Miguel de Guevara (1585-1646) was a poet, philologist and friar from New Spain who belonged to the Order of San Agustín. There are few data about his life, however it is known that he was interested in the study of Native American languages.
The Doctrinal art and general way to learn the Matlazinga language It is among the most representative works written by fray. Although his mastery of letters is known, for many years it has been questioned that it was he who wrote the sonnet It does not move me, my God, to love you, one of the most important of the sixteenth century.
Fray Miguel de Guevara also dedicated himself to teaching the indigenous people of America about the Christian religion. Also during his work as a priest, he held important positions within the ecclesiastical institution, as well as dedicated himself to various missionary tasks..
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The data on the life of Miguel de Guevara lack precision, perhaps because it has not been sufficiently studied. It is known that he was born in New Spain, specifically in the Mexican territory of Michoacán in 1585. His father was named Diego de Peredo Suárez, and he was a relative of Hernán Cortés.
Miguel de Guevara's years of educational training may have passed in his hometown, because it was his place of residence. Later, in his youth, he entered the Order of Saint Augustine and was ordained as a friar between 1610 and 1611.
After being ordained as an Augustinian friar, Guevara held several important positions within the Church. He was a councilor in the town of Tiripitío and later became in charge of the Charo monastery. He was also assigned to be an inspector of the town of San Nicolás Tolentino de Michoacán..
Fray Miguel de Guevara became interested in the indigenous communities of New Spain. As a priest he could have carried out various missionary tasks, and he was also a student of the languages of the Indians, such as Tarascan and Nahuatl. He also learned to speak Mexican and Matlatzinca.
Fray Miguel de Guevara was dedicated until the end of his days at the service of the Church and those most in need, taking his role as a religious very seriously. As for his death, it is known that it occurred in Michoacán, Mexico, in 1646, but no day or month has been specified..
The same thing happened with the works of Fray Miguel de Guevara as with his life, the data are scarce. It is known that he wrote Doctrinal art and general way to learn the Matlazinga language (1638), and that there included the sonnet Christ crucified. However said, the poem had already been circulating for years in other publications.
To the sonnet Christ crucified he was also known as It does not move me, my God, to love you. Some investigations affirmed that it could be written by Antonio de Rojas in his Life of the Spirit, since it appeared in Spain in 1628, ten years before the publication of Miguel de Guevara.
This work is the best known of Miguel de Guevara. Its content was based both on the teaching of the Matlazinga vocabulary and on topics related to devotion to Christ, the end of human life and the speed with which time passes.
The writing consisted of three poems of his authorship, and also six more whose author is not determined. Those verses that were believed anonymous were later awarded to various authors, including Spaniards, New Hispanics and Portuguese.
The titles of those anonymous poems were:
- "Did God die? Yeah true? Certain". It was a tenth that was published in 1619, in Madrid, by Bishop Juan de Horozco y Covarrubias.
- "Time flies like thought." Its author was Juan de Horozco y Covarrubias, it was published in the Spanish city of Segovia in 1589.
- "Ask me of myself, time counts." This poem became known in Portugal and Spain many years before Guevara published it in his central work.
- "It does not move me, my God, to love you".
- In relation to the remaining poems, scholars have argued that the form and style are unrelated to those of the Novohispanic friar..
In 1859 Guevara's work was delivered to the Society of Geography and Statistics, and the institution was commissioned to publish it in 1862, but incompletely. Later, the Mexican researcher and professor Alberto María Carreño was in charge of bringing it to light based on the original.
Carreño's work left its mark on Mexican literature, especially in terms of the awarding of It doesn't move me ... The Mexican maintained that the poem was written by Guevara, and perhaps for that reason later publications included it as if it were his own..
"This heavenly crown, formed
of the supreme eternal wisdom
with which you are worthily crowned
Virgin peerless, Blessed Mary,
a soul that you have very obliged
with divine favors, he sends you
begging you that on the ground
you give him so much that he can see you in heaven ".
"Already, my son, you are raised
although rough and labrador;
I couldn't raise you better,
which is my highly valued flow ".
"You are in great danger, dear son,
of which you leave me with your misgivings,
because you are going to imitate your wits
and to be a conqueror and a daring man ".
Although this sonnet has been the subject of debate for its authorship, several authors have incorporated it into their anthologies as if Miguel de Guevara were the author. Among some of them were: Antonio Castro Leal, Víctor Adib, Octavio Paz, Salvador Novo and Juan Domingo Argüelles.
"It does not move me, my God, to love you
the sky that you have promised me
nor does hell move me so feared
to stop offending you.
You move me, Lord, move me to see you
nailed to a cross and mocked,
move me to see your body so hurt,
… Finally, move me your love in such a way ”.
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