Home | History | People | Luis de León - 01 | Luis de León - 06 ID 2388 Luis de León - 06   The Song of Songs   Let us dwell further on the Song of Songs in the Bible (sometimes also called the Canticle of Canticles).   From the earliest times the Fathers and Doctors of the Church had recognised the mystical character of the Song of Songs, and the Church used it much in ceremonies of worship.   But as there is nothing so holy but that it may be abused, the Song of Songs, almost more than any other portion of Holy Scripture, had been misinterpreted by a false mysticism such as was rampant in the middle of the sixteenth-century Spain.   It had come to pass, said Luis de León, that "that which was given as a medicine was turned into poison," so that the Church, by the Index of Prohibited Books in the year 1559, forbade the circulation of the Bible or parts of the Bible in any but the original languages of Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.   And no one knew better than Luis de León himself how rigorously these rules were enforced, for he faced early five years of imprisonment for, amongst other charges, having translated the Song of Songs into Castilian Spanish.   Photo (above): Statue of Luis de León O.S.A., facing an entrance of the main building at the University of Salamanca, with its famed facade of carved stone.   Prose The sixth volume of the edition of his complete works (published in 1806-1816) contains his prose writings in the vernacular, including "La perfecta casada" (The Perfect Housewife, written in 1583) and "De los nombres de Cristo" ("The Names of Christ"), also written in 1583. In this latter work, Luis was sufficiently brave to denounce the excesses and lack of justice of the Inquisition. Also in the sixth volume appeared a metrical version in Castilian Spanish of the Biblical Song of Songs, a work that was used in evidence against him in his trial by the Inquisition. There are also his Spanish translations of the classical Latin works such as the Eclogues and Georgics of Virgil, and his version of thirty odes of Horace. There are also versions of forty psalms from the Bible. Also included are a number of original odes by Luis de León, the most celebrated of which are: "The Prophecy of the Tagus", "The Life of the Fields", "The Serene Night", "Hymn on the Ascension" and "La perfecta casada" ("The Perfect Housewife"), which is one of the gems of sixteenth century Spanish pedagogical literature. They considered to be an early model of quality Spanish prose, His book Of the names of Christ (1583) is not only an investigation of the Scriptures but also a modern and deep study of the philosophy of language. In the era of political correctness today, his thoughts on the role of women in his work of 1583, "La perfecta casada" (The Perfect Housewife), need to be considered within the cultural context of Spain in 1583, the year in which it was written.   (Continued on the next page.) ID2388 << Previous    Next >> Luis de León - 06  Preface  Ambrose of Milan  Alypius  Bernard André - 01  Richard Annibaldi - 01  Anonymous Florentine - 01  Augustinian Martyrs  Andrea Biglia - 01  Bartholomew of Urbino - 01  Manuel Blanco - 01  Bonaventure Baduario - 01  Rod Cameron - 01  Augustine of Canterbury - 01  John Coci  Stephen Bellisini  Osbern Bokenham - 01  John of Basel - 01  John Capgrave - 01  Matthew Carr - 01  Clare of Montefalco  Clement of Osimo - 01  Filippo di Leonardo di Cola  William Estouteville - 01  Pope Eugene IV  William Flete - 01  Giles of Rome - 01  Giles of Viterbo - 01  Henry of Friemar - 01  Geoffrey Hardeby - 01  Diego de Herrera - 01  Thomas Herrera  Japan: Martyrs  Thomas Jihyoe - 01  Jordan of Saxony - 01  Leoš Janácek  Jacques Legrand - 01  Leo XIII  Luis de León - 01 Luis de León - 02 Luis de León - 03 Luis de León - 04 Luis de León - 05    Luis de León - 06 Luis de León - 07  Mombasa martyrs - 01  John Lowe - 01  Martin Luther - Introduction  Nicholas of Alessandria - 01  Sebastian Manrique - 01  Lukas Martinec  Luigi Marsigli - 01  Ambrose Massari - 01  Mariano de la Mata - 01  Nicholas Melo - 01  Gregor Mendel - 01  Juan Mendoza - 01  Monica of Thagaste  Juan Bautista de Moya  Nicholas of Tolentino  Pacifico Neno  Alonso de Orozco - 01  Jean Pasquerel - 01  Thomas Penketh - 01  Petrarch - 01  Philip II - 01  Possidius of Calama  Martin de Rada - 01  Rita of Cascia  Saints: Augustinian  Gregory of Rimini - 01  Jerome Santisteban - 01  Dionigi di Borgo San Sepolcro - 01  Andrea del Sarto - 01  Girolamo Seripando - 01  Diego Soria - 01  Spanish martyrs - 01  Johann von Staupitz - 01  Robert Stokes  John Stone  Thomas of Strasburg - 01  Augustine of Tarano - 01  William Tirry - 01  Andrés de Urdaneta - 01  Francisco Vazquez  Alonso de la Vera Cruz - 01  Thomas of Villanova - 01  Robert Waldeby - 01  William of Cremona - 01  William of Monklane

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