THE GOLDEN AGE: EDUCATION, PHILOSOPHY, HISTORY, AND SCIENCE, 1516-1700
[Sidenote: Causes of Spain’s intellectual greatness in this era.]
The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries represent the highest point in
the history of Spanish intellectual achievement in science, literature,
and art. Two manifestations characterized the era: an abundant
productivity which was as high in quality as it was great in amount; and
the diffusion of Spanish learning in the other countries of the
civilized world, so that for the first time (except for the transmission
of Moslem culture) Christian Spain became a vital factor in European
thought, whereas in former years she had merely received the instruction
of others. The reasons for this intellectual outburst were various. For
one thing the natural evolution from the past seemed to render
inevitable a high degree of attainment. For another, the general effects
of the Renaissance in Europe made themselves felt in Spain. In the third
place, this seems to have been the era of the ripe maturity of the
Spanish people, when they were at the height of their capacity in every
walk of life. Finally, as has happened so many times in the history of
other nations, the very fact of the establishment of a great empire was
bound to react both materially and psychologically to produce an
unwonted expansion intellectually. Spanish imperialism in Europe
undoubtedly contributed much to the civilization of the peninsula, but
it is not too much to say that the greatest influence came from Spain’s
conquests in the new world. These operated directly to make Spain an
innovator in scientific thought, and provided the first noteworthy
material for mental stimulus in the era. If the better known
manifestations of polite literature and painting were not directly
traceable to the attainment of a colonial empire, other achievements
were, and the indirect effect of the overseas conquests should not be
left out of consideration even in the case of those factors which
acknowledged Italy as their principal source of inspiration.
[Sidenote: Social manifestations of Spanish intellectuality and its
duration in time.]
There were many social manifestations of Spanish intellectuality, such
as the eagerness with which men sought an education, the honors paid to
men of letters in an age when military glory might tend to absorb
attention, the encyclopedic knowledge demonstrated by scholars who were
at one and the same time proficient in widely divergent fields, the
circumstance that women won marked distinction (together with the fact
that their achievements were well received), and the fondness of the
upper classes for social functions of a literary character,--not a few
of which developed from a simple gathering at some noble’s house into
the formation of clubs or academies of an intellectual character. This
flourishing state of affairs endured a much shorter time than might have
been expected from the force of its initial momentum; in a broad sense
the intellectual decadence of the country accompanied, or perhaps
resulted from, the political and economic decline, but just as in the
case of these factors it was not equal in celerity or in completeness in
all of the many-sided aspects of Spanish intellectual life. Furthermore,
the fall was so rapid in some respects, and from such a high point in
all, that the ultimate degradation, though deep enough, seemed by
comparison to be worse than it was. At any rate, the state of
intellectuality at its best was sufficiently great to deserve the title
which has been applied to the period of its expression, that of the
_siglo de oro_ (golden century) in Spanish science, literature, and art.
[Sidenote: Application and duration of the _siglo de oro_.]
A question arises as to the application of the term and the duration of
the period of the _siglo de oro_. The seventeenth century has usually
been regarded as the golden age, for it was then that the greatest names
in polite literature and painting appeared. In fact, however, the era of
intellectual brilliance dates from an early point in the sixteenth
century in the reign of Charles I, lasting for about a century and a
half, past the middle of the seventeenth century. The general desire for
knowledge, which was so marked in the first half of the sixteenth
century, had already ebbed away by the end of the reign of Philip II.
The greatest achievements in didactic and scientific literature belong
to the sixteenth century, and, indeed, most of the great writers and
painters who won fame in the reigns of Philip III and Philip IV got
their start, or at least were born, in the time of Philip II. Great
results were obtained in both periods, but the stimulus came for the
most part in the sixteenth century.
[Sidenote: The universities.]
The aristocratic character of intellectual attainments in the _siglo de
oro_ was reflected in that of the institutions of learning which were
founded. In addition to the eight universities existing in 1516,
twenty-one were added in the sixteenth century, and five in the
seventeenth, making a total of thirty-four in all. Salamanca and Alcalá
stood forth as the leading universities, although outranked in legal
studies by Valladolid. Salamanca had the more ample curriculum, with
some sixty professorships, but Alcalá, with forty-two professorial
chairs, was distinguished for the scientific labors of its faculty.
Salamanca was more largely attended, having 6778 students in 1584, a
number which had declined to 1955 in 1682, while Alcalá had 1949 in
1547, 2061 in 1650, and 1637 in 1700. The medieval type of internal
management remained as the essential basis of university administration,
characterized by the close connection between the university and the
civil authorities (to which latter the former were in a measure
subjected), by an intimate relationship with the cathedral or other
local churches, and by the ecclesiastical origin of many of the
university rents. The universities did not become religious
establishments, however, even though churchmen founded the greater
number of them. As time went on, the kings displayed a tendency to
intervene in university life, as by the sending of _visitadores_, or by
imposing their candidates for professorships upon the universities, but
they did not go so far as to deprive the universities of their economic,
legal, and scientific independence.
[Sidenote: Jesuit colleges.]
[Sidenote: Other schools of higher education.]
[Sidenote: The _Casa de Contratación_ as a maritime university.]
There were also various other institutions of higher education. One of
them, the Estudios Reales de San Isidro of Madrid, founded early in the
reign of Philip IV for the education of the sons of the greater
nobility, ranked with the universities. Jesuit teachers were installed.
This was not the first instance of Jesuit instruction in the peninsula.
By their vows the Jesuits were obliged to found “colleges,” but this
term meant houses for study, only in that the members of the order
living in these institutions pursued investigations there. Gradually,
outside pupils began to be accepted by the Jesuits, who soon won a great
reputation for their efficiency as teachers. Their teaching was markedly
influenced by Renaissance ideals, for the study of classical authors
formed one of the principal elements in their curriculum. They devoted
themselves to the education of the wealthy classes, leaving the field of
vocational preparation to the universities. Apart from the Jesuit
colleges there were various schools, both religious and secular,
primarily for the study of Latin. They were in essence schools of
literature, at which students were given practice in the writing of
poetry and the reciting of verses, both Latin and Castilian. It is said
that there were more than four thousand of these institutions in 1619,
although their numbers declined greatly with the advance of the century.
In addition there were many schools of a purely professional character,
such as those for the study of religion, war, medicine, and nautical
science. The school of nautical science of the _Casa de Contratación_ of
Seville merits special attention. Among the manifold functions of the
_Casa_ in its relation to the Americas was that of the pursuit of
scientific studies to facilitate overseas communication, and this was
carried out to such an extent that the _Casa_ was a veritable maritime
university. Mathematics, cosmography, geography, cartography,
navigation, the construction and use of nautical instruments, and
military science (in so far as it related to artillery) were taught at
the _Casa_, and in nearly all of these respects that institution not
only outranked the others in Spain but was able also to add materially
to the sum total of world knowledge. Primary education continued to be
neglected. The current belief was that it was unnecessary unless one
intended to pursue a professional career. The education of the masses
for the sake of raising the general level of culture, or even for
technical advancement, was a problem which was not as yet comprehended.
Such primary schools as there were, were usually ecclesiastical or
private foundations. Reading, writing, arithmetic, and Christian
doctrine were the subjects taught. Taken as a whole it will be seen that
the number of teaching establishments had vastly increased over that of
the preceding eras. An understanding of the superior facilities
available for the upper classes would not be complete without a
reference to the extraordinary diffusion of printing in this era.
Although the publication of works was subject to various conditions,
printed books fairly came into their own, for the first time in the
history of the peninsula. A number of great libraries were formed. It is
worthy of mention, too, that it was at this time that care began to be
taken in the accumulation of public documents in archives. In 1558
Philip II founded an archive at Rome, and in 1563 made a beginning of
the famous state archive at Simancas.
[Sidenote: Neglect of primary education.]
[Sidenote: Great age of printing.]
[Sidenote: Beginnings of public archives.]
[Sidenote: Luis Vives and Spanish originality in philosophical studies.]
The revival of classical studies, which made available the writings of
many Greek philosophers whose works had been unknown to the medieval
scholars, and the complex movement of ideas engendered by the Protestant
Reformation and the Catholic Reaction were the fundamental causes of the
flourishing state of theological and philosophical studies in this
period, especially in the sixteenth century. While this was by no means
confined to Spain, the peninsula furnished its quota to the great names
of the period. The philosopher Luis Vives (1492-1540) may be mentioned
by way of illustration. Vives, who spent most of his life in Flanders
and in England,--in which latter country he was the teacher of Mary
Tudor, the later queen of England,--was regarded by contemporaries as a
philosopher of the first rank, on a plane with Erasmus. Nearly a century
before Francis Bacon (1561-1626) suggested the necessity for the
observation of nature as the basis of knowledge rather than the blind
following of classical texts, Vives had pronounced the same idea. Of
importance, too, were his pedagogical doctrines, which profoundly
influenced Comenius. The case of Vives was not unique, for the ideas
which were later to be made famous by Reid, Descartes, Montaigne,
Charron, and others had already been expressed by Spaniards of the
sixteenth century. The common note in all their works was that of great
liberty of thought in all things other than the Catholic faith, and in
particular that of a reaction against submission to consecrated
authority, which brought them into opposition to the slavish acceptance
of classical writings so much in vogue among the Humanists. In so doing,
the Spanish philosophers were only expressing their national traits, for
the Spaniards have always been able to reconcile their support of
absolutism in government and of the principle of authority in religion
with a degree of individualism that cannot be found in lands whose
political and religious ideas have been more democratic. Partly on this
account Spanish thought has not received due credit, for, though there
were Spanish philosophers, there was no school of Spanish philosophy.
Furthermore, sweeping originality of thought on a universal basis was
precluded by the necessity of subordinating all ideas to Catholic
doctrine, while the philosophers who have attained to the greatest fame
in modern times expressed themselves with independence in that respect,
or at least without the preoccupation of not departing from it. That
Spaniards were capable of originality within the field of religion
itself was proved by the development of Spanish mysticism, already
alluded to.
[Sidenote: Important character of Spanish writings on jurisprudence,
politics, and economics.]
In jurisprudence and politics Spanish writers gained an indisputable
title to originality of thought, of positive influence on the
civilization of other countries. This was due in part to the continuous
warfare, the grave religious problems, and the many questions arising
out of the conquest, colonization, and retention of the Americas, but it
was also a result of a natural tendency in Spanish character to occupy
itself with the practical aspects of affairs, directing philosophical
thought toward its applications in actual life,--for example, in the
case of matters to which the above-mentioned events gave rise. Spanish
jurists achieved renown in various phases of jurisprudence, such as in
international, political, penal, and canonical law, in the civil law of
Rome and of the Spanish peninsula, and in legal procedure. Not Grotius
(1583-1645), but his Spanish predecessors of the sixteenth century laid
the foundations for international law, and the great Dutch jurist more
than once acknowledged his indebtedness to Spaniards, who, like Vitoria
and Vázquez, had provided him with rich materials for the thesis he set
forth. Among the writers on political law may be mentioned Solórzano,
whose _Política indiana_, or Government of the Indies (1629-1639), was a
noteworthy exposition and defence of the Spanish colonial system. In
economics, too, the Spaniards were necessarily outstanding figures in
their day, since the Spanish empire was the greatest and for a time the
most powerful of the period. National resources, the income and
expenditures of the state, and the method of the enjoyment of landed
property were the three principal questions to engage the attention of
the Spanish economists. When Martínez de la Mata declared that labor was
the only true source of wealth, he was in so much the precursor of Adam
Smith (1723-1790). Some economists expressed ideas which sound strangely
like those set forth by Spencer, Wallace, Tolstoy, and others in the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries, such as the following: that
immovable property should be taken away from the private individuals
possessing it, and be redistributed under the control of the state; and
that society should be considered as having legal title to lands, giving
only the user to individuals. Luis Vives was one of the representatives
of these ideas. The principles of these economists found little support
in practice, and cannot be said to have attained general acceptance
among the Spanish writers on these subjects.
[Sidenote: Páez de Castro and the new sense of historical content.]
The advance of historical studies in this period, especially in the
sixteenth century, was nothing short of remarkable. For the first time
history won a right to be considered apart from polite literature. Two
novelties marked the era, one of them relative to the content of
history, and the other concerning the methods of investigation and
composition. Formerly history had reduced itself to little more than the
external political narrative, dealing with wars, kings, and heroes,
being more rhetorical in form than scientific. The new sense of content
was represented principally by the philosopher Luis Vives and by the
historian Páez de Castro, one-time chronicler of Charles I. Vives gave
his opinion that history should deal with all the manifestations of
social life. Páez de Castro stands forth, however, as the man who most
clearly expressed the new ideas. According to him the history of a land
should include the study of its geography, of the languages of its
peoples, of the dress, laws, religions, social institutions, general
customs, literature, arts, sciences, and even the aspects of nature of
the land in so far as these things affected the actions of men. Páez de
Castro was also a follower of Pérez de Guzmán and Hernando del Pulgar in
his appreciation of the psychological element in history. The most
exacting methodologists of the present day do not require more than did
Páez de Castro nearly four centuries ago. Incidentally, it becomes clear
that the credit ordinarily assigned to Voltaire (1694-1778) and Hume
(1711-1776) as innovators in this respect belongs rather to Spaniards of
the sixteenth century. Vives and Páez de Castro were not alone in their
concept of history. On the other hand they were not able to put their
ideas into practice, and were not followed by the majority of the
writers on methodology. Nevertheless, all were agreed that the education
of the historian should be encyclopedic in character,--an ideal which
necessarily involved a measurable attainment of the plan of Páez de
Castro.
[Sidenote: Zurita and Morales and the advance in historical
investigation and criticism.]
If these concepts as to historical content were not fully realized,
those with regard to the methods of investigation and criticism found a
worthy representation in the majority of the historians of the era. To
be sure, some of the great writers, like Florián de Ocampo and Mariana,
displayed too much credulity or a disposition to imagine events for
which they lacked documentary proof. Furthermore, this was a thriving
period of forgeries, when writers invented classical authors,
chronicles, letters, and inscriptions with which to support their
narratives. Still, the evil brought about the remedy; the necessity for
criticism was so great that its application became customary. In
addition, men sought documents, if only to disprove the forgeries, with
the result that the employment of source material and the use of the
sciences auxiliary to history were a factor in the works of the numerous
great historians of the time. The highest representatives of the new
sense of historical analysis were the official chroniclers of Charles I
and Philip II. First in point of time was Florián de Ocampo, whose
_Crónica general_ (General chronicle) was published in 1543. While
giving too free rein to the imagination, his _Crónica_ had a fairly
complete documental basis in some of its parts. Far superior was the
_Anales de Aragón_, or Annals of Aragon (1562-1580), of Jerónimo Çurita,
or Zurita, which in its use of archive material was the greatest
historical work of the sixteenth century. Of equal rank with Zurita was
Ambrosio de Morales, the continuer of Ocampo, whose _Crónica_ was
published in 1574-1575. Morales, who was a distinguished palæographist
and archæologist, made a notable use of inscriptions, coins,
manuscripts, ancient books, and other ancient evidences. While the
influence of Gibbon (1737-1794) on historiography in these respects is
not to be denied, it is only fair to point out the merits of his
predecessors of the Spanish _siglo de oro_ in precisely those qualities
for which the great Englishman has won such signal fame.
[Sidenote: The historian Mariana.]
[Sidenote: The bibliographer Nicolás Antonio.]
[Sidenote: Historians of the Americas.]
The historian of this era who attained the greatest reputation, though
far from equalling Vives and Páez de Castro on the one hand or Zurita
and Morales on the other, was the Jesuit Mariana. In 1592-1595 he
published his history of Spain in Latin (_Historia de rebus Hispaniæ_),
which he brought out in Castilian in 1601 under the title _Historia
general de España_ (General history of Spain). This work, which is still
one of the most widely read of all Spanish histories, was remarkable for
its composition and style, in which respects it was superior to others
of the period, though otherwise inferior to the best works of the time.
It was intended to be popular, however, on which account it should not
be judged too critically from the standpoint of technique. Mariana’s
history was an external political narrative, from the Castilian point of
view, of the events which had developed the national unity of Spain. His
own bias, politically and otherwise, was only too apparent, besides
which he displayed the faults of credulity and imagination already
alluded to. Nevertheless, Mariana made use of manuscripts and the
evidence of inscriptions and coins, though not to the same degree as
Zurita, Morales, and others. His style was tinged with the Humanistic
ideals of the period, being strongly influenced by Livy. Many other
students of history or of the sciences auxiliary to history are
deserving of recognition, and at least one of them demands mention,
Nicolás Antonio, the greatest bibliographer of his time. In 1672 he
published his _Bibliotheca hispana_ (republished in 1788 as the
_Bibliotheca hispana nova_, or Catalogue of new Spanish works) of all
Spanish works since 1500, and in 1696 completed his _Bibliotheca hispana
vetus_, or Catalogue of old Spanish works (published in 1788), of
Spanish books, manuscript and printed, prior to the sixteenth century.
Deserving of special notice was a remarkable group of historians of the
Americas, such as Fernando Colón (Ferdinand Columbus), Fernández de
Oviedo, López de Gómara, Bernal Díaz del Castillo, Bernabé Cobos,
Gutiérrez de Santa Clara, Juan de Castellanos, Acosta, Garcilaso de la
Vega, Herrera, Cieza de León, Zárate, Jerez, Dorantes de Carranza,
Góngora, Hevía, León Pinelo, Mendieta, Pizarro, Sahagún, Suárez de
Peralta, Alvarado, Torquemada, Solís, Cortés, Las Casas, Cervantes de
Salazar, López de Velasco, the already cited Solórzano, Pérez de Ribas,
Tello, Florencia, Vetancurt, and many others. The works of some of these
men were written in Spain as official chronicles of the Indies, while
those of others were prepared independently in the Americas. Religious
history was abundantly produced, as also were books of travel,
especially those based on the expeditions and discoveries in the Indies.
In all of the historical production of the era, not merely in the work
of Mariana, the influence of classical models was marked.
[Sidenote: The conquest of the Americas and resultant Spanish
achievements in natural science, geography, and cartography.]
If the output of Spaniards in the domain of the natural sciences was not
so great as in the realm of philosophy, jurisprudence, and history, it
was nevertheless distinctively original in character,--necessarily so,
since the discovery of new lands and new routes, to say nothing of the
effects of continuous warring, not only invited investigation, but also
made it imperative, in order to overcome hitherto unknown difficulties.
In dealing with the Americas a practice was made of gathering
geographical data which for its completeness has scarcely ever been
surpassed. Explorers were required by law to make the most detailed
observations as to distances, general geographical features, character
of the soil, products, animals, and peoples, with a view to the
collection and the study of their reports at the _Casa de Contratación_,
for which purpose the post of cosmographical chronicler of the Indies
was created. Equal amplitude of data was also to be found in books of
travel. To enumerate the contributors to geographical knowledge it would
be necessary to name the hundreds of Spanish voyages and explorations in
the new world of which accounts were written by their leaders or by
friars accompanying the expeditions. A noteworthy compendium of these
reports has recently been published, although it was compiled in the
sixteenth century, the _Geografía y descripción universal de las Indias_
(Geography and general description of the Indies) for the years 1571 to
1574 by Juan López de Velasco. Something of a like nature was achieved
for the peninsula itself in the reign of Philip II. As was inevitable,
Spaniards were prominent in cartography. Aside from the men who
accompanied the expeditions in the new world, the most famous
cartographers of the time were those of the _Casa de Contratación_, many
of whom made contributions to cartographical science, as well as
additions to the mapping of the world. One interesting instance was the
use of maps with equi-distant polar projections years before Mercator in
1569 first employed this method, which was henceforth to bear his name.
Spanish innovators have not received the credit they deserve,
principally because their results were in many cases deliberately kept
secret by the Spanish government, which wished to retain a monopoly of
the information, as well as of the trade, of the new world. Spanish
achievements, it will be observed, were designed to meet practical ends,
rather than to promote universal knowledge,--unfortunately for the fame
of the individuals engaged in scientific production.
[Sidenote: Similarly, Spanish achievements in the mathematical and
physical sciences.]
Naturally, these accomplishments in geography and cartography
necessitated a solid foundation in the mathematical and physical
sciences, and such a basis in fact existed. The leading scholars,
especially those of the _Casa_, who always stood out from the rest,
displayed a remarkable conjunction of theory and practice. At the same
time that they were writing doctrinal treatises about cosmography,
astronomy, and mathematics, they were able to make maps and nautical
instruments with their own hands, and not infrequently to invent useful
appliances. Problems in connection with the variations of the magnetic
needle, the exact calculation of longitude, the observation of eclipses,
and the perfection of the astrolabe were among those which preoccupied
students of that day. The advancement of Spaniards is evidenced by the
facility with which the theory of Copernicus (that the sun, and not the
earth, is the centre of the solar system) was accepted in Spain, when it
was rejected elsewhere. It is noteworthy, too, that when Pope Gregory
XIII proposed to correct the calendar, he sought information of Spanish
scholars, whose suggestions were followed. In the same year (1582) that
the Gregorian calendar went into effect in Rome, it was adopted also in
Spain. In nautical science, as might have been expected from the
practical character of Spanish studies, Spaniards were preëminent. Among
the more important names was that of Alarcón, better known for his
voyage of 1540 in the Gulf of California and along the western coast of
the California peninsula. Advance in naval construction accompanied that
of navigation proper. The new world provided Spaniards with an
opportunity, of which they did not fail to avail themselves, for
progress in the sciences of physics and chemistry, always with practical
ideals in mind. Theories were set forth as to such matters as cyclones,
terrestrial magnetism, atmospheric pressure, and even telegraphy, while
mechanical inventions were made, because these things were related to
specific problems. The most remarkable example of the heights to which
Spaniards attained in physics and chemistry was in the application of
these sciences to metallurgy. When the mines of the Americas were first
exploited, it was necessary to resort to German methods, but it was not
long before Spaniards easily took first rank in the world. A work by
Alonso Barba, for example, published in 1640, was translated into all of
the leading European languages, and served as the principal guide of
metallurgists for more than a century. As engineers Spaniards lagged
behind other European peoples; engineering works were not greatly
involved in the colonization of the Americas. It is interesting,
however, to note the numerous studies of projects by Spaniards of the
sixteenth century,--among them, Cortés, Saavedra, Galván, López de
Gómara, Gil González Dávila, Salcedo, Esquivel, and Mercado,--with a
view to the construction of a canal at the Isthmus of Panamá to
facilitate communication with the Pacific.
[Sidenote: Progress in medicine.]
Finally, the science of medicine, which had already entered upon an
experimental stage in the reign of the Catholic Kings, advanced to a
point which enabled it to compare, not unfavorably, with the
achievements in other branches of precise knowledge. Medicine, too, had
the Americas to thank for much of its progress, owing to discoveries of
botanical and mineralogical specimens of a medicinal character. The
universities of Salamanca, Valencia, and Barcelona took the lead in
medical studies, and furnished most of the great names of the era. In
the seventeenth century medical science experienced a marked decline,
due among other things to a return to an imitation of classical methods.
Hippocrates and other Greek writers were regarded as incapable of
mistake, wherefore investigation and experiment ceased to hold the place
they had won in the sixteenth century. Some men endeavored to continue
the experimental tradition, but, as indeed elsewhere in Europe, they
were despised by the classical element, who arrogated to themselves the
honor of possessing the only real medical knowledge, charging their
opponents, usually with truth, with employing experimentation because
they were unable to read the accounts of classical remedies set forth in
Greek and Latin. Nevertheless, it was to experimental methods,
principally in the sixteenth century, that the discovery of many
hitherto unknown cures was due.