SPAIN
203
SPAIN
"Peregrino Indiano" of Antonio Saavedra Guzmdn,
printed at Madrid in 1.599, gives in its twenty cantos
a very pedestrian account of the conquest of the re-
gion. Apparently the earliest specimens of the drama
actually written in Mexico are those contained in the
"Colo(iuios espiritualcs y Pocsias sagradas" of Her-
n;ln Gonzalez de Eslava, published in 1610, years
after the death of the author, who may have been
an Andalusian by birth. His plays are little reli-
gious pieces of the category of the aido and seem to
have been written between 1567 and 1600. It may
be remarked that from the very beginning of the
Spanish rule it had been the custom to perform the
little religious pieces called aulos (two of the autos of
Lope de Vega had been translated into the Indian
dialect called Nahuatl), and the Jesuits, who con-
stantly fostered scenic performances in connexion
with the work of higher education administered by
them, did their best to develop an interest in the
drama. Certainly a Spaniard by birth, but trained
in Mexico and raised to the episcopacy as Bishop
of Porto Rico, Bernardo de Balbuena (l.'56.S-1627)
exhibits in his verse a love for both Spain and his
adoi)ted land, mingling therewith many reminiscences
of his reading of classic poetry; he celebrates espe-
cially the beauty of external nature ui his little poem
"La Grandeza Mexicana" (Mexico, 1604 and l.stiO;
Madrid, 1821-2; New York, 1828), which elicited
prai.se from the Spanish poet and critic Quintana and
which, in the opinion of Mencndez y Pelayo, is (he
poem from which we should date the birth of Spanish-
American poetrj- properly so called. His chief work
is "El Bernardo", an epic showing the influence of
the Latin epic poets and also of .\riosto. A Mexican
by birth, Juan Ruiz de Alarc6n's (d. 16.39) literary
activitj' belongs to the history of the literature of
Spain, where he passed the greater part of his life
and ilied. His dramas are technically to be reckoned
among the best in the .Spanish classic repertoire.
Gongorisra infected the compositions of the Je.suit Matlas Bocanegra, known chiefly for his " Canci6n al dcsengaiio". Carlos de Sigiienza y G6ngora (164.5- 1700) was a scholar of importance who put forth documents deahng with matters of mathematical, philosophical, and antiquarian interest. Among his writings is his "Elogio fdnebre de sor Juana Ines de la Cruz", praising the virtues of one of the most dis- tinguished of the authoresses in Spanish that either the Old World or the Xew World has produced, un- equal though her genius was in its manifestations. Before becoming a mm she was Juana Ines de Asbaje (16.51-91), noted for both her beauty and her learning at the viceregal Court. To her earlier career belong her love lyrics and the stiU popular TeiUmililhix cham- pioning the cause of woman against her detractor, man. Some of her verses are devout and mystical in character; an auto sacramental (El divino Narciso) and little comedy (Los empenos de una casa) deserve particular mention. Gongorism, which mars certain of the writings of Sor Ines de la Cruz, continued to exert its baneful influence during the first half of the eighteenth century. Some of the pedestrian poets of the period are Miguel de Reyna Zcballos, author of "La clocuencia del silencio" (Madriil, 1 738), and Francisco Ruiz de Le6n, whose "Hernandia" (17.5.5) is hardly more than a versification of the "Conquista de M(xico" of Solis. The "Poesias .sagradas y pro- fanas" (Puebla, 1832) of the cleric .lorge Jos^ Sar- torio (1746-1828) are mostly translations. On a higher plane than any versifier since the time of In<!s de la Cruz stands the Franciscan Manuel de Navar- rete (1768-1809), who reflects in his "Entretenimien- to9 porticos" (Mexico, 1823) the manner of Cien- fuegos, Diego Gonzalez, and other members of the Salamancan School. The events of the revolutionary war were sung by mediocre poets, such as Andres Quintana Roo (17.87-18.51), who wa.s the President of
the Congress which made the first declaration of inde-
pendence; Manuel Sdnches de Tagle (1782-1847);
Francisco Ortega (1793-1849); and Joa(|uin Maria del
Castillo (1781-1878). The priest Anastasio Maria
Ochoa (1783-1833) translated ixjcms from Latin,
French, and Itahan, and produced some original com-
positions of a satirical and humorous nature ("Poe-
sias", New York, 1828; also two plays). More re-
markable for his dramas than for his lyrics is Manuel
Eduardo de Gorostiza (1789-18.51, "Teatro original",
Paris, 1822; and "Teatro escogido", Brus.sels, 1825).
His plays are chiefly comedies of manners (see espe-
cially the " Indulgencia para todos " and "Contigo pan
y ceboUa "), and, having been writ t en during his sojourn
in Spain, form a kind of transition between the meth-
ods of the younger Moratin and Brel 6n de los Herreros.
Tlirough imitation of Espronccda, Zorilla, and other
Spanish romanticists, the movement of romanticism
sprea,d from Europe to Me-xico. It has its representa-
tives ah-eady in the lyric poets and dramatists,
Ignacio Rodriguez Galvdn (1816-42; "Obras",
Mexico, 1851; his verse "Profeclas de Guarimoc" is
the masterpiece of Mexican romanticism), and Fer-
nandez Calder6n (1809-45; "Poesias", Mexico, 1844
and 1849). Eclectic restraint, with a tendency to-
wardsclassicism, as well as great Catholic fervour, actu-
ates the works of two WTitei-s who are among the most
careful in form that Mexico has had. These are Jos6
Joaquin Pesado (1801-61), who is the best known
Mexican poet, and the physician Manuel Carpio
(1791-1860). Pesado translated from Latin (the
"Song of Songs", the "Psalms", etc., from the Vul-
gate), Italian, and French, succeeding best in his ver-
sion of the Psalms. In his composition entitled "Las
Aztecas" he is supposed to have put into Spanish cer-
tain Aztec legends; like Macpher.son in his dealing
w-ith Celtic tradition, Pesado doubtless added to the
native legends matter of his own invention, but he
certainly showed skill in doing this ("Poesias origi-
nales y traducciones", Mexico, 18.39, 1849, and 1886).
In his narrative and descriptive verse Carpio treats
generally of Biblical subjects. An admirer and imi-
tator of the Spanish mystic and poet Luis de Leon
was Alejandro Arango (1821-83). Materialism and
.so-called Liberalism inspire the verse of Ignacio Rami-
rez (1818-79) and Manuel Acuiia (1849-73), while
eroticism prevails in the eft'usions of Ignacio M. Alta-
mirano (1834-93) and Manuel Maria Flores (1840-
85). Juan de Dios Peza (18.52-1910) devoted himself
to the task of embalming in verse, which is not always
as correct as it might be, many of the popular tradi-
tions of his country ("Poesias complelas", Paris,
1891-2). He is perhaps the most read Mexican poet
of the second half of the nineteenth century. Some
influence of the French school of Parnassiens may be
detected in the "Poesias" (Paris, 1909) of Manuel
Gutierrez Najera (d. 1888).
Peru. — The position of pre-eminence occupied by Mexico in the Spanish part of the northern continent was held by Peru in the earlier history of the civiliza- tion of South America. But a gradual lo.ss of terri- tory and of political importance has greatly weakened the place of Peru among the Spanish-American slates; and though Peru was once the heart of a great na- tive Inca Empire, and Spani.sh governors ruled the greater part of South America from within its bounds during the colonial periods, its standing in the world of American politics and letters is to-day one of no great prestige. From the earliest period of the settlement there dates little of value. In the sixteenth century there comes to view Garcilas.so de la Vega (1540-1616), surnamed the Inca, as he was of native origin on the side of his mother, a princess of the Inca race. He wrote in good Spanish prose his "Florida", an ac- count of the di.scovery of that region, and his "Com- entarios reales", dealing with (he history of Peru and blending much legendary and fictitious matter with a
