SARBIEWSKI
471
SARBIEWSKI
made from corn or plantains (bananas), in which both
sexes constantly indulged, despite the protests and
warnings of the missionaries.
Smyth, the English officer, who saw it at perhaps its best in 1835, gives an interesting account of the town, the various tribes, the routine of mission life, and the holiday celebrations. Ten years later a general epi- demic wasted all the tribes of the Ucayali, and in 1846 Castelnau found only 1200 Indians at the mission. A large part of this decrease, however, was due to the removal of the men to engage with the rubber gath- erers and the boat crews on the Amazon. In 1851 the American Lieutenant Hemden stopped there and was kindly received by Fr. Calvo, who was then in charge. "Father Calvo, meek and humble in personal concerns, yet full of zeal and spirit for his office, clad in his long serge gown, belted with a cord, with bare feet and accurate tonsure, habitual stoop and gener- ally bearing upon his shoulder a beautiful and saucy bird of the parrot kind, was my beau ideal of a mis- sionary monk. He is an Arragonese, and had served as a priest in the army of Don Carlos." Two other priests, an Italian and a Catalan, with a lay brother, who did the cooking and was unwearied in his at- tentions, made up the household. He adds, "I was sick here, and think that I shall ever remember with gratitude th(> affectionate kindness of these pious and devoted friars of St. Francis."
The government was patriarchal, through Indian officers under supervision of the priest. The Indians were tractable and docile, but drunken, and although the location was healthy, and births exceeded deaths, the i)opulation constantly diminished from emigra- tion down the river. From various industries they derived an annual income of about twelve hundred dollars, from which, with their garden, the four priests and lay brother supported themselves, bought vest- ments and supplies, and kept the church in repair and decoration. In 1856 the mission was visit eel by an- other epidemic. In 1859 the; official geographer Rai- mondi found thfire lO.'U) inhabitants and a flourishing school, besides about 200 more at Tierra Blanca. In the same year Fr. Calvo established another branch station at Callaria, higher Uf) the Ucayali, as a meet- ing-ground for the wild tribes in that direction. This had the efTec-t of further drawing from the diminish- ing importance of Sarayacu, which was finally aban- doned as a mission in 1863. It continues, however, as the chief port of the Ucayali, with a mixed Indian and Spanish population with the Quichua language as the medium. (See also Pano Indians; Setebo Indians.)
Castelnau, Expedition dans les partes centrales de V Amerique du Sud, IV (Paris, ISol) ; Herndon. Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon, I (Washington, 18.54); Ordinaire, Les Sauvages du Perou in Reme d' Ethnographic, VI (Paris, 1887); Raimondi, El Peru, III (Lima, 1879); Idem, Apuntes sabre la Provincia litoral de Loreto (Lima, 1862); S.myth and Lowe, Narrative of a Journey from Lima to Pard (London, 1836). JaMES MoONEY.
Sarbiewski, Mathias Casimir, the Horace of Poland, b. near Plonsk, in the Duchy of Masovia, 24 February, 1.595; d. 2 April, 1649. He entered the novitiate of the Jesuits at Vilna on 25 July, 1612; studied rhetoric and philosophy during 1614-17; taught grammar and humanities during 1617-18, and rhetoric at Polotsk during 1618-20; studied theol- ogy at Vilna from 1620-22; was sent in 1622 to com- plete his theology at Rome, and was there ordained priest in 1623. Returning to Poland he taught rhetoric, philo.sophy, and theology at Vilna from 1626 to 1635, was then made preacher to King Wla- dislaw, and was for four years companion in his travels. The fame of Sarbiewski is as wide as the world of letters. He was gifted with remarkable general talent, especially in music and the fine arts, but his chief excellence was as a poet versed in all the metres of the ancients. He was especially de- voted to Horace, whose odes he knew by heart. He also made the lyrical poetry of Pindar his own. To
his familiarity with these great poets he added an
industry which has given the splendid yield of his
poetic works. The latest edition of these, printed
at Starawids in 1892, embraces four books of lyrics,
a book of epodes, his posthumous "Silviludia"
(Woodland Notes), and his book of epigrams. Of
all these the lyrics furnish the best example of his
qualities of mind and heart. All are pitched in a
high key of thought, sentiment, or passion. His
themes are for the most part love and devotion for
Christ Crucified, for Our Blessed Lady, or friendship
for a noble patron, such as Bishop Lubienski, Cardi-
nal Francis Barberini, nephew to Urban VI 1 1, and
that pontiff himself, whom he hailed as his Maece-
nas in several odes of exquisite finish. His noblest
and most sustained efforts, however, are his patriotic
odes upon the fatherland, the Knights of Poland,
and kindred sub-
jects. His tender-
est pieces are
those in praise of
the rose, the
violet, and the
grasshopper, in
which he rivals
the grace and
happy touch of
Horace himself.
He was crowned
with the poet's
wreath by King
Wladislaw IV.
Urban VIII
named him one
of the revisers of
the hymns of the
Breviary, and he Mathm,-.' i<„n:«sKi
in particular is From the title imgr ,,l an edition <.f his credited with hav- lyrics published at iStrasburg, 1803
ing softened their previous ruggedness of metre. Some critics have urged that in his love of Horace he went so far as to become servile in imitating him, while others again have made a very virtue out of this close imitation. As a religious he was noted for his love of solitude, turning from the attractions of court life to solitude, prayer, and useful study and occu- pation. His prose works are: (1) "De acuto et arguto fiber unicus"; (2) "Dn gentium", a specula- tive work on the ancient arts and sciences; (3) "De perfecta poesi libri quattuor"; (4) "De Deo uno et trino tractatus " ; (5) "Deangelis"; (6) "De physico continuo"; (7) "MemorabiUa"; (8) scattered ora- tions, sermons, and letters.
Select poems of Sarbiewski have been translated from the original Latin into other languages. But his poetical works, as a whole, have found few trans- lators. In Polish may be counted no less than twenty-two versions of the poet; yet, only two of these are in any meiisure complete, the rest being translations of chosen odes. The most notable Polish version, embracing almost all the poems, is that of Louis Kondratowicz, who also wrote the life of Sarbiewski and translated his letters. There is also a copy in Polish of all the odes extant in manu- script at Starawies, the work of some few Jesuit fathers of the province of White Russia. Detached translations also exist in Italian, Flemish, and Bohe- mian. In German there are at least eight or nine translations, principally from the odes, and also incomplete. The French versions are of the same character: they are three or four in number, choice odes or pieces taken from the "Poems". The Eng- hsh translations are fuller and more complete than any others. There are at least four that may be styled integral versions: "Odes of Casimire by G. H.," printed for Humphrey Moseley at the Princes Armes in St. Paul's Church Yard, 1646; "Transla-
