JUAN PEREZ DE, an eminent Spanish dramatist, was the son of the King's bookseller, and was born at Madrid in 1602. His youthful genius was stimulated by the example, and guided by the advice and assistance, of the great dramatic writer Lope de Vega. So strong, indeed, was the mutual esteem between the two poets, that the elder treated the younger as a son, and the younger adopted the elder as his model in almost everything. Like his admired master, Montalvan entered the Montanaro priesthood, and accepted an office in the Inquisition. He was also a most voluminous writer. By his thirteenth year he had produced thirty-six dramas; and in 1636 the number had increased to about sixty. In their success, as well as in their flimsy construction and careless execution, he likewise resembled Lope de Vega. One of the last works of Montalvan was an extravagant panegyric on his great friend, published in 1636. By this time his intense and incessant labours had begun to derange his brain. Not long afterwards he fell into a state of imbecility, which continued till his death in June 1638. Montalvan's collected dramatic works appeared in 1638–39, and were reprinted in 1652.