corner of the land, which alone[2] was not polluted by the presence of
Moslem masters, were gathered all those proud spirits who could not
brook subjection and valued freedom above all earthly possessions.[3]
Here all the various nationalities that had from time to time borne
rule in Spain,

"Punic and Roman Kelt and Goth and Greek," [4]

all the various classes, nobles, freemen, and slaves, were gradually
welded by the strong pressure of a common calamity into one compact and
homogeneous whole.[5] Meanwhile what was the condition of those
Christians who preferred to live in their own homes, but under the
Moslem yoke? It must be confessed that they might have fared much worse;
and the conciliatory policy pursued by the Arabs no doubt contributed
largely to the facility of the conquest. The first conqueror, Tarik ibn
Zeyad, was a man of remarkable generosity and clemency, and his conduct
fully justified the proud boast which he uttered when arraigned on false
charges before the Sultan Suleiman.[6] "Ask the true believers," he
said, "ask also the Christians, what the conduct of Tarik has been in
Africa and in Spain. Let them say if they have ever found him cowardly,
covetous, or cruel."

[1] Al Makkari, ii. 34.

[2] According to Sebastian of Salamanca, the Moors had never
been admitted into any town of Biscay before 870.

[3] Prescott, "Ferdinand and Isabella," seems to think that
only the lower orders remained under the Moors. Yet in a note
he mentions a remark of Zurita's to the contrary (page 3).