Esteban de Aguilar y Zúñiga facts for kids
Esteban de Aguilar y Zúñiga (born August 13, 1606 – died after 1681) was a Spanish writer and a religious scholar. He was born in a town called Escalona del Alberche and later passed away in Madrid. Esteban was the son of another famous writer, Juan de Aguilar Villaquirán.
Life and Work
Esteban came from a noble family. He decided to become a priest and studied hard to earn a special degree called a doctorate in theology. This meant he was a very learned person in religious studies. He lived in Madrid for most of his life.
In 1656, Esteban took part in a special writing competition called the "Angelic Contest." This event was held to celebrate the opening of a new church, because the old one had burned down a few years earlier. Esteban showed his talent by writing several different types of poems and short verses for the contest.
Later in his life, around 1678 to 1679, he became the head of a well-known college in his hometown of Escalona. He also had an important job checking and approving books before they were published. His name appears on many official "Censorships" and "Endorsements" (which means he approved them). The first one was in 1663 and the last in 1681. This tells us he lived to be at least 75 years old, and maybe even older!
His Writings
Esteban de Aguilar y Zúñiga started writing when he was quite young, at just 22 years old. His first book was called Corona de predicadores (Crown of Preachers), which was a sermon about Saint Stephen. It was printed in Madrid in 1636.
When he was 36, he wrote another book titled Combates de Job con el demonio (Job's Battles with the Devil), which was published in 1642.
Some of his other works include:
- la Quaresma (Lent) or Sermones para ella (Sermons for Her) (1657)
- Some poems he wrote for the "Angelic Contest" (1657)
- la Estatua y árbol con voz, política, canónica y soñada (The Statue and the Tree with a Voice, Political, Canonical, and Dreamed) (1661)
Esteban also translated several books from other languages into Spanish. He translated los Tártaros en China (Tartars in China) by Father Martí Martinio from Latin in 1665. He also translated la Corte Divina (The Divine Court) or Palacio Celestial (The Celestial Palace) by Nicolás Causino from Latin in 1675. From Portuguese, he translated Laurea lusitana (Lusitanian Laurea), both the first part and the second part (1679).
See also
In Spanish: Esteban de Aguilar y Zúñiga para niños
