The modernity of Luiz Antonio de Verney’s grammatical ideas and his clash with the Jesuits
Resumo
From a grammatical point of view Luis Antonio Verney clearly adheres to the doctrine known as language philosophy, common among the French grammarians of the eighteenth century. This doctrine was radically opposed to the grammatical doctrine sustained by the Jesuits in their teaching of Latin and other
languages during the seventeenth century. There was a long and bitter dialectical clash
between the Jesuits and Verney. Normally this clash has been interpreted from the
perspective of Verney and it is commonly held that he harshly criticized the Jesuits.
There is some truth in it. However, what is more true, in our opinion, is that it were
the Portuguese and Spanish Jesuits who really became bothered with Verney, as the
later, being Portuguese (and consequently Iberian) added to the fact of his having
been educated by the Jesuits, dared to follow modern currents that many Jesuits didn´t
approve. It is stronger, in our opinion, the rejection of Verney on the part of the
Jesuits, than the rejection of the Jesuits on the part of Verney.
Desde el punto de vista gramatical Luis António Verney se adhiere claramente a la doctrina que se conoce como filosofía del lenguaje, muy común entre los gramáticos ilustrados franceses del siglo XVIII. Esta doctrina era radicalmente opuesta a la doctrina gramatical sostenida por los jesuitas en su enseñanza del latín y de otras lenguas durante el siglo XVII. Se produjo un choque dialéctico, largo y enconado, entre los jesuitas y Verney. Normalmente se ha interpretado este choque desde la perspectiva de Verney y se ha dicho que éste criticó duramente a los jesuitas. Algo de cierto hay en ello. Pero más cierto es, en nuestra opinión, que fueron los jesuitas portugueses y españoles los que realmente se molestaron mucho con Verney, porque, siendo como era portugués y consiguientemente ibérico, y habiéndose educado como se había educado en los jesuitas, se adhirió a corrientes modernas, que muchos de los jesuitas no compartían. Es más cierto, creemos, el rechazo de los jesuitas a Verney que la crítica de Verney a los jesuitas.