Spaniards and the knowledge of reading and writing was fairly general
they had no written literature of any kind. [47] A Jesuit priest who
had lived in the islands eighteen years, writing not far from 1640,
tells us that by that time the Tagals had learned to write their
language from left to right instead of perpendicularly as was their
former custom, but they used writing merely for correspondence. The
only books thus far in the Indian languages were those written by
the missionaries on religion. [48]

In regard to the religious life of the converted Indians the Friars
and Morga speak on the whole with no little satisfaction. Friar Martin
Ignacio in 1584 writes: "Such as are baptised, doo receive the fayth
with great firmenesse, and are good Christians, and would be better, if
that they were holpen with good ensamples." [49] Naturally the Spanish
soldiers left something to be desired as examples of Christianity
and Friar Martin relates the story of the return from the dead of a
principal native--"a strange case, the which royally did passe of a
trueth in one of these ilandes,"--who told his former countrymen of the
"benefites and delights" of heaven, which "was the occasion that some
of them forthwith received the baptisme, and that others did delay
it, saying, that because there were Spaniard souldiers in glory, they
would not go thither, because they would not be in their company." [50]

Morga writing in 1603 says: "In strictest truth the affairs of the
faith have taken a good footing, as the people have a good disposition
and genius, and they have seen the errors of their paganism and the
truths of the Christian religion; they have got good churches and
monasteries of wood, well constructed, with shrines and brilliant
ornaments, and all the things required for the service, crosses,
candlesticks, chalices of gold and silver, many brotherhoods and