The old and the new Peru

by Marie Robinson Wright

The history of Peru, both ancient and modern, is a theme of such extraordinary interest that it is not strange Peruvian writers should have made it the predominating subject of their works. No country has such a wealth of romance to kindle the imagination and to inspire the poet, and no country has greater reason to be proud of its annals, and the patriotic sentiment which finds expression in the literature and art of the country is altogether admirable. The Athenæum of Lima, the Geographic Society, and the Historical Institute, all intellectual organizations, were created for the purpose of promoting the study of Peru, from a literary, geographical, and historical standpoint, and their libraries contain many valuable works by Peruvian as well as foreign writers. The first of these institutions was founded under the name of the Literary Club of Lima, in 1877, Don Francisco Garcia Calderon being its president. Ten years later it was reorganized and took the name of the Athenæum of Lima; among its members are the most illustrious scholars of Peru. Don Luis B. Cisneros, a member of the Spanish Royal Academy and one of Peru’s greatest poets was crowned by the Athenæum, with impressive ceremonies, in 1897. His poems, novels, and dramas are among the literary treasures of his country, and his death, which occurred in 1903, was an occasion of national mourning. The Athenæum was founded too late to number on its roll the gifted poets Clemente Althaus, Nicolas Corpancho, Constantino Carrasco, Arnaldo Marquez, Trinidad Fernandez, and Adolfo Garcia, who died several years earlier; Carlos Augustus Salaverry, the son of the illustrious General Felipe Santiago Salaverry, and a poet of great genius, died in Paris in 1888, a year after the Athenæum was organized; and José Antonio de la Lavalle, a member of the Spanish Academy and a diplomatist of notable talent, whose literary style was especially distinguished for its grace and purity, reached the close of his useful and brilliant career in 1894, at sixty years of age. Don Felix Cipriano Coronel Zegarra, of the Spanish Royal Academy, one of the most illustrious scholars of Peru and a member of the Athenæum, collected a great deal of valuable information relating to the literature of his country, and his Notes for a Literary History of Peru, now in possession of the Faculty of Letters of the University, contains sufficient material for a literary encyclopædia.

COLUMBUS BEFORE THE UNIVERSITY OF SALAMANCA. BY IGNACIO MERINO.

The present president of the Athenæum is Dr. Javier Prado y Ugarteche, Dean of the Faculty of Letters of the University, a statesman and diplomatist, as well as an author of distinction. His book on the condition of Peru during the viceroyalty is one of the most interesting studies in sociology written within recent years. Dr. Prado y Ugarteche is a booklover of fine judgment, and he possesses one of the largest and most valuable libraries in America. His brother, Dr. Mariano Prado y Ugarteche, is also a statesman and a bibliophilist. He is the author of important works on literature and Incaic history. As a member of the Athenæum, and as vice-president of the Historical Institute, he has done much to promote the success of both these organizations. Another prominent member of the Athenæum, who is secretary of the Historical Institute as well, Don José Toribio Polo, occupies a unique place among Peruvian scholars as a bibliographer and a literary critic. He was formerly Dr. Palma’s assistant in the directorate of the National Library, and to his patient investigation of ancient documents is due the elucidation of many facts in the past history of the country, his thorough knowledge of Peruvian chronicles giving especial value to the critical studies he has made of various historical works.

THE DISILLUSION OF THE ARTIST. BY DANIEL HERNANDEZ.

The purposes of the Athenæum and the Historical Institute are closely related, both aiming to encourage intellectual progress, and many writers of prominence belong to both societies. The Athenæum has been called upon to mourn the loss of some of its most distinguished members within the past few years, among them Don Carlos German Amezaga, a poet of rare genius and culture, who was its vice-president at the time of his death, in 1907. He belonged to a family of noted talent, his father, Don Mariano Amezaga, having been a philosopher and writer of great ability. The secretary of the Athenæum, Don Francisco Garcia Calderon y Rey, and the assistant secretary, Don José de la Riva-Agüero y Osma, also inherit their literary genius, their surnames indicating their distinguished descent. Don José Santos Chocano has attained an honored place among the literary lights of Europe, and the Athenæum is justly proud of his success. Don Luis Fernan Cisneros, Don Teobaldo Elias Corpancho, Don Carlos Larrabure y Correa, Don Clemente Palma, Don Aurelio Arnao, and Don José Augusto de Izcué are among the poets whose verses are a credit to the Athenæum. Don José Izcué writes history as well as poetry. As Director-general of Public Instruction in the ministerio of Dr. Jorge Polar, he was identified with the inauguration of the Historical Institute, and especially with the establishment of the museum, being appointed director of the department devoted to the colonial and republican collection. His historical works are chiefly studies of the republican period.

THE CHARMER. BY ABELARDO ALVAREZ CALDERON.

In the Revista Historica and the quarterly review of the Geographic Society, the representative scientific periodicals of Lima, and in Prisma, Actualidades, Variedades and other illustrated weeklies of superior literary and artistic merit, the best intellect of Peru has found expression. Don Carlos Romero, the editor of the Revista Historica, Don Clemente Palma, editor of Variedades and Don Enrique Castilla, editor of Actualidades, are writers of exceptional talent and originality. Periodical literature is a popular avenue for the literary aspirant, and the number of writers increases as the magazines, reviews, humorous weeklies, and daily newspapers multiply. The directors of all these publications are writers of note, and it is frequently through their initiative that societies are formed for the promotion of science or literature. The founder of the Geographic Society, Don Luis Carranza, a native of Ayacucho and one of the most distinguished writers of Peru, was at one time a director of El Comercio, the oldest daily newspaper in Peru. He was the author of important historical works and his influence was great in stimulating intellectual progress. Few institutions in South America are better known abroad than the Lima Geographic Society, which was founded in 1888 and installed in its present quarters in 1891. As the title signifies, the principal purpose of the Society is to foster geographical study in Peru, though its scope is broad and liberal, and the quarterly review not only contains articles on archæological geography, statistics, and climatology but also the texts of conferences given in the hall of the society on scientific topics of general interest. The society is a dependency of the Foreign Office and is under the protection of the government. Dr. Eulogio Delgado, the president, is a recognized authority on the geography of Peru, and under his administration the society has achieved its present importance and prestige. The secretory, Dr. Scipion Llona, has made interesting studies in archæological geography and Incaic history, and the sub-secretary, Don Carlos Bachman, is the author of the best existing history of the political demarcation of Peru. On the membership roll, which contains three hundred and thirty-five names of active members, in addition to honorary and corresponding associates, are some of the most illustrious scholars of Peru, and the library of the society is constantly enriched by the acquisition of valuable works. Don Alejandro Garland, a prominent member of the Geographic Society, recently published an important book on his country, Peru in 1906, and, from time to time, articles, pamphlets, and larger volumes are issued by the society or its members, which add to historic and descriptive literature.