chap. XVIII. GOLD AND SILVER IN SPAIN.

65

moment when the gold and silver of AmericaCached the country. Whoever has read the hi-stories of the early invaders of America must haveremarked how profuse Columbus and his followers" er e in vows of presenting such offerings, and"ill readily believe that many of such vows wereduly performed. Several of the most magnificenta "d costly cathedrals of Spain owe their construc-tion to the zeal of the period, whilst others ofmore ancient date received images, crucifixes,pattins, chalices, and other vessels, in the room ofsuch as had been seized by the Moors, or as hadbeen converted by the Christian into money tofurnish the means for repelling or subduing theunbelievers 1 . The domestic peace which Spain enjoyed from the time of the conquest of Granada must have tended to increase the mineral treasures"hich the church drew to itself, and no strongmotives presented themselves to cause any abstrac-tion of those treasures.

In Italy , also, much had been appropriated tos imilar purposes in Rome , as well as in the othermties; but the frequent wars of which it was thetheatre probably tended to withdraw much of itfrom sacred purposes, and to convert it into themore current form of money. We have already"oticed the treasure seized by the army of Bour-

The twenty volumes of the work of Don Antonio Ponz,entitled « Vi age de Esparto" contain particular relations ofthe decorations of the churches about this date.

VOL. n. F