Note 152 — BOOK VI.

In the Dorotea (Act iv. sc. ii.) Lope de Vega speaks of "Bautista de Vivar, monstruo de naturaleza en decir versos de improviso con admirable impulso de las musas"; but Vivar's merits must be taken on trust, for his writings have not been printed. A certain Vivar, author of some verses á lo divino, is mentioned by Gallardo (op. cit., vol. i., col. 1023), but no specimens are given from the manuscript which was in existence as late as November 1, 1844.

The phrase—monstruo de naturaleza—applied by Lope to Vivar was applied by Cervantes to Lope in the preface to his Ocho Comedias y ocho entremeses nuevos (Madrid, 1615). It occurs also in Lope's Hermosa Ester, the autograph of which, dated April 5, 1610, is in the British Museum Library, Egerton MSS. 547. Mr. Henry Edward Watts (Miguel de Cervantes, his life & works, London, 1895, p. 109) contends that Cervantes uses the expression "in bad part" (i.e. in a sense derogatory to Lope), and cites as a parallel case the employment of it in Don Quixote (Part I. chap. xlvi) where Sancho Panza is described as "monstruo de naturaleza, almario de embustes, silo de bellaquerías, inventor de maldades, publicador de sandeces," and so forth. The words monstruo de naturaleza are, no doubt, open to two interpretations. It is, however, inconceivable that Cervantes would offer so gross an insult to his successful rival as is thus imputed to him. In his bickerings with Lope, Cervantes may sometimes forget himself, as will happen to the best of men at times; but such vulgarity as this is absolutely unlike him. It may be as well to note that the expression—monstruo de naturaleza—was current as a compliment long before either Cervantes or Lope used it; it will be found in Pedro de Cáceres y Espinosa's preliminary Discurso to the poems of Gregorio Silvestre published in 1582.

Students of Spanish literary history will remember that Vivar's name was introduced by one of the witnesses who appeared against Lope de Vega when the latter was prosecuted for criminal libel at the beginning of 1588. Luis Vargas de Manrique (mentioned in note 8) was reported by this witness as saying that, on the internal evidence, one of the scandalous ballads which formed the basis of the charge might be attributed to four or five different persons: "it may be by Liñán (mentioned in note 25) who is not here, or by Cervantes, and he is not here, and, since it is not mine, it may be by Vivar, or by Lope de Vega, though Lope de Vega, if he had written it, would not so malign himself." See the Proceso de Lope de Vega por libelo contra unos cómicos (Madrid, 1901) by the Sres. Tomillo and Pérez Pastor.