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Ordognez Cevalio, who travelled almost round the world, tells us, in the relations of his voyages, that, in India, he happened to meet a Japonese, who informed him, in a discourse which they had together of these particulars: "Know," said he, "that being in Japan, a Bonza by profession, I was once at an assembly of our Bonzas, who, upon the report of so many miracles as were wrought by Father Francis Xavier, resolved to place him in the number of their gods; in order to which, they sent to him a kind of embassy; but the Father was seized with horror at the proposition of their deputies.
The king, by the admonition of the Father, forbade those cruelties on pain of death. He made other edicts against divers Pagan ceremonies, which were lascivious or dishonest, and suffered not the Bonzas to set a foot within his palace.
As the good-will which he shewed in the beginning to Father Xavier had scarce any other principle but interest, he grew cold to him immediately after this ill news; and this coldness made him incline to hearken to the Bonzas. He granted all they demanded of him, and forbade his subjects, on pain of death, to become Christians, or to forsake the old religion of their country.
The king, whose indignation was raised by seeing the obstinacy of the Bonzas, said to them, in a kind of passion, "As for myself, as far as I am capable of judging, I find that Father Xavier speaks good sense, and that you know not what you say. You should either understand better, or be less violent than you appear, to judge of these truths without prejudice.
In the mean time, Xavier visited the Bonzas, and endeavoured to gain their good will; being persuaded that Christianity would make but little progress amongst the people, if they opposed the preaching of the gospel: And, on the other side, judging that all the world would embrace the law of the true God, in case they should not openly resist it.
So that he practised, rigorously and literally, that abstinence of which the Bonzas make profession, or rather that which they pretend to practise. And he accustomed himself to this immediately, upon what Paul de Sainte Foy had told him, that it would look ill if a religious Christian should live with less austerity than the priests of idols should in their course of life.
The Bonzas perceiving that the people preferred the authority of Xavier above theirs, and not knowing how to refute their adversary, made a cabal at court, to lessen the Christians in the good opinion of the king.
"That if he would give himself the trouble of this little journey, to revenge the injury they had received, they would carry him back in triumph, on their shoulders, to his monastery." The Bonza, who was full as vain as he was learned, came speedily, attended by six Bonzas, all men of science, but his inferiors and scholars.
Thereupon, they set themselves at work to publish, not only what the Bonzas of Amanguchi had written of him, but what they themselves had newly invented; "That he was the most wicked of mankind; an enemy of the living and the dead; his practice being to dig up the carcases of the buried, for the use of his enchantments; and that he had a devil in his mouth, by whose assistance he charmed his audience."
The young ambassador being returned to court, reported to the king with what respect his letter had been received; and took upon him to persuade that prince, that this European Bonza was to be treated with greater honour, and far otherwise than their ordinary Bonzas; even so far as to say, that it would be an enormous sin to level him with them; that for the rest, he was not so poor as his enemies had suggested; that the captains and Portuguese merchants would bestow on him both their ship and all their treasure, in case he would accept of them; and that, properly speaking, he was not to be accounted poor, who possessed as much as he desired.
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