion might therefore be profitably interpreted not as

"Love others in the same way that you love yourself" but

rather "See to it that you gg love yourself in a true

Christian fashion, and then extend this love to your

neighbor for God's sake."
for he does not want

El Rico refuses his petition,

to be made aware of suffering:

(No hay puertas donde llamar?
5Asi os entréis donde estoy?

En el umbral del zaguén

pudier as llamar, y no
haber llegado hasta aqui. (99)

His refusal to give alms is a refusal to obey the precept

of loving one's neighbor, since ". . . the love of our

neighbor requires that not only should we be our neighbor's
"42

well-wishers, but also his well-doers.

315

Elrey does not directly refuse el Pobre, for he
hasamshflmd a limosnero mayor who is in charge of giving

Although Aquinas appears to consider

his alms for hinn
43 e1 Mundo's

Hus a hxutimate means of almsgiving,

commentary suggests that e1 Rey, like e1 Rico, merely does

not want to be made aware of suffering:

Con sus ministros e1 Rey
su conciencia asegur6.

E1 Labrador dodges el Pobre's request by offering
He attempts

(100)

 

him a hoe with which to work for a living.
to shame him out of his beggar's role:

Decid: 5N0 tenéis vergfienza
que un hombrazo como vos
pida? 38ervid, noramala!
No 08 andéis hecho un brib6n.
Y si 05 falta que comer,

tomad aquesta azad6n
con que lo podéis ganar. (100)

His behavior is by no means as reprehensible as that of

la Hermosura or el Rico, but neither is it as praiseworthy

 

as it seems on first glance, for, as Robert L. Fiore points

(mlt, "e1 Labrador sees in el Pobre his own greatest fault,

 

Laziness. . ..."44 He thus offers him his hoe more out of

resenimmnit than anything else, and this is not a charitable

motive.

 

Iii Discreci6n is the only one who grants e1 Pobre's

El Pobre's response indicates

request, giving him bread.

that the bread is here considered symbolic of the Eucharist:

Limosna de pan, sefiora,

era fuerza hallarla en vos
porque e1 pan que nos sustenta
ha de dar la ReligiOn. (101)

 

 

 

316

Thus she is the only one who behaves toward e1 Pobre in a

charitable manner. Presently it is her turn to require

charitable assistance, however, for she begins to fall,

suffering from an attack of some type. El Rey supports
45

her, indicating that he £5; capable of charitable behavior.

El Rey

At this point the Dance of Death begins.
suggests some form of conversation as a diversion in the

journey of life, and la Discreci6n recommends specifically
that each one reveal his innermost thoughts ("qué esta en
su imaginaci6n" [102]). El Rey is the first to speak.

While he has not fully lost his vainglory, he ends his

speech on a note of humility, asking for the wisdom to

govern his subjects properly. Yet, as A. A. Parker notes,

”. . . he gives no inkling of any realization that the
order he envisages should rest on charity. His conception
of his duty would therefore seem to be inadequate; but

he is at least now aware of the fact that he has a duty

and is desirous of fulfilling it, and this in itself is
meritorious." 6 Also, it must be remembered that e1 Rey
This

has proved himself capable of charitable behavior.

will help to explain his reaction to death, which functions
From

 

in this play as a powerful agent of desengano.

behind the door of the tomb, a voice summons e1 Rey:

Rey de este caduco imperio,
cese, cese tu ambicién,

que en el teatro del mundo
ya tu papel se acab6. (103)

 

 

317

El Rey struggles against death by trying to walk in the

direction Of the cradle, but he cannot:

éd6nde, voy?
Ponyxaa la primera puerta,
donde mi cuna se v16,
no puedo iay de mi! no puedo
retroceder. iQué rigor!

No poder hacia 1a cuna
' iTodos son

dar unpaso . . ..
hacia el sepulcro. . . . (103)47

He ends his part by asking forgiveness:
Si ya acab6 mi papel,
supremo y divino Autor,

dad a mis yerros disculpa,
pues arrepentido estoy. (104)

El Mundo gives his approval:

Pidiendo perd6n el Rey,
bien su papel acab6. (104)

El Rey's action may be described as one of contrition.

 

His line "dad a mis yerros disculpa" suggests that he is

sorry for his sins themselves, not for the punishment

which is due them, and this attitude is proper to contri-
which springs from filial fear of God and is made

tion,
49

possible by charity.
It is not immediately apparent how la Hermosura

As she makes her final speech,

 

is capable of repentance.
it is evident that the vainglory which characterized her

earlier is still present; she feels that her empire is

even greater than that of e1 Rey, for he merely has
Accounting

dominion over lives, while she reigns in souls.

for her repentence, A. A. Parker states:

 

 

318

She has subjected her own soul and the souls
Of men to her flesh, instead of leading them
to God. She has enslaved not only them but
herself. The distortion is complete, and
there is no redeeming feature whatsoever
[emphasis added]. How then is she capable of
repentance, if she is still completely blind
and deaf? Because she alone of all the six
experiences the destruction of what the World
gave her and is unable to return it; she alone
ceases to be in life what she began as being.
She cannot retain her conception of herself
since she sees the dissolution of that on
which it was based, for beagty fades with age

and disappears with death.5

 

 

 

Her desangafio in other words, is of a more radical type

 

than that which is experienced by the other characters. i,

Nevertheless, this may be the medium but not the efficient

cause of her repentance, for she is in a state of mortal

sin because of her culpable refusal to co-operate with

God's grace, as we have seen. It is impossible to rise

from sin without a renewal of grace, so that we must

posit such a renewal in order to account for her repen-
tance, contrition being an effect of charity. For dramatic

purposes it may be possible to view this infusion as taking

place when the voice from the tomb sings to her:

Que en el alma eres eterna

y en el cuerpo mortal flor. (106)

Her repentance follows immediately:

Mucho me pesa no haber

hecho mi papel mejor. (106)

El Labrador's décima reveals him to be in a much

better moral position than any of the characters who pre-

ceded him. It appears that at some time during the comedia

de la Vida he co-operated with God's grace and merited a

 

319

future increase of grace, for he is now aware of his

indebtedness to God and he has overcome his vainglory.
He is also aware of the difference between first and
second causality, for he reproves his soul for giVing

thanks to the earth for the new harvest when it is really

God, as first cause, who gives all. He too tries to

resist the summons of death, but his defense is better

than that of el Rey or la Hermosura, for it is based on

an awareness of obligation: he wants to put his estate

in order:

No muera yo en este tiempo,

aguarda sa26n mejor,
Siquiera porque mi hacienda

la deje puesta en sa26n. (107)

Thus he too dies repentant, revealing that he is con-
scious of not having lived up to his obligation:

si mi papel no he cumplido

conforme a mi obligacién,

pésame que no me pese

de no tener gran dolor. (108)

El Mundo approves wholeheartedly:

 

Al principio 1e juzgué
grosero, y él me advirti6
con su fin mi ignorancia.

[Bien acab6 e1 labrador! (108)

El Rico has been living in a state of absolutely

sf. ‘5'. -'_u )

.1 711'”

3

' 9.9%

 

‘g'm‘

 

unmitigated illusion. His brief self-revelation shows that

he is aware of the brevity of life and the inevitability

of death :

6A quién mirar no le asombra
ser esta vida una flor

que nazca con el albor
y fallezca con la sombra? (109)

320

The conclusion he draws from this true premise, however,

gives the lie to the saying "Qui ponit mortem ante oculos

His awareness of

suos, facile vincit tentationem."

life's brevity does not lead to desengano, as might be
expected, but only to further deception:

Pues si tan breve se nombra,

de nuestra vida gocemos
e1 rato que la tenemos,
dios a nuestro vientre hagamos.

zComamos, hoy, y bebamos, 3
que mafiana moriremos! , (109)5

As Parker notes, "the realization of the brevity of life

can make no difference to his attitude, for there is in

him not even a germ of a right conception of living for

it to work on."54

The voice does not summon e1 Rico to the tomb

for Calder6n wishes to contrast the reactions

Thus

immediately,

of e1 Rico and e1 Pobre to the experience of death.
the latter's speech of self-revelation comes immediately

after the former's. He reveals that he has perceived

things in their right order, for he'is aware of the

presence of original sin:

No porque asi me he quejado
es, Senor, que desespero
por mirarme en tal estado,
sino porque considero

que fui nacido en pecado. (110)

El Mundo explains that e1 Pobre's attitude is not one of

 

true despair, which of course would be a sin:

Bien ha engafiado las sefias

de la desesperacién;
que asi, maldiciendo el dia,

maldijo e1 pecado Job. (110)

1- m
p
“ ”Hausa.

‘ .St“.: I

 

 

321

The voice now summons el Rico and el Pobre

simultaneously:

Nfimero tiene 1a dicha,
numero tiene e1 dolor;

de ese dolor y esa dicha,
venid a cuentas los dos. (110)

El Rico responds with abject terror and despair, and gi

Pobre with joy. His joy does not spring from the sin of

presumption, however, for he admits that he i_s_ afraid:

. . . e1 estremecerse es

una natural pasi6n
del animo a quien como hombre

temiera Dios, con ser Dios. (111)

This is a properly Christian attitude. It will be recalled

that Karl Rahner was quoted in chapter one (n. 106) as

saying that even the just should fear death, since "the

most prominent characteristic of death is that in it sin

is revealed." This is precisely what el Pobre has realized;

a sense of joy is capable of co-existing with his fear

because now he can leave behind his sufferings.

La Discreci6n is the last to be called. She,

like e1 Pobre, has not succumbed to engano of any kind in

She perceived the inevitability

 

the course of her life.

but unlike him she drew from

of death, as did e1 Rico,

that perception the proper conclusions and prepared her-

self to die in a Christian manner.

In the next section of the play el Mundo takes

from the characters the vestiduras that he gave them at

El Rey is shocked at el Mundo's temerity:

the beginning.
(114). The answer

"aCc’Smo me quitas lo que ya me diste?"

 

 

322

of course is that the vestidura was given on loan, so to

speak, not as a permanent possession. The surprise of g_l_

Rey is therefore due to his failure to have made a clear

distinction between his role and his person. As noted

above, la Hermosura cannot return what e1 Mundo gave her,

 

for her beauty perished completely; it, of all the
vestiduras el Mundo handed out, was the most fragile. E_1_._

Labrador is somewhat chagrined at not being able to take

his azad6n with him. El Rico likewise must give up his
jewels, but el Pobre, having received nothing in the begin-

ning, has nothing to return. Neither can e1 Mundo take

anything from la Discreci6n; the only things she takes

from the world are her good works, and e1 Mundo can lay

no claim on them, for they are the medium of merit through

In divesting the characters of their vestiduras

 

grace.
"Ya que he igualado cetros

e1 Mundo has equalized them:
y azadones" (117). His function is therefore similar to
that of Death in the medieval and Renaissance Dances of

Death. Similar, but notidentical, however, for he has a

more complex role in that he first creates. the inequality

that he later eradicates. This is why he treats the

characters differently at the end of the play:

5C6mo nos recibiste de otra suerte

Rey:
que nos despides?

Mundo: La razén advierte.

Cuando algfin hombre hay algo que reciba,
las manos pone, atento a su fortuna,
en esta forma; cuando con esquiva

' H;
r. .. . _.

 

323

acchmllo arroja, asi las vuelve; de una
sueruh puesta 1a cuna boca arriba

recibe a1 hombre, y esta misma cuna,
vuelta al revés, la tumba suya ha sido.
Si cmuaos recibi, tumba os despido. (117-118)55

There.nsrmmhing left now except for the characters to go
El Rey, e1 Rico, and

1a Henmxnua are offended by what they perceive as gi
since he walks in front of all

to Unni'final reward or punishment.

 

 

' . en

Pobre's lack of respect,

of them. As 1a Discreci6n explains, however, '

una pobre mortaja/ no hay distincién de personas“ (119).

 

The accidental inequalities inherent in the social hier-
archy are obliterated in death; all men are essentially

equal and will be judged not in terms of what part they

played, but how well they played, and the standard for

good performance is charity.
In the eucharistic apotheosis e1 Autor judges

each character and rewards or punishes him. El Pobre and

la Discreci6n go directly to heaven, for they have not
El Rico, on the

 

even incurred the stain of venial sin.

because of his total lack of charity, is sent to

contrary,
.helld 131 Nino, who died before being baptized, is guilty
onlqrrmf original sin and so does not deserve painful

La Hermosura,

punishment;56 he is therefore sent to limbo.

el Rey and e1 Labrador are all sent to purgatory, for
They are in a state of grace

their sins are only venial.
but are not quite fit for heaven, a place where nothing
defiled can enter.57 La Discrec16n intercedes for e1 Rey,

324

since he sustained her in her time of need, and e1 Autor
remits his punishment and he too goes to heaven, followed

shortly thereafter by la Hermosura and e1 Labrador.

 

 

In conclusion, El gran teatro del mundo is the

 

work within the Dance of Death tradition which contains

the most precise theological treatment of the nature and
importance of the virtue of charity, as well as the most
theologically effective statement against Protestant heresy.
Although the Reformers are condemned by implication rather

than by direct frontal assault (as in Las cortes de la

 

Muerte, for example), Calder6n's theory of grace and jus-
tification leaves little room for dOubt that it is being
presented as an alternative to heterodox opinion on the
_subject. It contradicts Protestant theory at key points,
such as the problem of merit, and simultaneously affirms
the centrality of grace and charityiin Catholic doctrine.
One of the greatest achievements of the work is its
ideological unity: its denials are logical consequences
of its affirmations. Ca1der6n does not merely hurl hap-
hazard epithets at Protestantism, as others have done;
rather, by affirming the central points of the Catholic
doctrine of justification he implicitly condemns Protestant

aberrations.

 

 

325

FOOTNOTES-"CHAPTER III, Part 4

 

 

:%edro Calder6n de la Barca, El gran teatro del
mmfib,.h1Autos sacramentales, ed. Angel Valbuena Prat,
Espasa—Calpe, 1967), 1267-124. All

 

2 vols. (Madrid:
quotations are from this edition and are identified in
the text by page numbers.

Aquinas Summa Pt. I-II, Q.llO, Art.3, Reply

 

 

Obj.1.
Ibid., Pt. I-II, 0.94, Art.1.

41bid., Art.2.
51bid., 0.3, Art.8.

61bid, Q.98, Art.1.
7Ibid., Q.lOG, Art.1.

81bid., Art.2.
91bid., p.113, Art.2.

lOIbid., 0.114, Art.4.
11Alexander A. Parker, The Allegorical Drama of
The Dolphin Book Co., 1943), p. 122.

Calder6n (Oxford:
12This comparison with the Commedia Dell'Arte is
offered as a possible alternative to Professor Parker's
.assertjxni that at this point the analogy between life and
a play breaks down (Allegorical Drama, pps. 116-117).
"free choice" is used here, rather than

13
The tenn
which is something of a misnomer in Catholic
'There is a sense in which the will is naturally

theology. __
determined, for its nature is to tend toward the good in
vflrich is the last end. Even evil must be chosen
Calder6n dramatizes this idea
Thus,

general,
under the aspect of good.
in another auto, No hay mas Fortuna Lue Dios, by having

"free will,

Malicia switch the cloaks of el Bien and e1 Mal.
what is really good is perceived by man as undesirable,
V. Aquinas Summa Pt. I,

and what is evil seems pleasing.
0.82, Art.1.

326

"La controversia en los

lawlliam J. Entwistle,
mmosdeChhkrén," Nueva Revista de Filologia Hispénica

2 (1948): 223.

lsnnd., p. 232.
l6fifls delineation of the differences between

CaflmlnzamiProtestant theories of justification is based

cm miartufle in the New Catholic Encyclopedia, 2nd ed.,
Robert McAfee Brown explains the

s.v. "justification."

Pnflsstmfl:position well in his The Spirit of Protestantism

(Nmberk: Oxford University Press, 1965)) PPS. 53-66. A

clear treatment of the so-called "paradox of grace" in

Protestant theology can be found in D. M. Baillie's G_od_

Was in Christ (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1948),
lO6-LHL M. John Farrelly's Predestination, Grace,

The Newman Press)

pps.
muiFTeelfill (Westminster, Maryland:
is almxkun Catholic analysis of the problem taking into

account advances made in theology during the last half

Also useful is Stephen Pfurtner, O. P., Luther
trans. Edward Quinn (New York:

century.
and Aquinas on Salvation,

Sheed and Ward, 1964).
17". . . there are five effects of grace in us: of
to heal the soul: the second, to desire

these the first is,
to carry into effect the good proposed;

good; the third,
to persevere in good; the fifth, to reach

the fourth,
glory" (Aquinas Summa Pt. I-II, Q.lll, Art.3).

laIbid., 0.114, Art.4.

lgIbid., Art.7.

Protestantism, p. 62.

20Brown,
21 .
quuinas Summa Pt. I-II, Q.62, Art.2.
22]11id., Pt. II-II, Q.25, Art.1, Reply Obj.3.
This necessity of distinguishing between real and apparent

goods is also the theme of No hay mas Fortuna que Dios, an
auto that has many points of contact with El gran teatro

del mundo.
23This analysis is based on James E. Royce, S. J.,
A Philosophical Psychology (New York:

Man and His Namue:
McGraw-Hfll, 1961), pps. 198-201.

24Ibid.,p.20L

 

 

327

the very complex theological problem
The follow-

25 O O
ThlS raises
of efficacious versus merely sufficient grace.

ing quotation is offered as a relatively simple, concise
For a fuller analysis of the

statement of basic doctrine.
pudflem,see.Farrelly's Predestination, Grace, and Free
Full: "Itfollows, from the fact of God's universal
EEFHficuull on the one hand and human sinfulness on the
odmr,tmm:there is an assistance of grace which is
offlnedlnm does not take effect, that is, is merely suffi-
cimuu 2H3 character therefore cannot be sought in God's
irmmistflfle omnipotence. The difference between merely
sufficimuzand efficacious actual grace, according to the
(ahmmt)cmmmon teaching (of Banezianism as well as of

bblhusm),is grounded in God's election prior to man's
of grace and despite man's freedom

acceptance or rejection

(firmer U>accept or reject it. Actual grace is an illumi-
nation and an inspiration. It is regarded not only as
grannibus but as supernatural in the same sense as justify-
ing grace. Accordingly it does not consist merely in ‘
extenufl.circumstances which God's providence has shaped h '
:xias to favour man's religious activity, but it is an
interior grace in the same sense of sanctifying grace.

 

 

 

"In spite of original sin and concupiscence man

thus he freely consents to prevenient grace or

To this extent we must speak of a
But this does not

is free;
freely rejects it.
'collaboration' between God and man.
signify any kind of 'synergism,' any apportionment of the
work of salvation between them. For it is not only the
ability to perform salutary acts (the infused habitus or
the prevenient sufficient grace) but the very free consent
to grace which is the gift of God. Thus it is grace
itself which frees our freedom for salutary acts (giving
so that the situation

as both the power and the deed),
whereby man is able to say Yes or No to God is not one

of emancipation and autonomous choice; but rather, where
man says No it is his own doing, and where he freely says

'Yes fue nunst thank God because that is God's gift (Karl
Rahner and Herbert Vorgrimler, Theological Dictionafl,
Richard Strachan [New York: Herder and Herder,

pps.l9S-l96.

26}he tends toward these things not as evil, which
would be impossible, but as desirable, obliVious of or
indifferent to the fact that their possession is incom-
patible with God's friendship.

27Parker, Allegorical Drama, p.

trans.
1965]),

133.

28Aquinas Summa, Pt. II-II, Q.118, Art.4.
134-135.

29Parker, Allegorical Drama, pps.

328

3OIbid., p. 134.

31Aquinas Summa, Pt. II-II, 0.37, Art.1.

321bid., 0.118, Art.3.

33Ibid., Q.ll7, Art.5.

34Ibid., 0.37, Art.2.

35Ibid., 0.136, Art.3.

 

36This lack of worldly possessions should not be
considered a spiritual advantage that el Pobre has over
the other characters in the play, for Aquinas states that
". . . spiritual danger ensues from poverty when the latter
is not voluntary; because those who are unwillingly poor,
through the desire of money getting, fall into many sins
." (Ibid., 0.186, Art.3, Reply Obj.2).

37". . . promulgation is necessary for the law to
obtain its force" (Ibid., Pt. I-II, 0.90, Art.4).

38

 

Parker, Allegorical Drama, p. 136.

39It must be noted that merely giving things (such
as food, money, and clothing) to the poor is neither alms-
giving nor is it charitable unless it is done for God's
sake (Aquinas, Summa, Pt. II-II, 0.32, Art.1).

4OIbid., Art.2.

4lIbid.

42Ibid., Art.5.

43Ibid., Art.8.

44Robert L. Fiore, "Calder6n's El gran teatro del
mundo: An Ethical Interpretation," Hispanic Review 40

($975): 49.

45Perhaps Calder6n used this gesture to symbolize
the turban of Church and state which has characterized
Spain.

46Parker, Allegorical Drama, p. 139.

329

{En La cena del rey Baltasar Ca1der6n dramatizes
HHSJmshxance to death by means of hand-to-hand conflict
between Baltasar and 1a Muerte. Florence Whyte regards
cmuflictas an essential aspect of the dancing element of
DmumscfifDeath (The Dance of Death in Spain and Catalonia
Waverly Press, 1931], p. 76).

 

[Baltimore:
4E3Aquinas, Summa, Suppl. 0.2, Art.1.

49Ibid., 0. 1, Art. 3.

50Parker, Allegorical Drama, p. 140.

51Aquinas Summa, Pt. I-II, 0.109, Art.7.

52Quoted by E. Segura Covarsi, "Sentido dramatico
y'contenido.litfirgico de 'Las danzas de la Muerte',"
Chadernos de literatura 5 (1949): 271. The author does not
identify the source of the quotation.

53In El nuevo hospicio de pobres it is el Ateismo

who makes a god of his belly (Obras completas, 3 vols.
1959], 3:1190).

 

[Madrid: Aguilar,
54Parker, Allegorical Drama, p.
"Son la cuna y la sepultura el principio

142.

SSCf .
de la vida y el fin della; y con ser a1 juicio del
la vida

divertimiento las dos mayores distancias,
desengafiada no 5610 las ve confines, sino juntas con
oficios reciprocos y convertidos en si propios: siendo
verdad que la cuna empieza a ser sepultura, y la sepultura
cuna a la postera vida" (Francisco de Quevedo y Villegas,
La cuna y la sepultura: para el conocimientogropioy
desengano de las cosas ajenas in Obras completas, 2 vols.
1:1191).

 

[Madrid : Aguilar, 1961],
56Aquinas, Summa Appendix I, 0.1, Art.1.

57Ibid., Suppl 0.69, Art.2.

 

CONCLUSION

From the foregoing consideration of Spanish Dances
of Death that were written over a period of four centuries

it can be seen that desengano is not a static element in

 

Spmfish LUfiIature but rather one which changes from period
u3perhxias a result of changing religious attitudes. It
kmginsvnxh an emphasis on charity in the Middle Ages and
then gradually reveals an increasing emphasis on doctrine
in the Renaissance and Baroque period. (Naturally, some
works seem more representative of the historical periods
in which they occur than others, but from our study of the
Spanish Dances of Death a definite pattern of ideological
deveIOpment has been seen to emerge.)
One of the principal theses of this study is that

desengano in the medieval Dances of Death involves an

 

enmflmasis (n1 charity, defined as the love of men for God
and for each other. In all the typical medieval works
studied, the Dangajeneral, Coplas de la Muerte, Otras
coplas ala Muerte, Razonamiento que faze Johan de Mena
con la Muerte, and Horozco's Coplas de la Muerte and
Coloquio de la Muerte, this virtue was emphasized to the
almost total exclusion of all others. The various charac-

ters in these Dances of Death demonstrate the necessity of

330

 

 

331

this virtue, occasionally through positive but more fre-

quently through negative example. With only two exceptions

 

(the rabbi and the alfaqui’ in the Danca general) they are
all assumed to have Christian faith, so that their intell-
ectual assent to the basic truths of the Christian reli—
gion is really a foregone conclusion. However, this
assent of the intellect to truth is only the intrinsic
form of fatih;l for the virtue to be operative it must be
perfected by its extrinsic form, which is charity.2 When
charity is not in the soul, faith itself is lifeless and
inoperative, incapable of directing a man to his last
end.3 Now charity is by no means a foregone conclusion
in the medieval Dances of Death, since most of the charac-
ters who sin do so against charity, that is, they sin
mortally. Sometimes their sins are uncharitable by being
contrary to the love of God and other times by being con-
trary to the love we owe our neighbor for God's sake.
Sins of vainglory, for example, typically fall'into the
former category, while sins of injustice fall into the
latter, yet both are contrary to charity. Since all the
moral virtues are infused together with charity,4 the
authors were able indirectly to emphasize charity in an
almost unlimited number of ways. The breadth of this
theological virtue, coupled with the fact that faith was
assumed to be a given factor, explains its preeminence in

medieval Dances of Death.

 

332

During the Renaissance, however, faith ceases to
be an assumed factor. Consequently, the Dances of Death
written during this period reveal a type of desengano
that is slightly different from its medieval counterpart.
Charity is still emphasized in these works, implicitly or
explicitly, but an emphasis on faith and correct doctrine
is added. Part of the reason for this shifting emphasis
is that after the Middle Ages most Dances of Death took
the form of autos or autos sacramentales, a form of
literature extensively used for the purpose of religious
instruction as well as for moral exhortation. Also to be
taken into consideration is the incipient reaction against
the formalism of good works that was ultimately to become

a cause célébre during the Protestant Reformation.

 

These Renaissance Dances of Death are not so uni-
form in the manner in which they emphasize faith and
doctrine as were the medieval Dances of Death in the manner
in which they emphasized charity. In Gil Vicente's Auto
(ks barca da Gloria, for example, the problem that is posed
.is how man can be restored after a fall from grace. The
inesolution of the conflict reveals that even lifeless faith
Imay have a kind of causal connection with such a restorae
'ticni, since it enables the characters to experience servile
fear. Servile fear is the beginning of wisdom and it dis-
poses the characters, all of them victims of Death, to
pray to God for mercy. The fact that they are restored and

tilthnately saved is due entirely to God's mercy and not at

333

£31]. to the merit of the characters, each one of whom has

11y rnortal sin deprived himself of the ability to perform

angr salutary act. But had they not at least possessed

tjris lifeless faith, it would have been impossible for them

eveni to pray for mercy. There is nothing in this play to

conurtermand the emphasis on charity that was noted in the

Dmbddle Ages, for Vicente also emphasizes charity and makes

i1: clear that faith without works is dead, lifeless faith.
Ihit, he seems to say, even this lifeless faith is better

than no faith at all, since it may dispose a sinner to

pray for restoration. Thus he emphasizes faith in addition

to (but not to the exclusion of) charity.

Diego Sanchez de Badajoz's Farsa de la Muerte,

written seventeen years after Vicente's play, contains a

much heavier emphasis on faith. There is a pervasive

bitterness in the play which may reveal on the author's

part a declining faith in the salutary power of good works,

a faith which is substituted by a faith in faith itself,
so to speak. It is faith, rather than good works or

merit, that guarantees the old man of the play eternal

life without suffering or death, but to reach this life of

lfliss he must first die. This is why he seeks death: it

is a passage to eternal life and a release from the irre-

nmdiable suffering of earthly existence. This refusal

toimpute any true value whatsoever to terrestrial life

mxmunts for the lack of emphasis on social justice that

 

334

was an integral part of the emphasis on charity in the
medieval Dances of Death.

Juan de Pedraza's Farsa llamada Danza de la Muerte

 

takes this development a step further, for it emphasizes
not faith in general but faith in a specific doctrine,

viz. the Eucharist. The threat of death carries with itself
the threat of eternal damnation. Passive faith is not a
sufficient response to this threat; man needs the spiritual
nourishment that is provided by the Eucharist.5 As in
Vicente's play,this emphasis on faith is not posited in
opposition to charity, for it is precisely the grace that
is infused with charity that is increased through the
sacrament of the Eucharist. Thus by emphasizing the impor-
tance of a specific doctrine Pedraza emphasizes the virtue
of charity as well. Pedraza did not include any condemna-
tion of Protestant attacks on the doctrine of the Real
Presence in his agtg: his play has as its purpose the
illumination for believing Catholics of one of the central
doctrines of their faith. This tendency to provide
religious instruction without reference to heterodoxy is,
according to Marcel Bataillon, characteristic of the agtg

sacramental in its formative stages.6 Thus the desengano

 

 

of this and the preceding two works corresponds to a given
historical climate. A need was felt for religious instruc-
tion as opposed to mere moral exhortation (as was found in
'the medieval Dances of Death) and these theatrical pieces

-;>artially answered that need.

 

33S

Awareness of the Protestant schism and of its
specific attacks on certain Catholic doctrines, however,
could not remain forever outside the ken of the auto

sacramental or of didactic literature in general. As the

 

movement won new adherents and began to pick up momentum,
Catholic authors were ultimately driven by this new his-
torical situation to adopt a more apologetic tone in

their writings, and this could not but affect the a priori

 

desengano, or didactic purpose, in a given work. Las

cortes de la Muerte and El gran teatro del mundo are per-

 

 

haps most representative of this new tendency. Of the

two, the former is by far the more violent in its con-
demnations, denouncing Martin Luther by name and condemn-
ing him to be burned at the stake in a dramatic representa-

tion of an auto de fe. The play reduces argument to bald

 

assertion; none of the views attributed to Luther are

refuted theologically, they are merely condemned ex cathedra.

 

(To a lesser extent Calder6n's autgg function in a similar
fashion, which has led William J. Entwistle to hypothe-
size that they were not intended to be convincing to
Protestants but only to Catholics who already accepted the
basic tenets of Catholicism, and that Calder6n's knowledge
of Protestant theology was not particularly profound.)7

The desengano of this play thus corresponds to that his-

 

torical period when awareness of the Protestant schism
loegan to spread through Spain and Catholics authors

.rallied to the defense.

 

336

By contrast El gran teatro del mundo seems quite

 

restrained in its condemnation of heterodoxy. In fact,
unless one is aware of certain central elements in the
theology of the reformers, most notably Martin Luther,

it is possible that he may not even be aware that heterodoxy
is under attack, for no reformers are mentioned by name.
Yet this is a post-Tridentine play which reflects in
dramatic form one of the central concerns of the Council

of Trent, viz. the positing of the Catholic doctrine of
grace, merit and salvation as an alternative to Protestant
deviations. The fact that the play was written long after
Protestantism in Spain had ceased to be a threat8 may

have contributed to its relatively subdued tone as well as
to its sophisticated presentation of a theological problem,

as distinct from the ad hominem denunciations of Las

 

cortes de la Muerte. This theological self-assurance is

 

partly due to the fact that Trent had already provided

definite (at least for their time) answers to most of the

 

problems posed by the Reformation, so that the desengano
of this play also is conditioned by the historical circum-
stances of its production.

The concept of desengano is inherent in Dance of

 

Death literature, since the reality of death, if it is

lionestly faced, forces one to reexamine all his basic

faresuppositions. It is, in the words of Karl Rahner,
9

". . . an event which strikes man in his totality." Yet

“the inevitability of the presence of desengano in Dances

 

 

337

of Death does not suggest that the concept is static and

unchanging. In its most basic terms, desengano implies

 

the coming to a realization, but the ideological content
of what the disillusioned man is supposed to realize is
not the same in all historical periods nor in all Dances
of Death. (The Spanish Dances of Death from the Middle
Ages to the Baroque period, for example, are all manifes-
tations of Catholic didactic literature and therefore
presuppose belief in an afterlife, yet this belief is not
an inherent part of the desengano of a modern Dance of
Death such as Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal.) Many

factors affect the specific form which desengano takes in

 

any given work, and one of these, though certainly not the
only one, is the collective ideology of each historical
period. It is essentially the force of these collective

lideologies which has shaped the phenomenon of desengano

 

in Spanish Dances of Death from the fourteenth to the
seventeenth century, giving it a trajectory that begins
with an almost exclusive emphasis on charity and proceeds
to an emphasis on charity and faith and doctrine simul-

taneously.

 

FOOTNOTES--CONCLUSION

lAquinas Summa, Pt. II-II, 0.4, Art.3.

21bid.

3Ibid., Art.4.

4Ibid., Pt. I-II, 0.65, Art.3.

 

51bid., Pt. III, Q.73, Art.1.

6Marcel Bataillon, "Ensayo de explicaci6n del auto
sacramental," in his Varia lecci6n de clasicos espafioles
(Madrid: Editorial Gredos, 1964), pps. 183-205.

 

 

7William J. Entwistle, "La controversia en los
autos de Calder6n," Nueva Revista de Filologia Hispénica
2 (1948): 223-238.

8R. Trevor Davies feels that ". . . the last spark
of native Protestantism in Spain was virtually quenched"
with the death at the stake of Leonor de Cisneros on
September 28th, 1568 (The Golden Century of Spain: 1501-
1621 [New York and Evanston: Harper and Row, Harper
Torchbooks, 1965]), p. 143.

9Karl Rahner, On the Theologygof Death, trans.

Charles H. Henkey (New York: Herder and Herder, 1961),
p. 21.

338

 

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