in 1588, graduated there as a licentiate of theology in May 1560, and in the following month became a master of theology.[24] It soon became clear 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 Banez, 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, stood slightly aloof from him, and before long in certain obscurantist circles cautious hints of latitudinarianism were murmured against him.  For these mumblings there was absolutely no sort of foundation.[32] As might be inferred from the simple fact that he was afterwards chosen to be the first editor of St. Theresa’s works, Luis de Leon was the most orthodox of men.  His selection for this piece of work may have been due to the influence of the saint’s friend and successor, Madre Ana de Jesus, who had the highest opinion of him.[33] But it was not often that he produced so favourable a personal impression; he had not mastered the gentle art of ingratiation; it is even conceivable that he did not strictly observe St. Paul’s injunction to ’suffer fools gladly’.[34] Though fundamentally humble-minded, he was intolerant of what he thought to be nonsense:  a quality which would perhaps not endear him to all his colleagues.  He set a