Philip was possessed of a temper haughty and cruel, and gave full proof of his zeal to obey his father's commands. He conferred new powers on the Inquisitors throughout the Netherlands, and published the most sanguinary edicts against all who maintained or even seemed to favour the Protestant doctrines. In vain did the states of the Low Countries remonstrate against the Inquisition being established among them. Having taken an oath to devote the whole of his reign to the defence of Popery, that cruel and superstitious monarch haughtily replied, "that he would be rather no king at all, than have heretics for his subjects." Notwithstanding his obstinacy, however, he ultimately failed in his attempts to force the Low Countries to receive the Inquisition. The Flemings persisted in opposing every thing resembling that cruel tribunal, and their resistance was the cause of long and bloody wars, which exhausted the treasures and armies of Spain during half a century, and eventually ended in favour of the people.
But it was not in the Low Countries only that Philip showed himself the patron of the Inquisition. In Spain he not only supported, but urged on its "ministers and officials" to the commission of the most appalling deeds of cruelty. On the 18th of October, 1559, an auto-da-fé [10] was celebrated at Valladolid, at which Philip himself was present, and gave most unequivocal proofs of his zeal in defence of the prerogatives of that tribunal. The Inquisitor-general having demanded of the king to continue to them his support, in these words, "Lord, continue to help us;" Philip grasped his sword, and unsheathed part of it, to intimate his readiness at all times to obey the mandates of these ghostly fathers—a pledge, which, alas! he more than faithfully fulfilled. [11] The horrid ceremony of putting to death twenty-eight faithful followers of the Redeemer, was conducted with great apparent solemnity, Philip, his son, and courtiers, sitting within sight of the prisoners. Among the Protestants condemned, there was a nobleman of the name of Don Carlos Sessa, who, when the executioners were conducting him to the stake, called to the king for mercy, saying, "And canst thou, O king! witness the torments of thy subjects? Save us from this cruel death; we do not deserve it." "No," replied Philip, sternly, "I would myself carry wood to burn my own son, were he such a wretch as thou!" [12] After which he beheld the bloody spectacle that followed, with a composure which showed that he possessed a heart destitute, not only of Christian feeling, but of the least spark of humanity.
No fewer than eighty individuals, professing the Protestant religion, having been discovered in Seville, were all committed to the flames, in companies of fifteen or twenty. In 1560, the same punishment was inflicted on many other eminent persons, who, at the place of execution, justly upbraided their judges with their ignorance and hardness of heart, and "resisted even unto blood," all the efforts of their persecutors to bring them again under the yoke of antichristian bondage. Among the sufferers on this occasion were eight females, of irreproachable character, and some of them distinguished by their rank and education, who were condemned to the most cruel death by their unhallowed judges. The most distinguished of these martyrs was Maria Gomez, who appeared on the scaffold along with her three daughters and a niece. After the reading of the sentence which doomed them to the flames, one of the young women went up to her aunt, from whom she had imbibed the Protestant doctrine, and, on her knees, thanked her for all the religious instructions she had received from her, implored her forgiveness for any offence she might have given her, and begged her dying blessing. Raising her up, and assuring her that she had never given her a moment's uneasiness, the old woman proceeded to encourage her dutiful niece, by reminding her of that support which their Divine Redeemer had promised them in the hour of trial, and of those joys which awaited them at the termination of their momentary sufferings. The five friends then took leave of one another with tender embraces, and words of mutual comfort. The interview between these devoted females was beheld by the members of the "holy tribunal" with a rigid composure of countenance, undisturbed even by a glance of displeasure; and so completely had superstition and habit subdued the strongest emotions of the human breast, that not a single expression of sympathy escaped from the multitude at witnessing a scene which in other circumstances would have harrowed up the feelings of the spectators, and driven them into mutiny. These, and numerous other sufferers, not only in Spain, but in every country of Europe where this tribunal had been erected, "counted not their lives dear unto them," but rejoiced, amidst torments the most agonizing, and in a death the most dreadful, that they were "considered worthy to suffer" for their Redeemer's sake.
The zeal of Philip was equally conspicuous in Portugal. Having ascended the throne of that kingdom in 1580, at a period when the office of Inquisitor-general was vacant, Philip wished to place the Inquisition of Portugal under the dominion of that of Spain. Though this attempt was unsuccessful, yet numerous acts of cruelty were committed during the reign of that monarch, on those who dissented, or were suspected to dissent, from the received doctrines of the Popish Church.
Under the protection of Philip, the Inquisition flourished also in Sicily and Malta. The audacity of the Inquisitors in Sicily had formerly raised a rebellion, which was not quelled without the greatest difficulty. Depending, however, on the court of Madrid, and supposing that all fear of the rebellion had ceased, the Inquisitors of Sicily celebrated an auto-da-fé in 1546, in which four persons were burnt in effigy. Similar ceremonies took place in 1549 and 1551. The Inquisitors now became as insolent as formerly, and treated the Sicilians of all ranks with so much severity, that a new rebellion was raised in Palermo. The viceroy succeeded in restoring tranquillity, and the Inquisitors, while under the influence of fear, were for some time more moderate, celebrating their autos-da-fé privately in the hall of the tribunal.
In regard to Malta, again, when that island belonged to the Spanish monarchy, it was subject to the Inquisition of Sicily; "but when it was given to the knights of Jerusalem," says Llorente, "it would have been contrary to the dignity of the grand-master, to permit the exercise of foreign jurisdiction in it, after having received that of ecclesiastical power from the Pope. A man was arrested in the island as a heretic, and the Inquisition of Sicily took informations on the affair. The grand-master wrote to demand them; the Inquisitors consulted the council which directed them, in 1575, not only to refuse them, but to claim the prisoner. The grand-master resolved to defend his privi leges, caused the man to be tried in the island, and he was acquitted. This act displeased the Inquisitors, who, to revenge themselves, took advantage of an occurrence which took place in the following year. Don Pedro de la Roca, a Spaniard, and a knight of Malta, killed the first alguazil of the Sicilian Inquisition, in the city of Messina. He was arrested and conducted to the secret prisons of the holy office. The grand-master claimed his knight, as he alone had a right to try him. The council being consulted, commanded the Inquisitors to condemn and punish the accused as a homicide. The Inquisitor-general communicated this resolution to Philip II., who wrote to the grand-master to terminate the dispute."
"The quarrels between the secular powers and the Inquisition," continues the same author, "were not less violent in Sicily. In 1580 and 1597, attempts were made to appease them, but without success; and in 1606, the Sicilians had the mortification of seeing their viceroy, the Duke de Frias, constable of Castile, prosecuted and subjected to their censures. In 1592, the Duke of Alva, who was then viceroy, endeavoured by indirect means to repress the insolence of the Inquisitors. Perceiving that the nobility of all classes