Original scientific paper
Đuro Ferić — the Poet of Croatian Physiocrats
Ivan Pederin
Abstract
Đuro Ferić (1739–1820) was a priest, later the general vicar to the Dubrovnik (Ragusa) Archdiocese, and a poet. Most of his poetical works, written in Latin hexameters, were considered as Latin poetry. The verse and relation to Vergil and Horace were analysed.
In this work Ferić is considered as a modem poet. The author answers the question what was his and: his friends’ opinion on poetry. They also wrote Latin verses and spent most of their lives in Ro me being in touch with the Arcadia, as Ferić did. The following analysis of his Periegesis resulted a paraphrasis of works written by physiocrats of Dalmatian Croatia on freedom based on civil liberty, work and life in villa rustica. According to these principles Ferić was compared to other similar poets, such as Albrecht von Haller, a Swiss, and Giuseppe Parini.
In his later poems he turned towards Ossianism, the linguistic nationalism and the Croatian folklore, comparing the Croats living in mountains (the Morlachs) to Homeric heroes and their poetry to the Ossian one. He had a precise idea on Croatia and tried to establish contracts with the intellectuals in Vienna. His success war poor as these disliked Croatian poetry and considered Croatia to be a nonexistent nation. They considered only the language, not history and culture, to be constituents of a nation. There they followed German nationalistic patterns.
His success in the subsequent Croatian national movement was considerable. Because of this he can be considered to be a precursor to the Illyrism.
It was difficult to accept his poetry written in Latin. Yet he was all his life poeta eruditus. He did so to avoid any trouble with the censorship. The Republic of Dubrovnik had introduced it and some other oppressive measures after the Napoleon’s abolition of the Venetian Republic in 1797.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
243200
URI
Publication date:
22.6.1983.
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