ENRIQUEZ GOMEZ

enriquez gomez, antonio (c. 1601-c. 1661), spanish dramatist, poet and novelist of portuguese-jewish origin, was known in the early part of his career as enrique enriquez de paz. born at segovia, he entered the army, obtained a captaincy, was suspected of heresy, fled to france about 1636, assumed the name of antonio enriquez gomez, and became majordomo to louis xiii., to whom he dedicated _luis dado de dios a anna_ (paris, 1645). some twelve years later he removed to amsterdam, avowed his conversion to judaism, and was burned in effigy at seville on the 14th of april 1660. he is supposed to have returned to france, and to have died there in the following year. three of his plays, _el gran cardenal de espana_, _don gil de albornoz_, and the two parts of _fernan mendez pinto_ were received with great applause at madrid about 1629; in 1635 he contributed a sonnet to montalban's collection of posthumous panegyrics on lope de vega, to whose dramatic school enriquez gomez belonged. the _academias morales de las musas_, consisting of four plays (including _a lo que obliga el honor_, which recalls calderon's _medico de su honra_), was published at bordeaux in 1642; _la torre de babilonia_, containing the two parts of _fernan mendez pinto_, appeared at rouen in 1647; and in the preface to his poem, _el samson nazareno_ (rouen, 1656), enriquez gomez gives the titles of sixteen other plays issued, as he alleges, at seville. there is no foundation for the theory that he wrote the plays ascribed to fernando de zarate. his dramatic works, though effective on the stage, are disfigured by extravagant incidents and preciosity of diction. the latter defect is likewise observable in the mingled prose and verse of _la culpa del primer peregrino_ (rouen, 1644) and the dialogues entitled _politica angelica_ (rouen, 1647). enriquez gomez is best represented by _el siglo pitagorico y vida de don gregorio guadana_ (rouen, 1644), a striking picaresque novel in prose and verse which is still reprinted.