Siete tratados

Siete tratados (in English: Seven Treatises) is a collection of essays published by the Ecuadorian writer Juan Montalvo in two volumes, in 1882 and 1883, respectively. Of a marked philosophical character, it was his most famous work, thanks to which he received praise both in America and in Europe. For the most part, it was written between 1873 and 1875, while its author was outlawed in Ipiales, since, during that period, Gabriel García Moreno, his enemy who was known for repressing any attempt at opposition, governed Ecuador. It was published in Paris, with volume I being published in 1882, and volume II, in 1883.

The novel is written with such an abundance of historical quotations, parables, and examples, that reading it is not easy: the reader may lose interest in the work because of the author's waste of erudition and his digressions, which are not always accurate.

Volume I contains: "On Nobility", "On Beauty in the Human Race" and "Reply to a Pseudo-Catholic Sophist" (in Spanish: “De la nobleza”, “De la belleza en el género humano” and “Réplica a un sofista seudocatólico”). Volume II contains: "On Genius", "The Heroes of the Emancipation of the Spanish-American Race", "The Banquets of the Philosophers" and "El buscapié" (in Spanish: “Del genio”, “Los héroes de la emancipación hispanoamericana”, “Los banquetes de los filósofos” and “El buscapié”), the latter of which later appeared as a prologue to Montalvo's novel Capítulos que se le olvidaron a Cervantes.