[Born in Castile, 1437. Died, 1517. Aged 80.]
A learned priest who had withdrawn to a convent, and was in his
fifty-sixth year, when Queen Isabella of Spain brought him from his
retirement, and appointed him Archbishop of Toledo, and her own
Confessor. His power over the queen was used, according to the ideas of
his time, in the interests of his country, for the benefit of the
Spanish people, and for the advancement of learning and religion. After
the death of Isabella, in 1504, he was made Governor of Spain, in the
absence of the King, and he managed to steer his political course with
consummate skill and prudence. In 1516, he became Governor of Castille
for the young Emperor, Charles V. He possessed in an eminent degree the
genius of government, and his rule paved the way for the greatness of
Charles V.’s reign. He was unbending in authority, and organized with a
rigid sense of justice, that amounted to cruelty. As Inquisitor-General,
he had suffered, during eleven years of office, 50,000 condemnations to
be passed, and 2500 human beings to be consigned to the flames. Shortly
before his own death he fell into disgrace, and he closed his eyes in
grief. He was a fanatic without passion. Pious with sword in hand;
austere in his way of life, sagacious, imperious, and a profound
politician.