of leading statesmen, poets, and men of letters; and ultimately he became the leading spirit of the club of literary men which frequented the Fonda de San Sebastian and included Ayala, Cadahalso, Iriarte, Conti, and others. In 1772 he left the court, and was called to the bar; four years afterwards he succeeded Ayala in the chair of poetry in the Imperial College. He died on 11th May 1780.
Moratin became at an early period of his life a convert to the opinions of those who (such as Montiano and others) were attempting to drive the native romantic drama from the Spanish stage, and his first literary efforts were devoted to the cause of theatrical reform. In 1762 he published three small pamphlets entitled Desengaño al Teatro Español (The Truth told about the Spanish Stage), in which he severely criticized the old drama generally, and particularly the still flourishing "auto sacramental." They were so far successful that the exhibition of "autos sacramentales" was prohibited by royal edict three years afterwards (June 1765). In 1762 he also published a play entitled La Petimetra (the Petite-Maîtresse, or Female Fribble), the earliest original Spanish comedy formed avowedly on French models. It was preceded by a dissertation in which Lope de Vega and Calderon are very unfavourably criticized. Neither the Petimetra, however, nor the Lucrecia, an original tragedy still more strictly in accordance with the conventions of the French stage, ever obtained the honour of a public representation. Two subsequent tragedies, Hormesinda (1770) and Guzman el Bueno (1777), were exhibited with partial success. In 1764 Moratin published a collection of short pieces, chiefly lyrical, under the title of El Poeta, and in 1765 a short didactic poem on the chase (Diana o Arte de la Caza). His "epic canto" on the destruction of his ships by Cortes (Las Naves de Cortes Destruidas), written, but without success, for a prize offered by the Academy in 1777, was not published until after his death (1785). It is justly characterized by Ticknor as "the noblest poem of its class produced in Spain during the 18th century;" it must be remembered, however, that the historical epic in Spain is chiefly remarkable for its mass. A volume of Obras Postumas, with a life, was published at Barcelona in 1821, and reprinted at London in 1825. See also Biblioteca de Autores Españoles, vol. ii. (1846). MORAVIA (in German Mähren), a margraviate and crownland in the Cisleithan part of the Austrian-Hungarian empire, lies between 15° 5′ and 18° 45′ E. long., and 48° 50′ and 50° 10′ N. lat. Its superficial extent is about 8580 square miles. Physically Moravia may be described as a mountainous plateau sloping from north to south, and bordered on three sides by mountain ranges of considerable elevation. On the north it is separated from Austrian and Prussian Silesia by the Sudetes, which attain a height of 4775 feet in the Altvater or Schneeberg, and sink gradually towards the west, where the valley of the Oder forms a break between the German mountains and the Carpathians. The latter are the dividing range between Moravia and Hungary, having here an average height of 3000 to 4000 feet. On the west are the so-called Bohemian-Moravian mountains, forming the elevated east margin of Bohemia and descending in terraces, but without clearly-defined ridges, to the river March. Branches of these different ranges intersect the whole country, making the surface very irregular, except towards the south, where it consists of fertile and extensive plains. Owing to this configuration of the soil the climate varies more than might be expected in so small an area, so that, while the vine and maize are cultivated successfully in the southern plains, the weather in the mountainous districts is somewhat rigorous. The mean average temperature at Brünn is 48 Fahr. The harvest amid the mountains is often four or five weeks later than that in the south. Almost the whole of Moravia belongs to the basin of the March or Morava, from which it derives its name, and which, after traversing the entire length of the country in a course of 140 miles and receiving numerous tributaries (Thaya, Hanna, &c.), enters the Danube at Pressburg. The Oder rises among the mountains in the north-east of Moravia, but soon turns to the north and quits the country. With the exception of a stretch of the March none of the rivers are navigable. Moravia is destitute of lakes, but contains numerous large ponds. There are also several mineral springs. |
Nearly 97 per cent. of the soil of Moravia is productive, arable land occupying 53, gardens and meadows 8·5, pasturage 9, and forests 26 per cent. of the total. It is one of the chief corn-growing regions of the Austrian empire, and also produces excellent hemp, flax, potatoes, vegetables, and fruit. The following table shows the amount of the chief crops in 1881:—
Large quantities of hay and other fodder, besides hops, clover-seed, anise, fennel, &c., are also raised. The forests on the slopes of the Sudetes produce abundance of excellent timber. The live-stock of Moravia in 1880 consisted of 122,858 horses, 677,807 cattle, 158,852 sheep, 205,976 swine, and 116,880 goats. The breed of sheep on the Carpathians is of an improved quality, and the horses bred in the fertile plain of the Hanna are highly esteemed. Geese and poultry are also reared. In 1880 Moravia contained 83,440 beehives, and the produce of wax and honey may be estimated at 3500 to 4000 cwts. The mineral wealth of Moravia, consisting chiefly of coal and iron, is very considerable. In 1881 the produce included 392,625 tons of anthracite coal, 50,665 tons of lignite, 5700 tons of iron-ore, 1713 tons of graphite, and smaller quantities of alum, potter's clay, and roofing-slate. The mines give employment to 4500 persons, and the annual value of the raw minerals produced is about £370,000. The amount of raw and cast iron produced by the ironworks and foundries in 1880 was 40,000 tons, and the value about £320,000. In point of industry Moravia belongs to the foremost provinces of the empire. The principal manufactures are woollen, cotton, linen, and cast-iron goods, beet-sugar, leather, and brandy. Its woollen cloths and flannels, the manufacture of which centres in Brünn, have long been celebrated. The linen manufacture is decreasing in importance as cotton manufactures develop. The quantity of sugar made from beetroot is steadily increasing; in 1880 about 600,000 cwts. of sugar were produced in fifty-seven factories. About 10 per cent. of the total value of the manufactures of Austria, representing an annual amount of £13,000,000 to £15,000,000, falls to the share of Moravia. The trade of Moravia consists mainly in the exchange of the various raw and manufactured materials above mentioned for colonial produce, salt, and raw manufacturing material. The lack of navigable rivers or canals is compensated by good roads and an extensive railway system. The most important commercial towns are Brünn for manufactures and Olmütz for live-stock. In educational matters Moravia compares favourably with most of the Austrian states. It contains 10 gymnasia, 10 real-gymnasia, 13 real-schools, numerous schools for special purposes, and nearly 2000 lower schools. The old university of Brünn is now represented by a technical academy and a theological seminary. Of children of school-going age 79 per cent. attend school regularly. In 1870 about 46 per cent. of the Moravian recruits could write their names, as compared with the extremes of 8312 per cent. in Lower Austria and 114 per cent. in Dalmatia. Fully 95 per cent. of the inhabitants are Roman Catholics under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the archbishop of Olmütz and the bishop of Brünn, while about 2 per cent. are Jews, and 3 per cent. Protestants. Moravia sends 36 members to the Austrian reichstag, 9 of these representing the landed proprietors, 16 the towns and chambers of commerce, and 11 the peasantry.
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