Cayetano María Huarte Ruiz de Briviesca facts for kids

Cayetano María Huarte Ruiz de Briviesca was a Spanish writer and poet. He was born in Cádiz in 1741 and passed away in 1806.

About His Life

Cayetano was born in 1741. His father, Juan Antonio de Huarte, was a respected local leader, and his brother, Francisco, helped start the Academy of Fine Arts in Cádiz. Cayetano studied hard and earned a special degree in Theology (the study of religion) from the University of Osuna.

In 1773, he joined the cathedral in Cádiz, which is a big church with a bishop. Later, he became the director of the College of Santa Cruz. This school was created to train singers for the cathedral choir.

Cayetano cared a lot about helping people. He was part of the governing board at the Cádiz Hospice, a place that cared for the sick and poor. He made sure that money set aside for good causes actually went to help poor people. In 1786, when yellow fever was a problem, he asked his fellow church leaders to help buy quinine, a medicine to treat the illness. Thanks to his efforts, more money was given to the hospice.

In 1788, he became a special priest called a canon penitentiary. Because of his health, he spent many years in Lanjaron, a town known for its special spring water. By 1797, he was back to his usual busy schedule. The church leaders trusted him with important tasks. He went to Seville to handle money matters and led protests when the government took church property in 1798. He also organized visits to different church areas, and his reports give us a good look at religious life in the late 1700s. He died suddenly in 1806.

Cayetano was part of a group of smart people in Cádiz, including his brother Francisco. He was good friends with them. For example, he led the wedding ceremony for one friend and gave a speech when another friend's daughter became a nun.

His Writings

Most of Cayetano Huarte's writings have never been officially published. They fall into three main types:

• Sermons: These are speeches given in church. Most of his sermons were published in the 1700s.
• Historical Criticism: This includes a work called Discourse on the Saints of the Diocese of Cadiz. In this, he looked closely at the history of different saints honored in the Cádiz area. He tried to show that some of these devotions might not have been based on strong historical facts.
• Poems: His poetry is collected in a manuscript (a handwritten book) called Unpublished Poems of Señor Don Cayetano María de Huarte. This manuscript is kept in the Cadiz Public Library. Only one of his poems, La Ducíada, was printed while he was alive. The rest were published much later, in 1991.

Here are some of the poems found in his manuscript:

• La Ducíada
• Égloga en elogio de Andalucía (1772) – A poem praising Andalusia.
• Versión del cántico de Moisés (1797?) – His version of a song from the Bible.
• Silvano a su hijo que iba voluntario de campaña (1795) – A poem from a parent to a child going to war.
• Soneto con motivo de la guerra contra Francia (1793-1795?) – A poem about the war against France.
• Soneto con motivo del decreto que prohíbe la “Liga de la Teología Moderna con la Filosofía" y "El pájaro en la Liga" (1799?) – A poem about a ban on certain ideas.
• Soneto con motivo de los escándalos cometidos en la iglesia del Pòpulo en Cuaresma (1793) – A poem about problems in a church during Lent.
• Soneto a María Amparo Aguirre – A poem for María Amparo Aguirre.
• Anacreóntica a Antero Benito Núñez (1794) – A poem for Antero Benito Núñez.
• A Antero Benito Núñez por la muerte de un amigo común – A poem for Antero Benito Núñez after a friend died.
• Llanto de Delio por su patria Cádiz – A poem about his sadness for his hometown, Cádiz.
• A Gelmira al haberse quemado los dedos (1793) – A poem to Gelmira after burning her fingers.
• Sueño de Delio a Albana – In this poem, Huarte writes about the Duchess of Alba adopting an African girl. This shows his feelings against slavery.
• Fábula primera. La retama y el romero (1797) – A fable (a story with a moral lesson) about plants.
• Fábula segunda. Las abejas (1798) – A fable about bees.
• Fábula tercera. El vaquero – A fable about a cowboy.
• Sátira primera. El familiar del obispo – A satire (a funny but critical piece) about a bishop's helper.
• Sátira segunda. Contra las diversiones de corridas de toros – A satire against bullfighting.
• Sátira tercera. Contra los errores en las doctrinas morales y devociones falsas y supersticiosas – A satire against wrong moral ideas and false beliefs.
• Sátira cuarta. A la obra del ex jesuita Bonola "Liga de la Teología Moderna con la Filosofía" (1798?) – A satire about a book by a former Jesuit.
• Sátira quinta. Himno a la Giralda – A satire that is also a hymn to the Giralda tower.
• Fábula dicha por una niña del Hospicio (1800) – A fable told by a girl from the hospice, encouraging continued care for children there.
• Funny satirical letters about a play called Sancho Ortiz de la Roelas (1800).

Themes in His Poetry

Cayetano Huarte's poems often show his deep love for his hometown, Cádiz. This can be seen in Llanto de Delio por su patria Cádiz, which he wrote after the British Royal Navy attacked the city in 1797.

He also wrote about his desire to help people. In Sueño de Delio y Albana, he spoke out against slavery, which was a new idea in Spain at the time. He condemned the cruel actions of some European countries towards African people. In Fábula dicha por una niña del Hospicio, he encouraged the leaders of the orphanage to keep up their good work.

Huarte also used his poetry to criticize society and morals. For example, his second satire, Contra las diversiones en las corridas de toros, spoke out against bullfighting.

It's interesting that Huarte had different views on the war against the French National Convention (1793–1795). While many people in Spain were excited about a new "religious war," Huarte disagreed. In his poem Silvano a su hijo que iba voluntario de campaña (1795), he said that fanaticism (extreme enthusiasm) created the idea of a "war on religion," which he felt was wrong. He also criticized the war in another poem, Anacreóntica a Don Antero Benito Núñez.

Huarte's work also criticized problems within the church itself. In his funny satire El familiar del Obispo, he showed how some church leaders were greedy, ignorant, and only cared about getting ahead, not about their spiritual duties.

He was very critical of certain religious ideas, especially those from the Jesuits, which he believed caused problems for the church. In his third satire, he strongly criticized theologians (religious scholars) for being lazy and for holding false beliefs. He continued these criticisms in his fourth satire.

Because of his strong beliefs, his love for ancient religious texts, his rejection of superstitions, and his desire for moral strictness, Huarte is often linked to the Jansenist movement. This was a religious movement in Spain in the late 1700s that sought to renew the church. His writings show the lively and open-minded spirit of the best thinkers in Cádiz during that time.

See also

In Spanish: Cayetano María Huarte Ruiz de Briviesca para niños