Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 6.djvu/75

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FERRE 49

ScHPLTE. Ccsrh. dcr Quel, und Lit. ties can. Rcchtu (St»i(tcart, 1875-80), III, 531; von Scheber in Kirchenhx., IV, 1380. A. Van Hove.

Ferre, Vicente, theologian, b. at Valencia, Spain; d. at Salamanca in 1682. He entered the Dominican Order at Salamanca, where he pursued his studies in the Dominican College of St. Stephen. After teaching in several houses of study of his order in Spain, he was called from Burgos to Rome, where for eighteen years he was rcgens primarius of the Dominican College of St. Thomas ad Minervam. From Rome he went to Salamanca, where he became prior of the convent and, after three years, regent of studies. In his own time he was recognized as one of the best Thomists of the seventeenth century, and posterity acknowledges that his published works possess extraordinary fullness, clearness, and order. He died while publishing his com- mentaries on the Summa Theologica of St. Thomas. We have two folio volumes on the Secunda Secundae, covering the treatises of faith, hope, and charity, and the opposite vices, published at Rome in 1669; three on the Prima, published at Salamanca, in 1675, 1676, and 1678 respectively; and three on the Prima Se- cunda>, down to Q. cxiii, published at Salamanca, 1679, 1681, and 1690. His confrere Perez a Lerma added to Q. cxiv the treatise on merit.

QuETiF AND EcH\Ri), Script. Ord. Prmi., 11,696: Antonio, Bibliotheca Hisp. Nova CMadrid, 1783), II, 261.

A. L. McMahon.

Ferreira, Antonio, poet, important both for his lyric and his dramatic compositions, b. at Lisbon, Portugal, in 1528; d. there of the plague in 1569. He studied law at Coimbra, where, however, he gave no less attention to belles-lettres than to legal codes, ar- dently reading the poetry of classic antiquity. Suc- cessful in his chosen profession, he became a judge of the Supreme Court at Lisbon, and enjoyed close rela- tions with eminent personages of the court of John in. Ferreira stands apart from the great majority of the Portuguese poets of his time in that he never used Spanish, but wrote constantly in his native language. Yet he is to be classed with the reformers of literary taste, for, like Sa de Miranda, he abandoned the old native forms, to further the movement of the Renais- sance. He manifested a decided interest in the Ital- ian lyric measures, already given some elaboration by Sa de Miranda, and displayed some skill in the use of the hendecasyllable. The sonnet, the elegy, the idyll, the verse epistle, the ode, and kindred forms he cultivated with a certain felicity, revealing not only his study of the Italian Renaissance poets, but also a good acquaintance with the Greek and Latin masters.

It is by his dramatic endeavours that he attained to greatest prominence, for his tragedy " Ines de Cas- tro", in particular, is regarded as one of the chief monuments of Portuguese literature. He began his work on the drama while still a student at Coimbra, writing there for his own amusement his first comedy, "Bristo", dealing with the old classic theme of lost children and later agnitions, which was so often util- ized for the stage of the Renaissance and has been made famihar by Shakespeare. Much improvement in dramatic technique is evinced by his second com- edy, "O Cioso", which treats realistically the figure of a jealous husband. It is considered as the earliest character-comedy in modern Europe. Written in prose, it exhibits a clever use of dialogue and has really comical scenes. None of the compositions of Ferreira appeared in print during his lifetime and the first edition of his two comedies is that of 1622. An English translation of the "Cioso" made by Musgrave was published in 1825. His tragedy, "Ines de Cas- tro", imitates in its form the models of ancient Greek literature, and shows Italian influence in its use of blank verse, but it owes its subject-matter to native Portuguese history, concerning itself with the love of VI.— 4

FERRIERES

King Pedro for the beautiful Ines de Castro, an inci- dent which has also been splendidly treated by Camoes in his "Lusiadas", and has furnished the theme for at least ten Portuguese and four Spanish plays, and over a score of compositions in foreign lan- guages. If tested by the requirements of the theatre, the play is doubtless far from perfect, but the purity of its style and diction ensures its popularity with its author's compatriots. It was rendered into English by Musgrave in 1826. The rather free Spanish ver- sion of 1577 was made on the basis of a manuscript copy of the Portuguese original, for the first Portu- guese printed edition is of 1587

Castillo, A ntonio Ferreira, poela quinhenlisia (Rio de Janei ro, 3 vols., 1875); de Vasconcellos in Gr<')Ber, Orundriss der romanischen Philologic (Strasburg, 1897). II, ii, 219; Braga in Historia dos Quinheniistas (Oporto, 1871).

J. D. M. Ford. Ferreol, Saints. See Besanpon; Uzes.

Ferrer, Rafael, Spanish missionary and explorer; b. at Valencia, in 1570; d. at San Jose, Peru, in 1611. His father had destined him for a military career, but he entered the Society of Jesus, and in 1593 was sent to Quito, Ecuador. In 1601 he penetrated the terri- tory of the Cofanis, a liostle tribe who had been a source of great trouble to the Spanish Government. Within three 3'ears the Indians of several villages were so civilized by the influence of religion that the sur- rounding country was open to colonists.

In 1605, at the command of the viceroy of Quito, Ferrer went among the uncivilized tribes of the River Napo. He was well received by the Indians, and on this journey, which lasted two and a half years, he travelled 3600 miles into the interior, bringing back with him a chart of the basin of the Napo, a map of the country he had explored, and an herbarium which he presented to the viceroy. He was appointed governor and chief magistrate of the Cofanis, and received the title of "Chief of the Missions of the Cofanis". After a period of rest at the mission he next journeyed northward from Quito through unex- plored forests, and discovered a large lake and the River Pilcomago. In 1610 he returned to his labours among the Indians, bending his energies to the civiliza- tion of the few tribes of the Cofanis who were not yet within the range of his influence. He met his death at the hands of the chief of one of these tribes, whom he had compelled to abandon polygamy. The mur- derer was slain in turn by his tribesmen, who were enraged on learning of his deed. An extract from Father Ferrer's account of his explorations was pub- lished by Fr. Detre in the "Lettres Edifiantes", and the same extract was also published by Father Ber- nard de Bologne in the "Bibhotheca Societatis Jesu", but the original manuscript was lost and has never been published in its entirety. Besides compiling his " Arte de la Lengua Cofana," Father Ferrer translated the catechism and selections from the Gospels for every Sunday in the year into the language of the Cofanis. Blanche M. Kelly.

Ferrer, Vincent, Saint. Saint.

See Vincent Ferrer,

Ferrieres, Abbey op, situated in the Diocese of Orleans, department of Loiret, and arrondissement of Montargis. The Benedictine Abbey of Ferrieres-en- Gatinais has been most unfortunate from the point of view of historical science, having lost its archives, its charters, and everything which would aid in the re- construction of its history. Thus legend and cre- dulity have had full play. But it is interesting to encounter in the work of an obscure Benedictine of the eighteenth century, Dom Philippe Mazoyer, informa- tion perhaps the most aceiu'ate and circumspect ob- tainable. According to Dom Mazoyer there was formerly at Ferrieres a chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin under the title Notre-Dame de Beth-