distrust of the French, yet both were in their art largely
dominated by the influence of French neo-classicism. This
is but another illustration of the relative conservatism
of belles-lettres.

In the year 1793 there had been formed in Seville by a
group of young writers an Academia de Letras Humanas to
foster the cultivation of letters. The members of this
academy were admirers of Herrera, the Spanish Petrarchist
and patriotic poet of the sixteenth century, and they
strove for a continuation of the tradition of the earlier
Sevillan group. The more important writers of the later
Sevillan school were Arjona, Blanco, Lista and Reinoso.
Manuel María de ARJONA (1771-1820), a priest well read in
the Greek and Latin classics, was an imitator of Horace.
José María BLANCO (1775-1841), known in the history of
English literature as Blanco White, spent much time in
England and wrote in English as well as in Castilian.
Ordained a Catholic priest he later became an Unitarian.
The best-known and most influential writer of the group
was Alberto LISTA (1775-1848), an educator and page xxxiv
later canon of Seville. Lista was a skilful artist and
like Arjona an admirer and imitator of Horace; but his
ideas lacked depth. His best-known poem is probably a
religious one, _Á la muerte de Jesús,_ which abounds in
true poetic feeling. Lista exerted great influence as a
teacher and his _Lecciones de literatura española_ did
much to stimulate the study of Spanish letters. Félix José
REINOSO (1772-1814), also a priest, imitated Milton in
_octava rima_. As a whole the influence of the Sevillan