Feijoo, Benito Jerónimo

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Benito Jerónimo Feijoo: (bānē´tō hārō´nēmō fāēhō´ō), 1676–1764, Spanish Benedictine scholar and critic, abbot at Oviedo, Asturias. Feijoo led in bringing the Enlightenment to Spain. His writings on philosophy, science, and literature represent the most advanced European thought of his time. His essays were collected in his Teatro critico universal (8 vol., 1726–39) and Cartas eruditas y curiosas (5 vol., 1742–60).