"The first missionaries left many writings in the Tagalog
and Bicol languages, the best of which are those left by
Fathers Fray Juan de Oliver, Fray Juan de Plasencia, Fray
Miguel de Talavera, Fray Diego de la Asuncion, and Fray
Gerónimo Monte. Mention is here made of the above fathers
because they were the first masters of the Tagalog language,
and since their writings are so common and so well received
by all the orders. They have not been printed, because they
are voluminous, and there are no arrangements in this kingdom
for printing so much." [81]


Miguel de Talavera we have spoken of before. That he helped Plasencia
in the compilation of his earliest works in Tagalog is clear, and
to him in part must be attributed the miracle of the production by
Plasencia of the texts "in so short a time and with so few years
in the country." Martínez says specifically that Talavera "was the
first interpreter among our priests, and greatly helped Fr. Juan
de Plasencia in the composition of the _Arte y Vocabulario_." [82]
Juan de Oliver was in somewhat the same relationship to Plasencia,
but instead of helping with the initial attempts, he carried on from
where Plasencia left off. Oliver came to the Philippines on the same
expedition which brought Bishop Salazar in 1581. According to Huerta
[83] he worked in various Tagalog villages, and mastered the Tagalog
and Bicol languages, in which he wrote twenty-two works, which Huerta
lists. Of these three are of particular interest to us. The first
entry says that he "corrected the Tagalog grammar written by Fr. Juan
de Plasencia, and added the adverbs and particles;" [84] the second