José Francisco de Isla facts for kids

José Francisco de Isla

José Francisco de Isla (born April 24, 1703 – died November 2, 1781) was a Spanish Jesuit priest. He was famous as a speaker and a funny writer, known for his humor and satire, much like the famous writer Miguel de Cervantes.

About José Francisco de Isla

José Francisco de Isla's parents were José Isla de la Torre and Ambrosia Rojo. He was born in a small village called Vidanes, but he grew up in Valderas, a village in the province of León.

He was a very smart and talented child. He loved to read from a young age. According to his biographer, Jose Ignacio de Salas, he finished his first university degree (called a bachiller in law) when he was only eleven years old!

When he was sixteen (in 1719), he joined the Society of Jesus, a religious order known as the Jesuits. He studied philosophy and theology at the University of Salamanca. By the time he was nineteen, he had already translated a book called History of the Emperor Teodosio de Flechier. He also worked with another Jesuit, Father Luis de Lozada, to write La juventud triunfante (Triumphant Youth) in 1727. This book described celebrations for the canonization (making someone a saint) of St. Aloysius Gonzaga and St. Stanislaus Kostka.

His Early Work

De Isla became a professor of philosophy and theology. He taught in several cities, including Segovia, Santiago de Compostela, Medina del Campo, and Pamplona. He also translated other important works, like The Compendium of the History of Spain and The Christian Year. He became well-known as a preacher in cities like Valladolid and Zaragoza.

One of his early works was Triunfo del amor y del la lealtad: dia grande de Navarra. This book seemed to describe celebrations for King Ferdinand VI's visit to Pamplona. However, it was actually a clever satire. Satire is a way of using humor, irony, or exaggeration to criticize people's mistakes or foolishness. When people read it more closely, they realized it was making fun of the celebrations. This caused a scandal, and De Isla had to leave Pamplona. After that, he traveled around as a preacher and became very popular.

He later published his most important work, the first part of Historia del famoso predicador fray Gerundio de Campazas, alias Zotes. It was published in 1758 under a friend's name, but soon everyone knew De Isla had written it. This book was full of fresh humor. It told the story of a simple country boy who became a famous preacher because he was good with words. The book was a sharp satire against the show-off and overly fancy style of many popular preachers at the time. It showed how some preachers were more interested in sounding important than in teaching good lessons. The story didn't have much action, but it was very witty and ironic.

Later Life and Exile

De Isla's fame in Spanish literature mostly comes from his satire against the preachers of his time. The Bishop of Palencia didn't like his book, so De Isla had it printed in Madrid. The first part of Fray Gerundio came out on February 22, 1758. It was incredibly popular: 800 copies sold in the first day, and all 1500 copies were gone in three days!

However, the Inquisition (a powerful religious court) soon got involved. On March 14, 1758, they stopped any more copies from being printed. Later, on May 20, 1760, the book was officially banned. The second part of the book was printed secretly in 1768, but the Inquisition also banned it. Even though De Isla wrote the book to help improve preaching, some people used it to criticize religious orders. Today, Fray Gerundio is considered a masterpiece of Spanish literature.

Life in Exile

For several years, De Isla lived in Villagarcia de Campos. But in 1767, the Jesuit order was expelled from Spain. This meant all Jesuits, including De Isla, had to leave the country. He left Pontevedra while very sick and traveled through Corsica and different Italian cities. He finally settled in Bologna, Italy, where he was hosted by the Tedeschi family.

In Bologna, he often met with Spanish students. During his exile, he wrote many letters to his sister, Doña Maria Francisca de Isla. These letters were collected and published as Cartas familiares (Family Letters). He also spent his time translating books. He translated Cartas de Jose Antonio Constantini (Letters from Jose Antonio Constantini) and Arte de encomendarse a Dios by Father Antonio Francesco Bellati.

His most famous translation was the popular adventure novel Gil Blas de Santillana by Alain René Lesage. In the introduction to his translation, De Isla claimed that the French author had actually copied many ideas from Spanish novels. His translation of Gil Blas was very successful, with over fifty-six reprints before the 20th century!

His Death

De Isla died in Bologna in 1781, living in great poverty. His last book, Cartas de Juan de la Encina (Letters from Juan de la Encina), was published after his death in 1784. This book sharply criticized the practices of Spanish physicians (doctors) at the time.

In 1803, a priest named José Ignacio de Salas published De Isla's biography in Madrid. It was called Compendio histórico de la vida, carácter moral y literario del célebre padre Isla con la noticia analítica de todos sus escritos. De Isla's devoted sister paid for this book, and she also helped publish many of her brother's other works.

Main Works

• Papeles crítico-apologéticos (1726) - Critical and Apologetic Papers.
• El tapabocas (1727) - The Mask.
• Juventud triunfante (1727) - Triumphant Youth.
• Cartas de Juan de la Encina (1732) - Letters of Juan de la Encina (a criticism of a book by a surgeon).
• Triunfo del amor y de la lealtad. Día grande de Navarra (1746) - Triumph of Love and Loyalty. The Great Day of Navarre (his satirical work).
• Historia del famoso predicador Gerundio de Campazas, alias Zotes (1758 and 1768) - History of the Famous Preacher Gerund of Campazas, also known as Zotes (his most famous satirical novel).
• Mercurio general de Europa, lista de sucesos varios (1758) - General Mercury of Europe, List of Various Events.
• Los aldeanos críticos o cartas críticas sobre lo que se verá (1759) - The Critical Villagers or Critical Letters About What Will Be Seen.
• Cartas familiares (1786) - Family Letters (his correspondence with his sister).
• Cartas a mi tia la de Albacete (1787) - Letters to My Aunt from Albacete.
• Reflexiones cristianas sobre las grandes verdades de la fe (1785) - Christian Reflections on the Great Truths of Faith.
• Cartas atrasadas del Parnaso and Sueño escrito por el padre Josef Francisco de Isla en la exaltacion del Señor D. Carlos III (que Dios guarde) al trono de España (1785) - Overdue Letters from Parnassus and A Dream written by Father José Francisco de Isla on the Exaltation of Lord D. Carlos III to the Throne of Spain.
• Sermones (1792 and 1793) - Sermons (six volumes).
• Colección de papeles crítico-apologéticos (1787 and 1788) - Collection of Critical and Apologetic Papers (two volumes).
• Translation of Alain Rene Lesage's Gil Blas de Santillana (1787 and 1788).
• Translation of The Compendium of the History of Spain by Father Duchesne.
• Translation of The Christian Year by Father Jean Croiset.
• Translation of the Critical scholarly letters on various issues: scientific, psychic and moral, fashion and taste of this century by Giuseppe Antonio Constantini.
• Translation of The art of giving oneself over to God, i.e. the virtues of prayer by Father Antonio Francesco Bellati.

See also

In Spanish: José Francisco de Isla para niños