Antônio Pereira de Sousa Caldas (November 24, 1762 – March 2, 1814) was a Brazilian poet, priest and orator, patron of the 34th chair of the

Brazilian Academy of Letters The Academia Brasileira de Letras (ABL; English: ''Brazilian Academy of Letters'') is a Brazilian literary non-profit society established at the end of the 19th century. The first president, Machado de Assis, declared its foundation on Tuesday, ...

About

Sousa Caldas was born in 1762, to Portuguese merchant Luís Pereira de Sousa and Ana Maria de Sousa. Since he was a small boy, he had a vocation for literature, and, at only 8 years old, he was sent to

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, to live under the care of an uncle. With 16 years old, he entered the

University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; , ) is a Public university, public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coimbra in 1537. The university ...

, where he learnt mathematics and

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

. In 1781, he was arrested by the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a Catholic Inquisitorial system#History, judicial procedure where the Ecclesiastical court, ecclesiastical judges could initiate, investigate and try cases in their jurisdiction. Popularly it became the name for various med ...

because of his ideals, influenced by the

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

. Transferred to the convent of Rilhafoles, he was catechized for six months. After the

catechism A catechism (; from , "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of Catholic theology, doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult co ...

, he became a fully different person, discovering his sacerdotal vocation. However, he did not abandoned his philosophical and satirical poetry, writing the poem ''Ode ao Homem Natural'' in 1784. It is attributed to him the satire ''O Reino da Estupidez''. He also published the poem ''Ode ao Homem Selvagem.'' After graduating in the canon law course in 1789, he travelled to France and

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

. In Genoa, he wrote the

ode An ode (from ) is a type of lyric poetry, with its origins in Ancient Greece. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. A classic ode is structu ...

''A Criação'' and abandoned the satirical poetry. In 1801, he returns to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

to visit his mother, settling permanently in the town. During his final years in Rio, he wrote many letters for his friends, but only five of them exist today. He died in 1814.

Works

* ''Ode ao Homem Natural'' (1784) * ''A Criação'' (1790) * ''Poesias Sacras e Profanas'' (anthology of poems compiled by

Francisco de Borja Garção Stockler Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Meaning of the name Francisco In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Commu ...

and published posthumously in 1820)

References

External links

Poems by Sousa Caldas at the official site of the Brazilian Academy of Letters

* ttp://www.casadobruxo.com.br/poesia/s/sousa.htm Poems by Sousa Caldas 1762 births 1814 deaths Patrons of the Brazilian Academy of Letters 18th-century Brazilian poets 18th-century Brazilian Roman Catholic priests 19th-century Brazilian Roman Catholic priests Brazilian people of Portuguese descent University of Coimbra alumni Brazilian male poets Writers from Rio de Janeiro (city) 18th-century male writers 19th-century Brazilian poets {{Brazil-writer-stub