that he did not regard a University degree as a mere distinction. The
retirement of Gregorio Gallo caused a vacancy in the chair of
Biblical Exegesis at Salamanca. Luis de Leon, though but a master of a
few months' standing, presented himself as a candidate for the post.
He failed to obtain it, being defeated by Gaspar de Grajal, a future
ally and fellow victim:[25] so far as can be ascertained, this was
Luis de Leon's sole academic check. Manifestly he was not daunted. He
claimed, and established, his right to take part in certain
examinations in his faculty,[26] and 'con mucho exceso' thwarted the
designs of the famous Domingo Bañez, whom he afterwards described as
'enemigo capital'.[27] His combativeness did him no immediate harm,
for, in December 1561, he was elected Professor of Theology at
Salamanca.[28] He was obviously not disposed to hide his light under a
bushel, nor to perform his academic duties in a spirit of humdrum
routine. Whatever he did, he did with all his might, and his strenuous
versatility made him conspicuous in University life. In 1565 he was
transferred from the theological chair to the chair of Scholastic
Theology and Biblical Criticism, in which he succeeded his old master
Juan de Guevara.[29]

Such successes as Luis de Leon had hitherto won he owed mainly to his
own talents.[30] Brilliant as he was, there is no reason to assume
that he was personally popular in Salamanca.[31] It does not appear
that he made any effort to win popularity; nor is it certain that he
would have succeeded even if he had sought to win it. His temper was
impulsive, his disposition was critical and independent; his tongue
and pen were sharp and made enemies among members of his own order;
moreover, he contrived to alienate the Dominicans, a powerful body in
Salamanca, as in the rest of Spain. No doubt he had many admirers,
especially among his own students. Yet the University, as a whole,