Patrick, all of whom were of
periods long subsequent to the time at which he represents himself to
have lived, several of them being the very writers who nearly a
thousand years later described his own adventures. But this is quite
usual on the Spanish stage. There is scarcely a drama of Calderon
that does not end in the same way. The last speaker, whoever he may
be, and he is frequently the 'gracioso', abandons, for the last few
lines of his speech, his assumed character, and addresses the
audience as an actor in a brief epilogue. The list of authorities at
the end of "El Purgatorio de San Patricio" is nothing more. It is
simply an epilogue, perhaps a little longer than usual, which the
curious nature of the subject to some extent justifies. The manner
in which the names are printed is a different matter. But the reader
should recollect that this drama was not printed by Calderon himself,
but by his brother Joseph, who certainly in this instance at least
considered it no part of his duty as editor to verify the correctness
of the poet's references. Some of the confusion certainly is
attributable to Calderon himself, as he has separated and transposed
names for the purpose of adapting them to his versification. But
other mistakes remain behind which we may fairly divide between Don
Joseph and the printer.
The original lines, as given in all the editions, that of
Hartzenbusch included, are the following:--
"Para que con esta acabe
La historia, que nos refiere
Dionisio el gran Cartusiano,
Con Enrique Saltarense,
Cesario, Mateo Rodulfo,
Domiciano Esturbaquense,
Membrosio, Marco Marulo,
David Roto, y el prudente
Primado de toda Hibernia,
Belarmino, Beda, Serpi,
Fray Dimas, Jacob Solino,
Mensignano, y finalmente
La piedad y la opinion
Cristiana, que lo defiende.
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