Gaspar de Villarroel. Govierno eclesiastico pacifico, y union de los dos cuchillos, pontificio, y regio. 2 vols. Madrid: Domingo Garcia Morras, 1656-57..
Fray Gaspar de Villarroel joined the order of Saint Augustine in 1607 and occupied a chair of Theology at the University of San Marcos, where he published biblical commentaries and sermons. He was bishop of Santiago, Chile, from 1638 to 1652. He wrote his principal work in Chile, the Govierno eclesiastico pacifico, which describes the different functions of Church and State and includes a wealth of historical information concerning the Spanish American world, (including an extensive description of the disastrous earthquake of 1647). When discussing controversial issues such as polygamy and cannibalism among the Araucan Indians, bishop Villarroel examined different points of view and reached surprisingly tolerant conclusions while also displaying a curious cultural relativism.
The Govierno eclesiastico and the Politica Indiana by Solorzano Pereira are the two most important books on canon law and jurisprudence in colonial America. The Durand collection has the first edition, as well as the second edition published in two volumes by Antonio Marín in Madrid, 1738.
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