ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PORTUGUESE ACADEMY IN 1714.
During the forty-four years reign of John V. namely, from 1705 to 1750, there was no want of institutions, calculated to raise the nation to the point of elevation whence it had fallen. For the polite literature of Portugal a new era seemed to have commenced, when, in the year 1714, an Academia Portugueza, on the model of the French academy, was established under the presidency of so accomplished a man as the Count de Ericeyra. But we nowhere find an account of any advantage which the language and literature of Portugal derived from the labours of this academy; and the establishment was soon so completely neglected, that it is difficult to conjecture how and when it sank into decay.[336] Other academies on the Italian plan had their rise and decline without producing any beneficial results; while several Portuguese poets were satisfied with the honour of admission into the Italian academy of the Arcadians. The academy of history, founded at Lisbon in 1720, also promised to be useful to Portuguese eloquence, as well as to historical science; but in the end little or nothing was effected even by this institution. Besides, though the general character of the Portuguese, which had always been less fanatical than that of the Spaniards, appeared about this period to become somewhat more liberal in religious and ecclesiastical matters, that favourable symptom was merely a consequence of the friendly relations which Portugal was under the necessity of maintaining with England; and these relations seemed to place Portugal too much in a state of dependence, to be flattering to the national feeling, or to reanimate it by the diffusion of knowledge. The inquisition, too, continued to adopt the old precautions against all attempts at free-thinking, after the manner of Voltaire. It was, therefore, neither the spirit of the old nor of the new age, which, in the reign of John V. sometimes maintained the ancient forms in Portuguese poetry and eloquence, and sometimes endeavoured to introduce new ones. This fluctuation was merely the result of a feeble wavering between the old Portuguese, the French, and the Italian taste. The better poetry was, however, still to be found in the works of the authors, who remained faithful to the ancient manner.
ADMINISTRATION OF THE MARQUIS OF POMBAL.
The twenty-six years reign of Joseph Emanuel, from 1750 to 1777, proved more salutary for the Portuguese nation. The rigid despotism of the powerful Marquis de Pombal, who in the name of the king ruled with unlimited sway, left unpleasant recollections in the minds of a portion of the nation. Nevertheless the spirit of the higher nobility and of the ecclesiastics was not wholly subdued by his measures. In the dungeons which were filled with state prisoners, it is possible that some men of talent languished. But Pombal’s iron arm roused the slumbering nation. The despotic system of government adopted by this state reformer, who was, perhaps, only cruel from necessity, was an enlightening system, and his object was to restore the ancient glory of the Portuguese name. To literature he attached but little immediate importance. But he crippled the spiritual despotism, which held captive the last remnant of Portuguese energy. Europe is mainly indebted to him for the suppression of the order of the jesuits; and the Portuguese, in particular, have to thank him for that revived feeling of independence which soon penetrated into their literature. A taste for the fine arts, for philosophy, and literary cultivation, became fashionable in Portugal. The connexion with England proved, in some respects, advantageous to the new progress of Portuguese genius, and promoted literary improvement; for the Gallicists lost a considerable portion of their political ascendancy, when English literature began to be properly estimated in Portugal.
REVIVED SPIRIT OF LITERATURE—UTILITY OF THE PORTUGUESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.
It was not until after the death of King Joseph Emanuel, that the change which had taken place in Portugal became fully manifest. Pombal’s institutions seemed indeed destined to be annihilated, when his enemies triumphed. But even the new degree of favour which the clergy enjoyed in the reign of the pious Queen Maria, had not the effect of stifling the revived spirit of improvement in Portugal. Young Portuguese travelled to several parts of Europe and carried back to their native country the fruits of modern cultivation. The Prince Regent loved and favoured literature. In the course of a few years the Royal Academy of Sciences at Lisbon did much to rouse the nation to new activity, and in particular to reconcile philosophic study with enlightened views of national interest. Had that excellent institution, especially as it existed under the judicious guidance of the Duke of Lofoens, been left undisturbed in the pursuit of its glorious and successful labours, the benefits produced to Portugal would have been more extensive and direct than those which most of the European academies have conferred on the countries to which they belong. The cosmopolite observer will, doubtless, be less interested in what the academy accomplished for polite literature, than in its zealous exertions for the encouragement of science, the diffusion of just and liberal ideas, and the consequent improvement of national industry and public prosperity. This institution was, however, of important service to polite literature. Prizes were offered for the best comedy and the best tragedy, to be written in the Portuguese language. It was endeavoured, through the influence of some of the academicians, to restore to due consideration the Portuguese classic writers of the sixteenth century, and also to re-introduce the language of that better period into literature, and the business of common life. Some volumes of academic transactions, which have in furtherance of this object been published since the year 1792, contain, in imitation of the French manner, essays purely literary, interspersed with articles on national history. This was, however, only a harmless blending of heterogeneous subjects; and the recollections of ancient times to which it gave birth, contributed to recall to Portuguese poetry and eloquence some portion of the old national spirit, from the revival of which the general interests of the country had every thing to expect[337].
CHAP. II.
HISTORY OF PORTUGUESE POETRY DURING THIS PERIOD.
THE CONDE DA ERICEYRA.
The first Portuguese poet remarkable for paying homage to the French taste, was the ingenious and meritorious Francisco Xavier de Menezes, Conde da Ericeyra, born in 1673. The family rank of this writer doubtless added to the celebrity of the talents by which he distinguished himself at an early period of life. This will account for the extraordinary circumstance, that while yet in the twentieth year of his age he was elected president of one of the academies which were founded in Lisbon, on the model of those of Italy. He is said to have spoken the Latin, Spanish, Italian and French languages with facility. He made, however, no progress in Greek. At an early age he translated Boileau’s Art of Poetry into Portuguese octaves; and from that period he maintained a friendly intercourse with the French critic. Literary and more particularly poetical studies continued to occupy him even during the Spanish war of succession, in which he made several campaigns. He rose in the Portuguese army to the rank of mestre do campo (major general.) The consideration and influence which the Count da Ericeyra enjoyed in Portuguese literature, were rapidly augmented by the authority attached to the offices which he filled; for in the year 1714, he was appointed rector and secretary of the Portuguese academy which was then founded; and in the year 1721, co-director of the new academy of history. His literary reputation soon extended beyond the narrow limits of Portugal; and during the latter half of his life, he held a conspicuous place among the men of his age, whose talents had given them a general celebrity. He maintained a correspondence with learned foreigners both in the south and north of Europe. The Pope and the King of France bestowed on him particular marks of their esteem; and the transactions of the Russian Imperial Academy of Sciences were formally transmitted to him by that learned body. In his old age this diligent writer bestowed the greatest share of his attention on an epic poem, entitled, the Henriqueida, in which he endeavoured, as far as possible, to fulfil all the conditions of poetic art, according to the principles of the most celebrated critics. It would appear that he completed his task in the year 1738, and at the age of sixty-nine he enjoyed the satisfaction of seeing his work printed. He died two years afterwards. The number of his works, both in verse and prose, is considerable; and it seems that many of them still remain unprinted.[338]