IRIARTE, Tomas de, Spanish poet: 'fi. Orotava (Tenerife, Canary Islands), 18 Sept. 1750; d. Madrid, 17 Sept. 1791. He was a nephew of Juan de Iriarte (q.v.) and was edu cated under the direction of his elder brother. Fray Juan Tomas de Iriarte, and later in Mad rid with his uncle under whom he studied Latin literature, mathematics, natural sciences, Greek, history, English, French and Italian. At the age of 17 he wrote a drama (in verse), Hacer que and at this early age he began translating dramas from French for the theatres of the city. So successful was he at this work that some of his original dramas were produced. On the death of his uncle, Juan de Iriarte, he succeeded him as official translator in the office of the Secretary of State (1771); and five years later he was ap pointed archivist to the Supreme War Council. In 1787 his works were published in six vol umes in Madrid. A goodly part of his energies was taken up in quarrels with the critics of the day and with some of his literary con temporaries, the most notable of which was Juan Pablo Forner, who in turn, lashed him without pity, and sometimes without reason.
Through the intrigues of his enemies Iriarte was summoned before the Inquisition in 1786, on the charge of propagating French heretical doctrines. But he was able to satisfy the ecclesiastical authorities as to his orthodoxy. Iriarte did • much translation and wrote poems and dramas, and attempted other forms of literary work, but his fame to-day rests on his fables in verse, which are counted by far the best of their kind in Spanish. Their ex cellence is due not so much to the poetic talent of the author, which was not very great, as to the interesting form in which the fables are thrown, the ingenuity of many of them, their simplicity, vivacity, grace and ap pearance of naturalness supported by fertility of invention. These became immensely popular, and were translated in most of the languages of Europe. Perhaps the interest in them in Spain was increased by the belief that, under the guise of fable, Iriarte was holding up to ridicule many of his literary detractors. Consult Cotarelo y Mori, y su epoca) (Madrid 1897). See FABULAS OF TOMAS DE IitiArrs