Bartolomé José Gallardo (1776-1852) was one of the most controversial and controversial figures of the Spain of his time. He was born in Campanario, a town in the province of Badajoz, and studied medicine in Salamanca, but soon showed his fondness for letters. Between 1802 and 1803 he published a series of brochures -The snitch of the Salamanca diarist- in which he manifested enlightened ideas. Shortly after, in 1806, he translated the poet Claudiano, which gave him the opportunity to defend his conception of language and poetry. In 1811 he was appointed Librarian of the Cortes of Cádiz and the following year he published the work we now publish.