the church by every practicable expedient, after having holden several synods of the dioceses, finally convened a third provincial council, which assembled in 1601. The bishops of Quito and Panama gave their attendance; but the other provincial bishops sent procurators. It was brought to a speedy conclusion, on this account, that, as it had been made apparent, by an experience of eighteen years, that little attention had been paid to the decrees of 1583, instead of making any new provisions, it would be most advisable to try the effect of a gentle exhortation to a compliance with their tenor and purport, and, if that should fail, to threaten the refractory with the penalties of the church. It was once more recommended to all ecclesiastics, to have in their possession the acts of the council of 1583, by which their conduct should be regulated. That these acts had been so much neglected, was the necessary effect of the disputes between the royal and ecclesiastical tribunals. They had at that time been produ6live of much warmth and animosity; and as malignant spirits were not wanting to take advantage of these turbulencies, by espousing alternately the cause of either party, according as it suited their convenience, the archbishop was thus defeated in the accomplishment of his views, as he himself complained in his letters to Philip II.
The above are the five provincial councils holden in the capital of Peru; and are so many testimonies of the zeal which was displayed in those times, for the purity of the faith, the sacred doctrines, and ecclesiastical discipline. Respecting the earlier two, it has already been observed, that their decrees have not been transmitted to us. Of the three latter,
