Carl P.E. Springer - Ovid, Christianity and Etiquette: The Uses of Latin Poetry in Colonial Mexico City
(pag. 145-158)
This article takes a close look at one of the earliest books to be published in the Americas. In 1577, just a few decades after the introduction of printing in Mexico City, Antonio Ricardo, a printer from Torino, published this anthology of poems under the auspices of the Jesuit Colegio Máximo de San Pedro y San Pablo. In addition to the exilic works of Ovid (Tristia and Epistulae ex Ponto), the textbook also contains Christian poems attributed to the patristic authors Gregory Nazianzus and Sedulius as well as others that contain advice for young people on practical matters such as proper table etiquette. This rare volume helps us to see more clearly how the earliest European educators in Mexico went about inculcating the poetic language and cultural sensibilities that they felt would provide their American students readiest access to the traditional liberal values, religious feelings, and practical virtues that their teachers valued so highly.