urge them so much that he wearies them. Let
him receive the fees of the Church, but let him not collect with
the severity of a warrant-holder. Let the Indians know that the
cura is looking after their souls, not their purses; and let him
remember that he came from Europa to remove disease from the sheep,
not to take their wool. Let him give alms, but let him not scatter the
patrimony of Christ uselessly. It will be a suitable alms to provide
his parishioners with medals, rosaries, catechisms, and bulls [of
the crusade]. [111] Let him not permit idle spongers in the village,
who are goblins of cursed consequences; and the whiter they are, the
worse. Let the cura be found more often in the houses of the sick and
dying, than in weddings, games, and dances. He should let the customs
of the villages alone, when they involve no grave disadvantages,
for innovations alter men's dispositions; and more than anything
else must he shun causing innovation in the prayer, and in matters
pertaining to the Church and the method of administration. Let him
encourage congregations, devotions, and novenas, frequent confession,
daily mass, and the rosary, but let him warn the Indians that these are
not for obligation but for devotion, since perhaps they sin through
ignorance, when there is no guilt. The soul of the missionary or
parish priest has a thousand dangers in the solitude of a village;
but with prayer and mortification he can overcome all. Chastity is
a flower so delicate that it takes but little to make it wither:
the heart of man, the opportunity for temptations, the frequency of
errors, and the ease with which men stumble, are as tinder and fire,
which are kindled, whoever blows. Do not believe that in this regard
there is any caution that is too great in the Indias. In the external
encounters that may arise with alcaldes or with others, let the cura
endeavor to conquer them by patience rather than by arrogance. Let
him remember that Jesus Christ says we should offer the other cheek
to him who smites us; and let him reflect that in the tribunal of
God, and even that of men, more is to be gained by humility than by
valor. Let him reflect that he is a secular or a religious; and that
the weapons of such are tears, prayer, and penance."

ECCLESIASTICAL SYSTEM IN THE PHILIPPINES

[Buzeta and Bravo (_Diccionario_, i, pp. 542-545; ii, pp. 271-275,
363-367) thus describe the ecclesiastical estate of the Philippines:]

A