Diego José Abad y García (June 1, 1727 in La Lagunita, near Jiquilpan, Michoacán – September 30, 1779 in

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

, Italy) was a Jesuit poet and translator in New Spain and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Biography

Abad y García studied letters and philosophy at the College of San Ildefonso. In 1741 he entered the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

(Jesuits), becoming a teacher of rhetoric, philosophy, canon law and civil law in seminaries of the order in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

Zacatecas , image_map = Zacatecas in Mexico (location map scheme).svg , map_caption = State of Zacatecas within Mexico , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type ...

and Querétaro. In 1767, at the time of the

expulsion of the Jesuits The suppression of the Jesuits was the removal of all members of the Society of Jesus from most of the countries of Western Europe and their colonies beginning in 1759, and the abolishment of the order by the Holy See in 1773. The Jesuits were ...

from the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...

, he was rector of the seminary of San Francisco Xavier in Querétaro. Like all other Jesuits, he was deported from the colony and left for Italy. He lived initially in Ferrara, and later in Bologna.

Works

In 1750 he wrote ''Rasgo descriptivo de la fábrica y grandezas del templo de la Compañía de Jesús en Zacatecas'' (''Descriptive flourish of the fabrication and grandeur of the Church of the Company of Jesus in Zacatecas''), in eight-line stanzas in the manner of

Luis de Góngora Luis de Góngora y Argote (born Luis de Argote y Góngora; ; 11 July 1561 – 24 May 1627) was a Spanish Baroque lyric poet and a Catholic priest. Góngora and his lifelong rival, Francisco de Quevedo, are widely considered the most prominent ...

. He translated part of the

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of th ...

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

into Castilian verse, and also Virgil's eighth

Eclogue An eclogue is a poem in a classical style on a pastoral subject. Poems in the genre are sometimes also called bucolics. Overview The form of the word ''eclogue'' in contemporary English developed from Middle English , which came from Latin , wh ...

. In 1775 he wrote ''Cursus philosophicus'' (''Philosophical Course'') (four volumes). His most important work is the didactic poem ''De Deo heroica carmina'', which was begun in Querétaro and finished in Italy. It is written in Latin hexameter, in a strong style. It is divided into two parts, a ''Suma theologica'' and a life of Christ. The poem was published under various titles, and the second edition at least, under a pseudonym.Jacobo José Labbé, selenopolitano'' The first edition was published with 29 cantos at Cádiz in 1769, the second at Venice in 1773, and the third at Ferrera in 1775. The definitive edition, in 43 cantos, was published posthumously at Cesana in 1780. The poem found many admirers. Benjamín Fernández Valenzuela translated the work into Spanish in 1974, under the title ''Poema heroico''. He wrote "The ''Poema heroico'' is the song of a new man who scrutinizes his history... and finds in his own time a sign of eternity." Other works of Abad y García include: *''Compendio de álgebra'' *''Tratado del conocimiento de Dios'' (in Italian) *''Geografía hidrográfica'' (about notable rivers of the world) *''De Livino Meyer, el alma y su inclusión in the pequeñez del cuerpo'' *''El embrollado problema de las matemáticas resuelto'' *''Dissertación cómico seria acerca de la cultura Latina de los extranjeros'' *''Himnos del oficio de San Felipe de Jesús'' He died in 1779 in Bologna.

Footnotes

References

*"Abad y García, Diego José," ''Enciclopedia de México'', v. 1. Mexico City, 1988. *Ochoa-Serrano, Alvaro. "Diego Jose Abad (1727-1779) Jiquilpense Selenopolitano". ''Novohispania.'' Universidad Nacional de Mexico.1995 *

External links

A short biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abad, Diego Jose 1727 births 1779 deaths 18th-century Latin-language writers 18th-century male writers Mexican Jesuits People from Jiquilpan, Michoacán Writers from Michoacán Mexican translators Translators of Virgil Catholic poets Jesuits expelled from the Americas