Francisco José Freire
Encyclopedia
Francisco José Freire (January 3, 1719 – July 5, 1773), Portuguese
historian
and philologist, was born at
Lisbon
.
He belonged to the monastic society of St Philip Neri, and was a zealous member of the literary association known as the Academy of Arcadians, in connexion with which he adopted the pseudonym of Cândido Lusitano.
He contributed much to the improvement of the style of Portuguese prose literature, but his endeavour to effect a reformation in the national poetry by a translation of Horace
's Ars poetica was less successful.
The work in which he set forth his opinions regarding the vicious taste pervading the current Portuguese prose literature is entitled Maximas sabre a Arte Oratoria (1745) and is preceded by a chronological table forming almost a social and physical history of Portugal.
His best known work, however, is his Vida do Infante D. Henrique (1758), which has given him a place in the first rank of Portuguese historians, and has been translated into French (Paris, 1781).
He also wrote a poetical dictionary (Diccionario poetico) and a translation of Racine
's Athalie (1762), and his Reflexions sur la langue portugaise was published in 1842 by the Lisbon society for the promotion of useful knowledge. He died at Mafra
on the 5th of July 1773.
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and philologist, was born at
Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
.
He belonged to the monastic society of St Philip Neri, and was a zealous member of the literary association known as the Academy of Arcadians, in connexion with which he adopted the pseudonym of Cândido Lusitano.
He contributed much to the improvement of the style of Portuguese prose literature, but his endeavour to effect a reformation in the national poetry by a translation of Horace
Horace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus , known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus.-Life:...
's Ars poetica was less successful.
The work in which he set forth his opinions regarding the vicious taste pervading the current Portuguese prose literature is entitled Maximas sabre a Arte Oratoria (1745) and is preceded by a chronological table forming almost a social and physical history of Portugal.
His best known work, however, is his Vida do Infante D. Henrique (1758), which has given him a place in the first rank of Portuguese historians, and has been translated into French (Paris, 1781).
He also wrote a poetical dictionary (Diccionario poetico) and a translation of Racine
Jean Racine
Jean Racine , baptismal name Jean-Baptiste Racine , was a French dramatist, one of the "Big Three" of 17th-century France , and one of the most important literary figures in the Western tradition...
's Athalie (1762), and his Reflexions sur la langue portugaise was published in 1842 by the Lisbon society for the promotion of useful knowledge. He died at Mafra
Mafra, Portugal
Mafra is a town in Mafra Municipality in Portugal.The town is 28 km north-west from the center of Lisbon. It is mostly known for the sumptuous Palácio de Mafra , which also makes it a popular tourist destination in the Lisbon area...
on the 5th of July 1773.