SPAIN. 



Ionia; of Orihuela and Valencia, in Valencia; and of 

 Salamanca, in the province of Leon. Several of thefc 

 fcarcely deferve notice. Thofe of Saragoffa, Alcala, and 

 Cervera, retain fome degree of importance ; but the moil 

 ancient and moll celebrated is that of Salamanca ; for an 

 account of which fee that article. The moll popular uni- 

 Terfity at prefent is faid to be that of Valencia. The con- 

 ventual fchools are numerous ; and Spain has four military 

 fchools, viz. at Barcelona, Zamora, Cadiz, and Segovia. 

 Public libraries are alfo numerous. 



The native tongue of the ancient Spaniards was utterly 

 loft during the domination of the Romans, whofe language 

 in the corrupt form of the middle ages became that of 

 Spain. The Goths brought into the country their own 

 Teutonic dialed ; and as the natives continued to fpeak 

 Latin, their language became at length a mixture of Latin 

 and Teutonic. The Arabs, in their turn, iutroduced the 

 fpeech of their country, veitiges of which remained after 

 their expulfiou. Hence it appears, that the Spanifh lan- 

 guage was compounded from three different fources : the 

 Latin prevailed over the other two, and the Gothic Hill pre- 

 ponderates over the Moorifh. Within the la'.t two or three 

 centuries the Spanilh language has undergone confiderable 

 alterations ; it ftill, however, preferves the fame roots, the 

 fame turn of phrafe, and the greater number of its words, 

 but altered m their infleftions and terminations. The 

 Spaniards themfelves boaft, among other e.^cellencies, of 

 the facility with which it is pronounced ; it is founded, they 

 fay, exaftly as it is written, but this aflertion is too general. 

 In fome refpefts this language is very rich ; it abounds in 

 compound words, in fuperlatives, derivatives, augmentalives, 

 diminutives, and frequentative verbs ; it has many quite 

 fynonimous words, and others which well exprefs the dif- 

 ferent (hades of meaning. In the technical terms of arts 

 and fciences, it is, however, extremely poor ; a few of thefe 

 it has borrowed from the Latin, and almolt all the rell 

 from the French. 



On the whole, the Spanilh is one of the fiiieft of the 

 European languages. It is dignified, harmonious, ener- 

 getic, and expreffive ; and abounds in grand and louorous 

 exprelTions, which unite into ineafured periods, whofe ca- 

 dence is very agreeable to the ear. It is a languaije well 

 adapted to poetry, but it alio inclines to exaggeration, and 

 its vehemence eaiily degenerates into bombaft. Though 

 naturally grave, it eafily admits of pleafantry. In the 

 mouth of well educated men it is noble and expreffive; lively 

 and pointed in that of the common people ; fweet, feduc- 

 tive, and perfualive when uttered by a female. Amongllthe 

 orators it is touching and impofin/, though rather diffufe ; 

 at the bar and in the fchools it is barbarous ; and is fpoken 

 by tiiofe about the court in a concife and agreeable manner. 

 The Spaniards articulate (Irongly, and fometimes with a 

 kind of guttural found, which greatly impairs the grace 

 and dignity of their fpeecli, but the pronunciation differs 

 materially in different provinces. In Catalonia it is harfh 

 and conitrained ; harfh alfo and dry in Aragon ; quick and 

 lively in Bifcay ; agreeably modified in the kingdom of 

 Valencia ; hoaltful and mouthing in Andalufia ; fofter, 

 fweeter, and more natural in Cailile. 



The Spanifh language is not fpoken with the fame purity 

 in all parts of the kingdom. Befides the old provincial 

 dialeftp, which flill prevail in many parts, the Bafque is 

 ftill fpoken in Bifcay ; and the language is mixed with 

 French in Navarre, with Portuguefe in Galicia, and with 

 Arabic in Murcia and Andalufia. It is in New Cailile, 

 and efpecially in the ancient kingdom of Toledo, that it is 

 beft fpoken ; and there that a ftranger ought to learn it 



who defires to become acquainted with nil its delicacies and 

 beauties. The ancient Limoufine or Proven9ale forms the 

 bafis of the dialefts of Catalonia and Valencia. 



Bafque is fpoken in the lordlhip of B Icay, in Guipufcoa, 

 and in the greatetl part of Alava. This language is very 

 ancient ; it differs entirely from the Spanifh, either ancient 

 or modern ; it exilled before the arrival of the Romans, 

 and was then unlike what was fpoken in the other parts of 

 Spain ; it is mentioned by Strabo, Seneca, and Pomponius 

 Mela. It has been preferved to our days almofl without 

 alteration or corruption, particularly in the more moun- 

 tainous parts. It is very difficult to ftrangers, and appears 

 to thofe who do not underftand it a coarfe and barbarous 

 tongue, deititute of elegance aiid expreffion ; but fuch as 

 are verfed in it account it very Iwcet and expreffive. 



The Spaniards, abhorring the Moors, difdained to apply 

 themfelves to the arts which they exercifed ; and hence 

 proceeded a general contempt for artifans, which has been 

 perpetuated to the prefent time, and has greatly retarded 

 their progrefs in Spain. The arts which are employed in 

 manufaftures are much advanced in Spain. The i6th cen- 

 turv was the moll brilliant period of the arts in Spain, as 

 well as of the fciences, of literature, and of the power and 

 grandeur of the monarchy. Many able architedls appeared at 

 once under Charles V. and Philip II., who erefted numerous 

 edifices, that will immortalize the reigns of thofe princes and 

 the names of the artills, fuch as John de Herrera, CepedeSj 

 Pedro de Uria, and John Baptilt Monegro of Toledo, the 

 latter of whom alfilled in the building of the Efcurial, and 

 of the church of St. Peter at Rome. The llrutlures of 

 this age are the finell in Spain. Architefture, however, 

 very much declined in the 17th century ; but about half a 

 century ago it began again to be cultivated with fuccefs. 

 Spain juftly boalls of a number of fculptors of diflinguifhed 

 merit, among whom we might mention Paul Cepedes of 

 Cordova, and Alonzo Cano of Granada. Of all the liberal 

 arts, painting is that which has been moll cultivated in 

 Spain ; and though the Spanifh fchool is little known, it 

 deferves notice, as occupying a middle place between the 

 Italian and Flemifh fchools, being more natural than the 

 firll, more noble than the fecond, and participating the 

 beauties of both. It has particularly excelled in facred 

 fubjefts. Mofl of the painters of Spain are of the 17th 

 or the end of the i6th century. In the i8th century paint- 

 ing wa6 almofl totally aiinihilated in Spain ; but the Spanifh 

 fchool was recovered about the middle of the fame century 

 by Antonio Raphael Mengs. Spain now pofTefles an aca- 

 demy of painting at Seville, and two academies of the fine 

 arts, one at Madrid, and the other at Valencia ; and public, 

 gratuitous fchools for drawing have not long ago been ella- 

 blifhed in various places. The Spaniards iiave a talle for 

 mufic, and liave cultivated it with fuccefs. They prefer 

 the Itahan to the French mufic, the latter being in their 

 opinion too languid and monotonous. The Moors were the 

 firfl in Spain who cultivated mufic fcientifically, and who efla- 

 blifhed fchools for teaching it : and the Spaniards have been 

 led to imitate them. The Moorifh mufic confifled chiefly 

 of foft and tender airs, fung by one or more voices, and 

 accompanied by the lute : and the modern Spaniards have 

 alfo their national mufic, refembhng that of the Moors, 

 and confined to detached airs, which are fung by one or 

 more "voices, and accompanied by the guitar. Spain has 

 alfo adopted the niufical infli uments generally ufed among 

 other nations, and it has fome that are peculiarly its own. 

 Different provinces have their appropriate inllruments. 

 For the hiflory of Spanifh mufic, fee the fequel. 



We have already mentioned dancing as one of the amufe- 



Dients 



