A Arcádia Lusitana

Abstract

Arcádia Lusitana is a literary movement that emerged in Portugal in the 18th century at the height of the Enlightenment. The present article purports to show the living practice during the foundation of this Academy. The analysis of the Statutes presented here is based on a proposal of categorization and organization that results from our reading and interpretation. A closer and more careful reading of the Statutes allows us to understand the dynamics behind the origins and developments of these institutions at the time. Arcádia Lusitana has Cruz e Silva as one of its founders and one of the most significant Arcades of this movement. He appears in this article to illustrate, as a poet, a little of the spirit that is the basis of a new aesthetic taste that Arcádia Lusitana intends to establish in its Conferences, with the ultimate aim of the wise and tasteful instruction of its members.