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STUDIES  IN 
PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 


LONDON  AGENTS 
SIMPKIN,  MARSHALL  &  CO.,  LIMITED 


STUDIES  IN 
PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 


BY 

AUBREY    F.    G.    BELL 


OXFORD 
B.  H.  BLACKWELL,  BROAD  STREET 

1914 


^^Sli 


7l 


PREFACE 


Nearly  a  century  ago  it  was  said  of  Portuguese 
literature  that  it  might  be  compared  with  "  une  de  ces 
lies  dont  les  navigateurs  ont  vu  les  cotes  mais  dont  on 
ignore  completement  les  richesses  " — a  land  of  the 
Hesperides,  with  the  golden  apples  unreached.  Since 
then  much  has  been  done,  but  it  must  be  confessed 
that  English  critics  have  taken  little  part  in  recon- 
noitring this  uncharted  country.  Yet  Portuguese 
literature  repays  study,  revealing  beneath  an  appearance 
of  dulness  much  to  interest  and  delight,  many  noble 
fruits  in  its  occasionally  dreary  charnecas.  The  fascin- 
ating cantigas  de  amigo  of  King  Diniz,  the  prose  of  King 
Duarte,  the  lyrical  autos  of  Gil  Vicente,  the  exquisite 
eclogues  of  the  quinhentistas,  remain  all  but  unknown 
to  English  readers. 

In  Portugal  there  has  been  a  certain  reaction  against 
the  neglect  and  indifference  which  have  allowed  so 
many  rare  editions  and  valuable  manuscripts  to  perish. 
The  brunt  of  the  work  has  been  borne  by  Senhor 
Theophilo  Braga  (born  in  1843).  It  is  easy  to  be 
repelled  by  those  of  his  writings  which  deal  with 
literary  criticism.  They  are  often  without  form,  honey- 
combed with  repetitions,  tasteless  and  irrelevant  political 


vi  PREFACE 

or  other  digressions  of  great  length,  little  pedantries, 
vague  abstractions.  But  their  real  merits  counter- 
balance these  defects  in  construction.  His  books  are 
not  works  of  art,  but  they  are  a  great  motive  power, 
proving  and  searching  the  whole  domain  of  Portuguese 
literature.  Unfortunately  his  method  is  largely  hypo- 
thetical, with  the  result  that  a  single  ingenious  supposi- 
tion, subsequently  disproved,  involves  whole  chapters 
in  destruction,  like  a  house  of  cards,  the  successive 
editions  of  his  works  being  a  network  of  corrections 
and  contradictions.  But  he  remains  one  of  the  chief 
figures  of  contemporary  Portugal,  after  fifty  years  of 
persistent  labour  still  working  to  fill  in  the  gaps, 
unhappily  large,  in  his  Historia  da  Litter atur a  Portugiieza, 
outlined  in  thirty-two  volumes.  It  was  impossible  that 
he  should  bring  to  a  satisfactory  conclusion  so  gigantic 
a  task — of  poetry,  criticism,  philosophy,  psychology, 
history,  politics ;  but  the  w^ork  actually  accomplished 
by  him  is  truly  marvellous  in  extent.  While  one  must 
regret  that  he  has  allowed  sectarian  politics  to  creep 
and  intrude  into  works  of  literary  criticism,  and  may 
deplore  the  pompous  inanity  of  his  style,  one  can  but 
admire  his  very  real  achievement,  his  untiring  researches 
and  never-failing  enthusiasm. 

Senhora  Dra  Michaelis  de  Vasconcellos,^  less  am- 
bitious, but  working  with  true  scholarship  and  insight, 
has  accomplished  much  of  definite  and  lasting  value, 
as,  for  instance,  in  her  splendid  edition  of  the  poems  of 
Sd  de  Miranda,  in  her  edition  of  Cancioneiro  da  Ajuda,^ 

1  Born  in  1851,  the  daughter  of  a  Berlin  Professor,  Gustav  Michaelis, 
she  first  came  to  Oporto  in  the  year  1876-  cLi>c^cL    I  02.5'  ^^-ec. ) 
'•^  Two  vols.,  Halle,  1904. 


PREFACE  vii 

in  the  Geschichte  der  Porhigiesischen  Litteratur,^  and  in 
many  other  important  books,  articles,  editions,  etc.  She 
is  the  best  and  surest  Hving  authority  on  questions  of 
Portuguese  literature.  Much,  however,  remains  to  be 
done,  and  a  wide  field,  of  many  difficulties  but  of  great 
fascination,  lies  open  to  those  who  have  the  necessary 
time  and  perseverance.  A  critical  edition  of  the  works 
of  Gil  Vicente,  an  edition  of  the  letters  of  Dom  Joao 
de  Castro,  Viceroy  of  India,  a  study  of  the  dates  and 
interrelations  of  Bernardim  Ribeiro,  Sa  de  Miranda, 
and  Christovam  Falcao  (whose  poems  are  by  some 
attributed  in  their  entirety  to  Bernardim  Ribeiro) — 
these  are  but  three  out  of  a  hundred  similar  tasks.^ 

The  eclogues  of  Bernardim  Ribeiro  (?  1486-1552),^ 
Christovam  Falcao  (c.  1512-1557),  Sa  de  Miranda, 
Dom  Manoel  de  Portugal  (1520-1606),  Diogo  Bernardes 
(c.  1520-1600),  Luis  de  Camoes,  Pedro  de  Andrade 
Caminha,^  Francisco  Rodrigues  Lobo  (c.  1580- 1625)  are 

'  Grober,  Grundriss  der  romanischen  Philologie.  Bd.  2.  Abtg.  2. 
Liefg.  2  and  3. 

2  Especially  urgent  is  the  publication  of  a  large  number  of  works 
still  in  manuscript. 

3  See  Bernardim  Ribeiro  e  0  Bticolismo  {Christovam  Falcao).  Por  Theo- 
philo  Braga,  Porto,  1897.  The  exact  dates  of  both  poets  are  very  uncer- 
tain. Senhor  Braga  gives  Bernardim  Ribeiro'sas  1482-1552,  or  possibly 
1549.  See  also  Poeslas  de  Sd  de  Mirajida  (ed.  C.  Michaelis  de  Vascon- 
cellos,  1885),  Notas,  pp.  767-771  and  Carolina  Michaelis  de  Vasconcellos 
in  Grundriss  der  rom.  Phil.,  pp.  289-295.  Bernardim  Ribeiro's  most 
famous  poem  is  his  Egloga  [Jano  e  Franco)  in  octosyllabic  redondilhas. 
There  are  few  more  hauntingly  beautiful  poems  in  the  Portuguese 
language  than  his  Romance  : 

"  Pola  ribeira  de  um  rio 
Que  leva  as  aguas  ao  mar 
Vae  o  triste  de  Avalor." 

*  Pedro  de  Andrade  Caminha  (c.  1520- 1589)  was  a  friend  of  all  the 
great  poets  of  his  time,  and  corresponded  with  them  in  verse  (Sa  de 


VUl 


PREFACE 


still  too  little  known  outside  of  Portugal,  and  deserve  a 
special  study.  In  spite  of  the  traditionally  dull  and 
artificial  character  of  this  kind  of  poetry,  they  reveal  a 
real  love  of  Nature  and  power  of  song.  The  dreamy 
charm  of  many  regions  of  Portugal,  and  the  pensive 
character  of  the  inhabitants,  made  the  eclogues  a 
natural  growth  ;  and  just  as  their  idyllic  character 
pervades  the  plays  of  Gil  Vicente,  so  his  piquant 
characterization,  real  flavour  of  the  soil,  and  direct 
observation  of  life  are  to  be  found  in  many  of  the 
Portuguese  eclogues. 

Another  fascinating  study  is  that  of  Portuguese 
prose,  in  the  clearly  chiselled  sentences  of  King  Duarte, 
the  quaint  and  various  early  Chronicas,  the  coloured 
and  picturesque  accounts  of  the  conquests  beyond  the 
seas,  the  balanced  periods  of  Joao  de  Barros'  ^  Decadas, 
the  fervent  letters  of  the  nun  of  Beja,  Marianna 
Alcoforado,  or  the  gongorismo  of  the  seiscentistas.  It  is 
difficult  to  believe  that  we  have  the  same  language, 

"  A  portugueza  majestosa  lingua," 
in  the  precise  and  direct  style  of  Francisco  Manuel  de 
Mello's^  Cartas  Familiares  and  Dialogos  Apologaes,  in 

Miranda  refers  to  him  affectionately  as  "el  nuestro  Andrade"),  but 
his  poetry  for  the  most  part  is  inferior  to  theirs.  See  Poesias  de  Pedro  de 
Andrade  Caminha,  mandadas  publicar  pela  Academia  Real  das  Sciencias 
de  Lisboa  [from  a  MS.  in  the  possession  of  the  Duque  de  Cadaval  and 
another  in  the  Convento  da  Gra^a].  Lisboa,  1791.  A  critical  edition 
by  J.  Priebsch  has  been  published  recently  at  Halle. 

1  1496-1570. 

2  A  seiscentista  (1608-1666)  who  sought  to  write  with  clear  simplicity. 
His  life  was  a  stirring  one,  but  he  had  leisure  to  improve  his  style 
during  the  long  years  he  spent  in  prison.  To  a  young  relation  who 
was  going  to  the  wars  he  wrote  thus,  Polonius-fashion  :  "  Ide  com 
Nosso  Senhor.     Lembraivos  sempre  delle  e  de   quem  sois.      Fallay 


PREFACE  ix 

the  vigour  of  Dom  Joao  de  Castro's^  letters,  the  plastic, 
sensuous,  glowing  prose  of  Almeida-Garrett,  the  drier, 
admirably  clear  sentences  of  Alexandre  Herculano,^ 
the  prose  of  E9a  de  Queiroz,  at  times  simple  and 
restrained,  at  times  inflated  and  extravagant.  Of  the 
turgidity,  abstractness,  and  Gallicisms  of  many  modern 
writers  it  is  unnecessary  to  speak.^ 

It  may  be  that  the  Portuguese  genius  has  but  little 
claim  to  originality.  It  willingly  looks  abroad,  and 
delights  in  novelties  and  changes.  Even  mutable 
Gothic  architecture,  for  instance,  was  too  rigid  for  the 
taste  of  the  Portuguese  in  the  sixteenth  century,  and 
they  loaded  it  with  Manueline  additions.  They  assimi- 
late quickly,  and,  once  the  impulse  given  from  abroad, 
they  clothe  their  borrowings  in  native  garb.  Thus 
beneath  the  alternating  influence  of  France  and  Italy 
and  Spain,  and,  more  recently,  of  Germany  and 
England,  Portuguese  poets  have  shown  that  they  possess 
a  genuine  gift  of  song  and  a  character  of  their  own. 
Yet  something  was  lost  if  much  was  gained  when  the 
Portuguese  writers  of  the  sixteenth  century  turned 
again  to  imitate   foreign    models,  and   the   savour   of 

verdade.  Nao  aporfieis.  Perguntai  pouco.  Jugay  menos.  Segui  os 
bons  ;  obedecey  aos  mayores."  (Go  with  Our  Lord.  Ever  remember 
Him  and  who  you  are.  Speak  the  truth.  Be  not  stiff-necked.  Ask  few 
questions.  Gamble  even  less.  Follow  the  good  ;  obey  your  elders.) 
His  celebrated  Guerra  de  Catal-una  has  recently  been  republished  by  the 
Real  Academia  Espanola  from  the  first  edition  {Lisbon,  1645),  with  intro- 
duction and  notes  by  D.  Jacinto  Octavio  Picon.  Madrid,  1912.  And 
his  Life,  written  by  Mr.  Edgar  Prestage,  is  to  appear  shortly. 

1  Born  at  Lisbon,  1500  ;  died  at  Goa,  1548. 

2  Alexandre  Herculano  de  Carvalho  e  Araujo,  1810-1877. 

3  The  chief  defects  of  modern  Portuguese  are  its  vague  pomposity 
and  its  inability  to  use  two  words  where  ten  are  possible — e.g. ,  ' '  number  " 
becomes  desigua^do  numerica. 


X  PREFACE 

Portuguese  literature  in  the  fifteenth  and  first  quarter 
of  the  sixteenth  century  was  never  recaptured.  Camoes, 
without  doubt,  is  the  greatest  poet  of  Portugal ;  never- 
theless, Portuguese  poets  of  the  twentieth  century 
would  do  well  to  go  back  beyond  Camoes  to  study  the 
native  strains  of  Gil  Vicente  and  the  rough  redondilhas 
of  Sa  de  Miranda. 

The  Portuguese  poets  through  the  centuries  have 
sung  of  love  and  death — of  love  without  joy,  and  of 
death  as  an  object  of  desire : 

**  Fratelli  a  un  tempo  Amor  e  Morte 
Ingenero  la  sorte." 

They  might  take  for  their  motto  a  line  of  a  vilancete 
by  the  Conde  do  Vimioso  ^:  Mil  vezes  a  morte  chamo 
(Mil  vezes,  amor,  te  chamo).  They  have  made  a  national 
cult  of  Saudade,  and  the  last  lines  of  a  recent  Portu- 
guese poem  tell  us  that  Saudade  is  eternal  and  will 
survive  the  worlds  and  stars.^  They  forget  that  not  in 
Paradise  and  not  in  Purgatory  were  said  the  words : 

"  Tristi  fummo 
Nell'aer  dolce  que  dal  sol  s'allegra." 

Other  characteristics  of  Portuguese  literature — a  dreamy, 
often  fantastic  imagination,  a  tendency  to  prolixity  and 
bombast,  grotesque  satire,  and  endless  digressions — 
are  all  aspects  of  a  certain  vagueness  of   outline,  an 

1  1485-1549.     He  was  the  father  of  Dom  Manoel  de  Portugal. 

2  Teixeira  de  Pascoaes.     Mardnos  (191 1)  : 

•'  E  tudo  passara.  .   .  .    Mas  a  Saudade 
Nao  passard  jamais  !  e  ha  de  ficar 
(Porque  ella  e  o  Infinito  e  a  Eternidade) 
Sobrevivente  aos  mundos  e  as  estrellas." 


PREFACE  xi 

absence  of  vigour  and  precision,  which  finds  compensa- 
tion in  naturalness  and  charm.  In  a  word,  the  Portu- 
guese have  more  poetical  feeling  than  conscious  art, 
and  perhaps  for  this  very  reason  Portugal  has  produced 
an  astonishing  number  of  spontaneous  perfect  lyrics : 

"  Fez  huas  lirias  no  som 
Que  mi  sacam  o  coragom." 

The  rivers  of  Portugal — the  Mondego,  Douro,  Tejo 
crystallino,  the  doce  Neiva,  brando  Lima,  manso  Lega — 
all  have  their  poets.  The  lyric  of  Francisco  de  Sa  de 
Menezes,^  addressed  to  the  River  Lega,  is  inimitable 
in  the  easy  flow  and  inevitable  grace  of  its  verses : 

"  6  rio  Lega, 
Como  corres  manso  ! 
Se  eu  tiver  descanso 
Em  ti  se  comega  ! 

"  Sempre  sosegados 
Vao  teus  movimentos ; 
Nao  te  alteram  ventos 
Nem  tempos  mudados." 

(River  Le^a,  still. 
Ah,  how  still  thy  flow ! 
Could  I  rest  e'er  know 
Rest  wouldst  thou  instil ! 

Calm  thy  waters  move 
Ever  without  fail ; 
Thee  no  winds  assail 
Nor  time's  changes  prove.) 

1  1515-1584.  The  few  of  his  poems  that  have  survived  fully  con- 
firm the  praises  of  his  contemporaries,  Antonio  Ferreira,  Diogo 
Bernardes,  etc.  See  Poesias  de  Sd  de  Miranda  (ed.  C.  Michaelis  de 
Vasconcellos,  1885),  Notas,  pp.  749-751. 


xii  PREFACE 

In  the  same  spirit  and  with  equal  beauty  of  expression 
Diogo  Bernardes,  captive  in  Africa,^  turns  his  thoughts 
to  the  River  Lima,  on  whose  banks  was  his  home : 

"  Mas  nunca  deixara  de  ser  formosa 
No  meu  atribulado  pensamento 
A  ribeira  do  Lima  saudosa. 
Nao  causara  em  mim  esquecimento, 
Inda  que  tem  virtude  d'esquecer, 
O  seu  brando  e  suave  movimento." 

(But  ever  in  my  saddened  thoughts  the  banks 
Of  Lima  shall  be  fair,  for  which  I  long. 
Never  in  me  shall  cause  forgetfulness 
The  soft  and  gentle  motion  of  its  waters, 
Though  power  it  has  to  help  men  to  forget.)^ 

Portuguese  literature,  poor  in  clear-cut  or  striking 
effects,  may  not  attract  many  readers,  but,  to  those  who 
study  it,  appears  like  a  fair,  humble  shepherdess  of  the 
serra^  with  all  the  grace  of  the  scented  woods,  pleasant 
streams,  and  flowered  hills  of  Portugal : 

'*  A  serra  e  alta,  fria  e  nevosa ; 
Vi  venir  serrana  gentil,  graciosa." 

To  write  its  complete  history,^  embracing  the  literature 

1  He  was  freed,  among  other  Portuguese  captives,  by  Philip  II. 

2  He  celebrated  the  Lima  continually  (in  0  Lyma),  and  many  years 
earlier  he  wrote  to  Sa  de  Miranda  that  his  walks  were  ever  along  its 
banks : 

"Agora  rio  abaixo,  rio  acima, 
Que  vae  suavemente  murmurando, 
So  me  vou  pela  beira  do  meu  Lima." 

3  The  best  general  sketch  of  Portuguese  literature  is  to  be  found 
in  Geschichte  der  portugiesischen  Litteratur,  von  Carolina  Michaelis  de 
Vasconcellos  und  Theophilo  'Bvdig^  [Grundriss  der  romanischen  Philologie). 
Bd.  2.  Abtg.  2  (sold  separately) ;  in  Senhora  Michaelis  de  Vasconcellos' 
article  in  La  Grande  Encyclopedie  {Portugal:  Litterature),  or  in  Mr.  Edgar 
Prestage's  article  in  the  Encyclopedia  Britannica. 


PREFACE  xiii 

of  Galicia,  ancient  and  modern,  must  be  a  task  occupying 
many  years.  Perhaps,  however,  there  is  some  danger 
at  the  present  day  lest,  while  learned  critics,  in  a  kind 
of  literary  spillikins,  are  skilfully  sifting  their  facts  and 
dates,  the  general  reader  may  take  less  and  less  interest 
in  the  literature  thus  scientifically  presented  to  him,  and 
continue  in  scarceness.  These  straggling  notes  can  lay 
no  claim  to  original  research,  but  may  possibly  serve  as 
a  stepping-stone  till  the  crying  need  for  a  more  thorough 
and  complete  study  of  Portuguese  literature  in  English 
is  supplied.  The  name  of  Mr.  Edgar  Prestage  is  well 
known  to  English  readers.  Probably  no  Englishman 
has  so  intimate  an  acquaintance  with  Portuguese  litera- 
ture, which  he  has  studied  for  twenty  years.  There  is, 
therefore,  good  reason  to  hope  that  he  will  supply  this 
want  and  provide  English  students  with  the  first  history 
of  Portuguese  literature  ever  written  in  English. 

No  doubt  it  will  come  as  a  shock  to  many  that 
Portugal  has  other  subjects  of  interest  to  oifer  besides 
port-wine,  revolutions,  and  rotative  politics.  Great 
indeed  would  be  the  reward  of  these  chapters  could 
they  help  to  spread  a  juster,  more  sympathetic  attitude 
towards  this  land  of  unfailing  song,  which  throughout 
its  history  has  bred  many  an 

"  Homem  de  bra90  e  saber  ;"^ 
many,  that  is,  capable  of  carrying  through  with  sword 
and  pen  what  Sir  Peter  Wyche  in  the  seventeenth 
century  described  as  *'  Performances  of  the  Portu- 
guese, notorious  for  the  Wisdome  of  the  Contrivance 
and  Gallantry  of  the  Execution." 

1  It  is  the  phrase  of  Sa  de  Miranda  describing  the  Spanish  poet,  the 
Marques  de  Santillana. 


CONTENTS 


PREFACE     - 

LIST    OF    GENERAL    WORKS 


PAGE 

V 

xvii 


I.  KING    DINIZ    AND    THE    EARLY    LYRICS           -  -  I 

II.  EARLY    PROSE            -                  -                  -                  -  -  40 

III.  GIL    VICENTE  -  -  -  -  '55 

IV.  si.   DE    MIRANDA      -                 -                 -                 -  -  81 

V.  CAMOES        -                 -                 -                 -                 -  -  114 

VI.  ALMEIDA-GARRETT                    ....  162 

VII.  THREE    POETS    OF    THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY  -  184 

VIII.  TWO    MODERN    NOVELISTS                     -                  -  -  I98 

IX.  PORTUGUESE    POETS    OF    TO-DAY     -                  -  -  221 


INDEX   TO    QUOTATIONS 
INDEX 


240 
243 


SOME  GENERAL  WORKS  ON   PORTUGUESE 
LITERATURE 

Almeida-Garrett :  Bosquejo  da  historia  da  poesia  e  lingua  portu- 

gueza.     Paris,  1826. 
Andrade  Ferreira  and  Casfello  Branco  (Camillo)  :  Curso  de  litt. 

port.     Lisboa,  1875- 1876. 

Barbosa  Machado  :   Bibliotheca  Lusitana,     4  vols.     Lisboa,  1741- 

1752. 
Barros  {Jodo  de) :    La  litterature  portugaise.     Esquisse  de  son 

evolution.     Porto,  1910. 
Bellermann   (C.  F.)  :    Die   alten    Liederbiicher    der    Portugiesen. 

Berlin,  1840. 
Boiiterwek   {Friedrich)  :    Geschichte  der  portugiesischen    Poesie 

und  Beredsamkeit.     Gottingcn,  1805. 
Braga  {Theophilo)  :  Historia  da  Litteratura  Portugueza.     14  vols. 

Porto,  1 870- 1 91 1. 

Costa  e  Silva  :  Ensaio  biographico-critico  sobre  os  melhores  poetas 
portuguezes.     10  vols.     Lisboa,  18^0-18^6. 

Denis   {Jean    Ferdinand)  :    Resume    de    I'histoire    litteraire    de 

Portugal.     Paris,  1826. 
Diez  (F.)  .•  Ueber  die  erste  portugiesische  Kunst-und  H  of  poesie, 

Bonn,  1863. 

Figuciredo    {Fidelino    de) :    Historia    da    Litteratura    Romantica 
Portuguesa  (1825-1870).     Lisboa,  1913. 

Freire  de  Carvalho  :  Ensaio  sobre  a  historia  litteraria  de  Portugal. 
Lisboa,  1845. 

xvii 


xviii  GENERAL  WORKS 

Innoccncio  da  Silva  :  Diccionario  bibliographico  portugucz. 
Lisboa,  1883,  etc. 

Lcbesque  (Pliileas) :    he   Portugal  litteraire  d'aujourd'luii.     Paris, 

1904. 
Loiscaii  {A.)  :  Histoire  de  la  litterature  portugaise.     Pans,  1886. 

Michaelis  dc  Vasconcellos  [Carolina)  :  Geschichte  der  portugie- 
sischen  Litteratur  (Grundiss  der  romanischen  Philologie. 
Bd.  2.     Abtg.  2). 

Poesias  de  Sa  de  Miranda  (Notes).     Halle,  1885. 

Article  on  Portuguese  Literature  in  La  Grande  Encyclopedie. 

Pereira   da   Silva    (J.  M.)  :    La   litterature    portugaise.      Rio   de 

'Janeiro,  1886. 
Prestage  [Edgar)  :  Portuguese  Literature  to  the  end  of  the  i8th 

Century.     London,  1909. 

Portuguese  Literature  of  the  19th  Century  (in  The  Later 

Nineteenth    Century    by    George    Saintsbury,    Chapter    VL). 
London,  1907. 

Article  on  Portuguese  Literature  in  Encyclopaedia  Britan- 


nica  (last  edition). 

Remedios  (Mendes  dos)  :  Historia  da  litteratura  portuguesa  desde 
as  origenes  ate  a  actuahdade.     2^  edigao.     Coimbra,  1902. ' 

Simoes  Bias  [Jose)  :  Curso  elementar  dc  litteratura  portuguesa. 
7"^  edigao.     Lisboa,  1892. 

Sismondi  [J.  C.  L.  S.  de)  :  De  la  litterature  du  midi  de  1' Europe. 
Tom.  4.     Paris,  1829. 

Storck  [VV.)  :  Vida  c  Obras  dc  Luis  de  Camocs  (General  Intro- 
duction).    Lisboa,  1897  [1898]. 

Wolf  [F.) :   Studien   zur  Geschichte  der   spanischen   und    portu- 

giesischen  Nationalliteratur.     Berlin,  1859. 
Hist,  de  las  ht.  castell.  y  portug.    2  torn.    Madrid,  1895-96. 

Sec  also  Ticknor  (G.)  ;  History  of  Spanish  Literature  ;  and  Fitz- 
maurice-Kelly  [J.)  :  Litterature  Espagnole  (French  transla- 
tion), second  edition,  1913. 


CHAPTER  I 

KING  DINIZ  AND  THE  EARLY  LYRICS 

During  the  second  half  of  the  eleventh  and  first  half 
of  the  twelfth  century  Galicia  underwent  many  changes 
of  frontier.  In  1065  it  extended  southward  to  the  river 
Mondego.  In  1093  its  boundary  advanced  momentarily 
to  the  Tagus,  and  Alfonso  VI.,  King  of  Leon  and 
Castille,  granted  Galicia  and  his  daughter  Urraca  to 
Raymond,  son  of  the  Count  of  Burgundy.  But  he 
further  entrusted  the  government  of  the  region  between 
the  rivers  Minho  and  Tagus  to  the  cousin  of  Raymond, 
Count  Henry,  giving  him  his  daughter  Tareja  (Theresa) 
in  marriage.  This  region  soon  became  independent, 
and  the  son  of  Henry,  Affonso,  was  proclaimed  first 
King  of  Portugal  in  1140.  It  was,  however,  only  very 
slowly  that  this  artificial  division  between  the  two 
countries  became  a  real  difference.  The  language 
spoken  in  both  remained  the  same.  The  ideas  of  the 
new  Portuguese  Court  were  cosmopolitan  rather  than 
national.  In  1147  King  Affonso  Henriques  married 
Mafalda   (Mathilda),  daughter   of   Amadeo,   Count   of 


2    STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

Savoy,  and  Senhor  Braga  thinks  that  Proven9al  poetry 
thus  came  to  Portugal  first  through  Italy,  and  that  it 
was  possibly  in  the  train  of  Countess  Mafalda  that 
arrived  Marcabrus,  the  first  Provencal  poet  to  visit 
Portugal.^  It  is,  however,  probable  that  an  even  earlier 
connection  with  Provence  had  been  established  through 
Galicia  and  Santiago  de  Compostella.  Santiago  was  a 
meeting-place  of  pilgrims  from  all  Europe.  Between 
Galicia  and  France  especially  the  connection  was  a 
close  one,  facilitated  by  the  fact  that  the  north-western 
region  of  the  Peninsula  was  one  of  the  few  parts  freed 
from  the  dominion  of  the  Moors.  Nothing  could  be 
more  natural  than  that  these  pilgrims,  singing  songs 
on  the  road,  should  have  introduced  some  of  the  forms 
of  Proven9al  poetry  into  Galicia,  and  thence  to  Portugal. 
In  1093  Count  Henrique  went  on  a  pilgrimage^  to 
Santiago,  and  over  and  over  again  in  the  Cancioneiro  da 
Vaticana  we  find  echoes  of  similar  pilgrimages  : 

"  Por  fazer  romaria  puz'  en  meu  cora9om 
A  Santiago  um  dia  por  fazer  oragom 
E  por  veer  meu  amigo  logu'  i."^ 


1  Tvovadores  galecio-portiiguezes.     Por  Theophilo  Braga.     Porto,  1871. 
•^  So  an  old  romance  tells  of  Conde  Floras  ; 

"  Que  vinha  da  romaria, 
Romaria  de  Santiago, 
Santiago  de  Galiza  " 

and  the  ancient  Linhagem  dos  Bargangdos  (printed  in  Portugaha  Monu- 
menta  Historica)  speaks  of  the  marriage  of  D.  Mendo  Alao  de  Bargan9a 
with  the  daughter  of  the  King  of  Armenia,  "  who  was  going  upon  a 
pilgrimage  to  Santiago." 

^  C.  da   Vat.,   No.  265.     The  spelling  of   Portuguese  varies  so  in- 
finitely at  different  periods,  or  even  in  the  same  period,  and  to-day 


KING  DINIZ  AND  THE  EARLY  LYRICS       3 

^'  A  Santiagu  em  rromaria  vem 
El  Rey,  madre,  praz-me  de  coragom 
Per  duas  cousas,  sse  Deus  me  perdon', 
Em  que  tenho  que  me  fez  Deus  gram  bem : 
Ca  verey  el  rey  que  nunca  vi 
Et  meu  amigo  que  vem  com  el  hy."^ 

(The  King  to  Santiago  presently, 

Mother,  in  pilgrimage  will  come,  and  I 

Am  glad  at  heart,  so  Heaven  pardon  me, 

For  the  two  favours  Heaven  gives  me  thereby : 

The  King,  whom  I  ne'er  saw,  shall  I  see,  and  together 

With  the  King  my  love  is  coming  hither.) 

Portugal  underwent  foreign  influence  in  yet  another 
way,  for  its  coast  was  passed  by  Crusaders  on  their 
way  to  the  Holy  Land,  and  they  were  frequently  driven 
by  stress  of  weather  to  take  refuge  there.  Thus,  in  1147, 
a  force  of  thirteen  thousand  Crusaders  from  Flanders, 
Lorraine,  Aquitaine  and  England,  who  had  embarked 
in  two  hundred  ships  at  Dartmouth,  assisted  King 
Affonso  to  recapture  Lisbon,  and  some  of  them  settled 
in  the  country. 

more  than  ever— ^.^.,  hymno,  hino,  ino  (hymn);  cousa  or  coisa  (thing) — 
that  in  the  quotations  no  uniformity  of  spelling  has  been  attempted 
(c/.,  um,  hum,  him,  htcma,  hua,  titna,  ua,  for  the  indefinite  article). 
Wherever  two  vowels  have  run  into  one  the  acute  accent  has  been 
used — as  Sa  (for  Saa)  de  Miranda — and  the  circumflex  where  two 
syllables  have  been  contracted— ^or  {dolor),  trior  [maior),  but  Jlor  (Jlos). 
Another  apparent  inconsistency — the  spelling  of  Licis  de  Camoes  and 
Thomaz  Ribeiro — is  due  to  the  fact  that,  while  the  latter  wrote  his 
name  with  a  z,  Luis,  not  Luiz,  appears  on  the  title-page  of  the  first 
edition  of  the  Lusiads  (1572)  and  in  contemporary  documents.  It  may 
be  said  here  that  the  verse  translations  throughout  are  but  miserable 
echoes  of  the  originals.  Care  has  been  taken  to  make  them  as  literal 
as  possible,  but  if  any  reader,  not  knowing  Portuguese,  judge  Portu- 
guese poetry  from  these  translations  he  will  err  sadly  in  his  judgment. 
1  C.  da  Vat. J  No.  458  {cf.  Nos.  429,  455,  689). 


4    STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

It  is  certain  that  Galicia  and  Portugal  adopted  the 
Provencal  poetry  earlier  than  Castille,  although  it  had 
first  entered  the  Peninsula  in  Catalonia  and  Aragon.^ 
Portugal  was  as  yet  scarcely  a  nation.  She  had  no 
great  historical  poems  and  traditions.  Spain  had  her 
own  heroic  poems  to  withstand  the  Provencal  influence, 
and  when  singing  in  softer  mood  the  Spanish  poets 
sang  in  Galician  or  Portuguese.  The  Cancioneiro  of 
King  Diniz  contains  many  Portuguese  poems  written 
by  Spaniards,  and  Alfonso  the  Learned  (1220-1284),  in 
his  prose  so  great  a  master  of  Castilian,  wrote  his 
Cantigas  de  Sania  Maria  in  Galician  (or  Portuguese,  for 
there  was  still  but  little  difference  between  the  two). 
The  Marques  de  Santillana  (1398-1458),  in  an  often- 
quoted  passage  of  his  letter  to  Dom  Pedro,  Constable 
of  Portugal,  says  that  Galicia  and  Portugal  first  adopted 
the  poetry  of  the  arte  mayor  and  arte  comun,  so  much 
so  that  not  long  before  his  time  all  poets  of  Castille, 
Andalucia  or  Estremadura,  wrote  all  their  works  in 
Galician  or  Portuguese. ^  But  the  fact  that  it  was  the 
Galician- Portuguese  imitations  of  Provengal  poetry 
that  thus  prevailed  for  a  time  in  Spain  in  itself  implies 

1  Sancho,  second  King  of  Portugal,  married  a  daughter  of  the  Count 
of  Provence  and  King  of  Aragon. 

2  Coleccidn  de  poesias  castellanasanienoresalsiglo  XV.  Tom.  i.  Madrid: 
Antonio  de  Sancha,  1779  :  "  E  despues  fallaron  esta  arte  que  mayor  se 
llama  e  el  arte  comun,  creo,  en  los  Reynos  de  Galicia  e  Portugal ; 
donde  non  es  de  dubdar  que  el  exercicio  destas  sciencias  mas  que  en 
ningunas  otras  regiones  u  provincias  se  acostumbro  ;  en  tant  grado 
que  non  ha  mucho  tiempo  qualesquier  decidores  e  trovadores  destas 
partes,  agora  fuesen  Castellanos,  Andaluces  6  de  la  Estremadura  todas 
sus  obras  componian  en  lengua  Gallega  6  Portuguesa.  E  aun  destos 
es  cierto  rescebimos  los  nombres  del  Arte,  asi  como  Maestria  Mayor  e 
menor,  encadenados,  lexapren  e  mansobre." 


KING  DINIZ  AND  THE  EARLY  LYRICS      5 

that  these  Provengal  lays  were  more  in  harmony  with 
the  genius  of  the  Portuguese  people  than  with  that  of 
the  Spanish,  and  were  with  the  former  far  less  a  passing 
fashion  than  with  the  latter. 

Their  influence  in  Portugal  lasted  on  into  the  six- 
teenth century,  so  that  Christovam  Falcao  (first  half  of 
sixteenth  century)  has  been  called  the  last  echo  of  the 
Provencal  lute.^  As  to  how  far  the  early  Portuguese 
lyrics  were  entirely  artificial  and  due  to  Provencal 
influence,  and  to  what  extent  they  were  the  outcome  of 
a  really  national  or  popular  poetry,  there  has  been  some 
difference  of  opinion.  It  would  appear  to  admit  of  no 
doubt  that  at  the  introduction  of  Provencal  poetry  an 
earlier  native  poetry  existed  in  Portugal,  and  that  this 
native  popular  poetry  maintained  itself  when  the 
influence  of  Proven9al  song  was  at  its  height,  and  con- 
tinued (as  references  to  it  in  Gil  Vicente  prove)  after 
that  influence  had  waned. 

Monaci,  in  the  preface  to  his  edition  of  the  Can- 
cioneiro  of  King  Diniz  (or  da  Vaticana),  distinguishes 
between  the  Provencal  poetry,  which  never  became 
national  in  Portugal,  and  a  *'  poetry  entirely  indigenous 
and  truly  original,"  which  "  the  poets  of  the  Dionysian 
cycle  learnt  from  the  lips  of  the  people  and  borrowed 
from  the  people,  giving  to  it  the  finishing  touch  of 
art."^     Lang  holds  that  the  real  debt  of   Portugal  to 

^  "  O  ultimo  ecco  de  alaude  proven9al":  Epiphanio  da  Silva  in  his 
edition  of  Chrisfal.  T.  Braga.  Trovadores  galecio-portuguezes  :  "Em 
Portugal  as  condicoes  vitaes  da  nacionalidade  nao  eram  tao  profundas, 
e  a  poesia  dos  trovadores  conservou-se  quasi  ate  o  tempo  do  Can- 
cioneiro  de  Resende  [1516]. " 

2  "  I  portoghesi  accanto  alia  poesia  artistica  d'imitazione  straniera 
una  altra   n'   ebbero   del   tutto   indigena   e   veramente    originale.     I 


6    STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

Provenqal  poetry  was  that  through  it  the  native  poetry 
was  encouraged  to  take  a  place  in  Hterature.^ 

M.  Alfred  Jeanroy,  on  the  other  hand,  would  refuse 
to  derive  even  the  cantigas  de  amigo  directly  from 
a  popular  source.  *'  Si  elles  sont  populaires  c'est 
par  le  rythme,  la  simplicity  du  style,  non  par  la 
pens^e." 

"  On  retrouve  en  eux  a  chaque  pas  les  imitateurs  de 
la  poesie  proven9ale  et  frangaise."  The  themes 
"  paraissent  plutot  etre  I'echo  d'une  poesie  populaire 
que  cette  poesie  populaire  elle-m^me."  And  he  sums 
up  as  follows:  **  II  nous  parait  non  pas  certain  mais 
probable  que  la  plupart  des  themes  populaires  que  nous 
offre  le  chansonnier  du  Vatican  ont  passe  de  France 
en  Portugal  et  que  la  poesie  portugaise  n'a  fait  que 
modifier  quelques  details  sur  la  fagon  dont  ils  ont  et6 
traites ;  on  pent  ^tre  plus  affirmatif  et  dire  que  I'imita- 
tion  frangaise  y  est  evidente."  He  admits,  however, 
that  in  Portugal  this  poetry  has  **  traits  plus  archaiques 
qu'en   aucun    autre   pays   roman  "   and  **  personnages 


trovatori  del  ciclo  dionisiaco  la  conobbero  dalla  bocca  del  popolo,  dal 
popolo  la  raccolsero,  ritoccandola  coi  magisteri  dell'  arte."  As  to  the 
Proven9al-Portuguese  poetry :  '*  Sorta  per  impulso  di  una  moda  piu 
que  del  genio,  quella  litteratura  non  giunse  ad  avere  una  forza  organica 
sua  propria,  ne  punto  compenetrossi  colla  vita  reale  da  nazione.  Per 
il  che,  non  appena  nuove  correnti  [i.e.,  Spanish  and  Italian]  prevalsero 
alia  corrente  occitanica  che  I'aveva  destata  essa  repentinamente  decadde 
ne  pote  guari  sopravivere  all'  ultimo  dei  suoi  protettori  [King  Diniz]." 
^  Das  Liederhuch  des  Konigs  Denis  von  Portugal^  zum  ersten  mal  voll- 
stdndig  herausgegeben  und  von  Einleitung,  Anmerkungen  und  Glossar  versehen 
von  Henry  R.  Lang.  Halle  a.  S.,  1894:  "Das  wirkliche  Verdienst 
das  sich  die  Provenzalen  um  Portugal  erworben  besteht  darin  dass  sie 
durch  ihr  Beispiel  dieser  Volkslyrik  die  Bahn  in  die  Litteratur  brachen 
und  sie  ans  Licht  zogen." 


KING  DINIZ  AND  THE  EARLY  LYRICS       7 

emprunt^s  au  peuple."^     This  was,  precisely,  the  view 
held  by  Ferdinand  Wolf.^ 

The  cantigas  de  amigo  were  undoubtedly  of  native 
and  popular  origin.  Their  simplicity  of  form  and  fresh 
vividness  would  not  easily  have  been  imported  by 
Court  poets  from  abroad.  Their  musical  wailing  cries 
are  the  echo  of  the  native  poetry  of  Galicia;^  some- 
times they  have  a  dirge-like  rhythm  as  in  that  of  Pero 
da  Ponte  : 

^  Les  origines  de  la  poesie  lyrique  en  France  au  moyen-dge.  Etudes  de 
litterature  frafigaise  et  comparee,  suivies  de  textes  in^dits.  Par  Alfred 
Jeanroy.    Paris,  1889  (pp.  308-338  :  "  La  Poesie  franfaise  en  Portugal ' ') . 

2  Studien  zur  Geschichte  der  spanischcn  und  portugiesischen  National- 
literatur.  Von  Ferdinand  Wolf.  Berlin,  1859  (IV.  :  "  Zur  Geschichte 
der  portugiesischen  Literatur  im  Mittelalter  ")  :  "hat  sich  die  por-' 
tugiesische  Poesie  aus  einem  ganz  kunstmassigen,  in  der  Fremde 
wiirzelnden  Principe  entwickelt,  bevor  noch  die  heimische  Volkspoesie 
eine  hinganglich  breite  Basis  bieten  konnte  um  darauf  kunstmassige 
Werke  mit  nationalem  Typus  aufzufuhren."  "So  erscheint  die 
galicisch-portugiesische  Hofpoesie  nicht  nur  nach  ausserem  Zeugnisse 
sondern  auch  in  Geist,  Ton  und  Form  als  eine  Tochter  und  Schiilerin 
der  provenzalischen."  But  he  speaks  of  the  cantigas  de  amigo  as  "  sich 
naher  an  das  Volksmassige  anschliessend,  in  mehr  objektiv-naiver 
Haltung  und  oft  in  lebendigdramatischer  Form."  See  also  Friedrich 
Diez,  Ueher  die  erste  portngiesische  Kunst-  und  Hofpoesie  {Bonn,  1863),  and 
Die  alten  Liederhiichev  der  Portugiesen,  oder  Beitrdge  zur  Geschichte  der 
portugiesischen  Poesie  vom  dreizehnteti  bis  zum  Anfang  des  sechzehnten  Jahr- 
hundert,  nebst  Proben  aus  Handschriften  wid  alten  Drucken  herausgegeben 
von  Dr.  Christ.  Fr.  Bellermann.  Berlin,  1840.  And  especially  Carolina 
Michaelis  de  Vasconcellos  {Grundriss  der  rom.  Phil.,  Bd.  2,  Abtg.  2, 
pp.  132,  146-154,  167-203). 

3  Similar  popular  cantigas  de  amigo  are  said  to  exist  in  modern  Portugal 
and  in  Asturias.  Senhor  Braga  quotes  a  modern  Galician  cantiga 
de  amigo  from  Baret's  Les  Troubadours  : 

"  Donde  le  dexas  al  tu  buen  amigo? 
Donde  le  dexas  al  tu  buen  amado  ? 
Ay  Juana,  cuerpo  garrido  ! 
Ay  Juana,  cuerpo  galano  ! 


8    STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

"  Madre,  namorada  me  leixou 
Madre  namorada  m'ha  leixada 
Madre  namorada  me  leixou,"^ 

with  which  one  may  compare  the  refrain  by  Pedr'  Anes 

Solaz : 

**  Lelia  d'outra^ 
E  doy  lelia  d'outra 
Leli,  leli  par  deus  le-ly 
Lelia  d'outra,"^ 

evidently  an  ancient  dirge,  traceable,  perhaps,  to  a  time 

when  Basque  was  the  language  of  the  whole  Peninsula.'* 

As  proof  of   the  existence   of   a   popular  poetry  in 

Portugal    has    been    adduced     the    mention    in     the 


Muerto  le  dexo  a  la  orilla  del  rio, 
Muerto  le  dexo  a  la  orilla  del  vado. 

Ay  Juana,  cuerpo  garrido  ! 

Ay  Juana,  cuerpo  galano  !"  etc. 

Theophilo  Braga,  Parnaso  Portuguez  Moderno,  precedido  de  um  eshido 
da  poesia  moderna  portugueza.  Lishoa,  iSjy.  (Part  III.  :  "  Os  lyricos 
gallegos.") 

1  C.  da  Vat.,  No.  417. 

2  Monaci's  edition  has,  except  in  one  instance,  doura. 

3  C.  da  Vat.,  No.  415.  Cf.  the  letlas  and  the  Basque  leloaren  cantua. 
Cf.  also  Silius  Italicus  : 

"  Misit  dives  Gallsecia  pubem 
Barbara  nunc  patriis  ululantem  carmina  Unguis." 

^  Leila  and  leli  leli  may  perhaps  be  connected  with  the  Basque  il 
=  dead  (but  cf.  Don  Quixote:  "  Lelih'es  al  uso  de  moros  quando  entran 
en  las  batallas  ").  Of  the  early  Portuguese  indigenous  poetry  generally 
(as  opposed  to  the  imitations  of  Proven9al)  Dr.  Wilhelm  Storck  says 
that  it  is  "without  models  and  without  parallels  in  the  literatures  of 
sister  countries,  and  perhaps  a  distant  and  isolated  echo  of  Celtiberian 
songs  that  sounded  long  ago  in  the  Pyrenean  hills  "  {Life  of  Camoes, 
p.  61.  Portuguese  translation  by  C.  MichaeHs  de  Vasconcellos. 
Lisbon,  1897). 


KING  DINIZ  AND  THE  EARLY  LYRICS       9 

Cascioneiro  da  Vaticana  of  a  "  peasant's  song,"  *'  Diz 
hua  canttga  de  vilado,''  but  to  this  M.  Jeanroy  objects 
that  "  il  est  a  remarquer  qu'une  chanson  populaire 
n'est  jamais  quaHfiee  ainsi  que  par  des  lettr^s."^  It 
is  more  significant  that  Gil  Vicente  continued  in  the 
sixteenth  century  to  place  cantigas  de  amigo  on  the 
lips  of  peasants  and  of  humble  workers  in  the  towns. 
But  the  best  proof  is  the  simple  structure  of  these 
poems,  which  was  not  the  work  of  Court  poets, 
however  much  they  may  have  embroidered  upon  it. 
The  words  and  themes,  even  of  the  more  courtly  poems, 
often  preserved  a  flavour  of  the  soil,  as  in  that  by  King 
Diniz,  where  the  amiga  goes  to  wash  linen : 

"  Levanta  s'  a  velida 
Levanta  s'  alva 
E  vay  lavar  camisas 
Em  o  alto;  "2 

or  that  by  Joham  Soares  Coelho  which  contains  the 
popular  proverb : 

"  Ca  diz  o  vervo :  ca  non  semeou 
Milho  quem  passarinhos  re^eou."^ 

On  the  other  hand  the  Senhor  sometimes  uses  French 
words,  envyUf  Hero  (leger),  etc. 

^  The  cantiga  de  vilado  was  stated  to  have  been  glossed  (C.  da  Vat., 
No.  1,043)  by  Joham  de  Gaia  on  the  subject  of  a  tailor  (the  vilado)  who 
had  been  created  a  cavaleyro  by  King  Diniz.  The  use  of  the  phrase 
cantiga  de  vilado  certainly  seems  here  to  imply  the  singing,  if  not  the 
composition,  of  cantigas  by  the  humbler  folk,  just  as  the  Lisbon  tailor's 
wife  in  Gil  Vicente  sings  a  cantiga  de  amigo. 

2C.  da  Vat.,  No.  172. 

3  Ibid.,  No.  284.  "The  proverb  says:  He  sows  no  maize  who  is 
ever  in  fear  of  the  birds." 


lo    STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

"  Que  trist'  oj'  eu  ando,  fazo  gram  razom, 
Foy  s'  o  meu  amigo  e  o  meu  coragom, 
Donas,  per  boa  fS 
Ala  est  hu  el  e;^ 

she  looks  in  a  glass  : 

"  Mas  quant'  oj'  eu  no  meu  espelho^  vi 
Gradesc'  a  deus  muyt'  e  gradesco  Ih'al 
Que  m'el  fremosa  fez;^ 

she  speaks  of  her  amigo  as  "  in  the  King's  house  "  or 
''with  the  King": 

"  Meu  amigo  e  em  cas'  d'el  rey,"* 
Foi  ss'  o  meu  amigo  a  cas'  d'el  rey,^ 
Vay  meu  amigo  com  el  rey  morar,^ 
O  meu  amigo  que  6  com  el  rey."'' 

These  are  clearly  Court  imitations  of  the  cantiga 
de  amigo,  but  some  of  those  by  King  Diniz  approach 
much  more  closely  to  the  simple  popular  form.  Cer- 
tainly the  most  fascinating  and  original  of  all  the 
early  Portuguese  lyrics  are  these  cantigas  de  amigo, 
written  for  the  Senhor  (=senhora)  to  speak  or  rather 
sing  :^ 

1  C.  da  Vat.,  No.  298.     By  Joham  Lopes  de  Ulhoa. 

2  "  polido 
Espelho  de  a90  ou  de  cristal  formoso. ' ' 
(Camoes,  Las.,  viii.  87.) 
3  Ibid.,  No.  335.     By  Pero  Gomes  Barroso. 
*  Ibid.,  No.  419.     By  Pero  da  Ponte. 
^  Ibid.,  No.  634.     By  Joham  Ayras  of  Santiago. 
^  Ibid.,  No.  632.     By  the  same. 
7  Ibid. ,  No.  334.     By  Pero  Gomes  Barroso. 

s  The  popular  songs  from  which  they  were  derived  would  be 
composed  and  sung  by  the  women  themselves.  Latin  writers  had 
already  noted  the  songs  and  improvisations  of  the  women  of  Galicia. 


KING  DINIZ  AND  THE  EARLY  LYRICS     ii 

"  Sedia  la  fremosa  seu  fuso  torcendo, 
Sa  voz  manselinha  fremoso  dizendo 
Cantigas  d'amigo." 

(The  fair  one  sat  spinning,  her  soft  voice  beautifully 
singing  cantigas  de  amigo.) 

"  Tres  mo^as  cantavam  d'amor 
Mui  fremosinhas^  pastores, 
Mui  coytadas  dos  amores  ; 
E  diss'  unha  mha  senhor : 
Dized',  amigas,  comigo 
O  cantar  do  men  amigo."^ 

(Three  maidens  were  singing  of  love,  very  fair 
shepherdesses,  greatly  troubled  with  love ;  and  one 
of  them,  my  lady,  said :  Friends,  sing  with  me  the 
song  of  my  friend.) 

"  Fex  hunha  cantiga  d'amor 
Ora  meu  amigo  por  mi 
Que  nunca  melhor  feyta  vi ; 
Mays  como  x'  e  muy  trobador 
Fez  huas  lirias  no  som 
Que  mi  sacam  o  coragom."  ^ 

(A  song  of  love  my  friend  for  me 
Has  made  :  ne'er  fairer  song  I  saw  ; 
But  he,  well  skilled  in  poetry. 
Verses  has  made  of  such  beauty 
And  music  that  my  heart  they  draw.) 

There  was  great  demand  for  these  cantigas  among 
the  Court  ladies,  so  much  so  that  doubts  were  some- 

1  Fremosmhas  (Monaci). 

2  C.  da  Vat.,  No.  867,     By  'Lourenqo,  jograr. 

3  Ibid.,  No.  779.     By  Juyao  [Julian]  Bolseyro. 


BMU  LIBRARY 


12    STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

times  expressed  as  to  whether  a  cantiga  was  new,  or 
an  old  one  made  to  serve  for  the  occasion  : 

**  No  cantar  que  diz  que  fez 
Por  mi,  se  o  por  mi  fez."^ 

(In  the  song  he  made  for  me,  if  for  me  he  made  it.) 

"  Fez  meu  amigo,  amigas,  seu  cantar 
Per  boa  fe  .  .  . 
E  hua  dona  o  querria  por  seu. 
Mays  sey  eu  bem  porque  s'  o  cantar  fez 
E  o  cantar  ja  valrria  hunha  vez."^ 

The  first  two  lines  of  the  cantigas  de  amigo  are  in  a 
minor  key,  ending  with  i  assonants ;  the  second  two 
end  with  the  broader  a : 

"  Digades  filha,  minha  filha  velida, 
Porque  tardastes  na  fontana  fria  ? 
Os  amores  ey ! 

Digades  filha,  minha  filha  lou9ana, 
Porque  tardastes,  na  fria  fontana  ? 
Os  amores  ey  ! 

Tardei,  minha  madre,  na  fontana  fria, 
Cervos  do  monte  a  agua  volviam. 
Os  amores  ey  ! 

Tardei,  minha  madre,  na  fria  fontana, 
Cervos  do  monte  volviam  a  agua. 
Os  amores  ey  ! 

Mentis,  minha  filha,  mentis  por  amigo, 
Nunca  vi  cervo  que  volvesse  rio. 
Os  amores  ey ! 

Mentis,  minha  filha,  mentis  por  amado, 
Nunca  vi  cervo  que  volvess'  o  alto.^ 
Os  amores  ey  !"* 

»  C.  da  Vat.,  No.  819.  2  /j^-^^  No.  361.     By  Joham  de  Guilhade. 

'  Or  possibly  vado.  **  C.  da  Vat.,  No.  797.     By  Pero  Meogo. 


KING  DINIZ  AND  THE  EARLY  LYRICS     13 

Tell  me,  daughter,  my  daughter  fair, 
Why  from  the  cool  spring  so  long  were  you  coming  ? 
Alas,  I  am  in  love  ! 

Tell  me,  daughter,  my  lovely  daughter, 
From  the  cool  spring  why  so  long  were  you  coming  ? 
Alas,  I  am  in  love  ! 
Mother,  by  the  cool  spring  I  tarried, 
Deer  from  the  mountain  the  water  were  troubling. 
Alas,  I  am  in  love  ! 
I  tarried,  mother,  by  the  cool  spring. 
Deer  from  the  mountain  were  troubling  the  water. 
Alas,  I  am  in  love  ! 

'Tis  false,  oh  my  daughter ;  with  loved  one  you  lingered, 
For  ne'er  saw  I  deer  that  would  trouble  the  stream. 
Alas,  I  am  in  love  ! 

'Tis  false,  oh  my  daughter ;  with  your  love  you  dallied, 
For  ne'er  saw  I  deer  that  would  trouble  the  water. 
Alas,  I  am  in  love  !) 

"  De  que  morredes  filha,  a  do  corpo  velido  ? 
Madre,  moyro  d'amores  que  mi  deu  meu  amigo, 
Alva-'-  e  vay  liero. 

De  que  morredes  filha,  a  do  corpo  lougano 
Madre,  moyro  d'amores  que  mi  deu  meu  amado 
Alva  e  vay  liero."  ^ 

"  Dizia  la  fremosinha^ 
Ay  deus  val ! 

Como  estou  d'amor  ferida ! 
Ay  deus  val ! 

1  =Aube,  and  so  ="up"  or  "arise,"  Cf.  the  alvoradas,  aubades, 
dawn  songs,  of  which  a  dehghtful  example  is  that  by  Nuno  Fernandez 
Torneol : 

•'  Levad'  amigo,  que  dormides  as  manhanas  frias  ! 
Toda-las  aves  do  mundo  d'amor  diziam. 
Leda  m'  and'  eu. " 

*  C.  da  Vat.,  No.  170.     By  King  Diniz.  ^  Fremosmha  (Monaci). 


14     STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

Dizia  la  bem  talhada 

Ay  deus  val ! 

Como  estou  d'amor  coytada  ! 

Ay  deus  val ! 

E  como  estou  d'amor  ferida 

Ay  deus  val ! 

Nom  vejo  o  bem  que  queria ; 

Ay  deus  val ! 

E  como  estou  d'amor  coytada 

Ay  deus  val ! 

Nom  vejo  o  que  muito  amava. 

Ay  deus  val  !"^ 

(The  fair  one  was  saying — Be  with  me  Heaven  ! — 
How  am  I  wounded  with  love  ! — Be  with  me  Heaven  ! 
— The  lovely  one  was  saying — Be  with  me  Heaven  ! — 
How  am  I  troubled  with  love  ! — Be  with  me  Heaven  ! 
— And  wounded  with  love — Be  with  me  Heaven  ! — 
I  cannot  see  the  good  that  I  desired; — Be  with  me 
Heaven  ! — Troubled  with  love — Be  with  me  Heaven  ! 
— I  cannot  see  that  which  I  greatly  loved. — Be  with 
me  Heaven  !) 

Thus  the  same  words  are  repeated  in  the  first  and 
second  couplets,  to  form  a  kind  of  wail  or  litany,  rising 
and  falling  in  the  i  and  a  sounds,  the  former  always 
coming  first.^ 

1  C.  da  Vat.,  No.  368.     By  Affonso  Sanches. 

2  Thus  in  the  cantiga  de  amigo  in  Spanish  in  Gil  Vicente's  Triumpho 
do  Inverno  the  following  should  be  the  order  : 

"  Del  rosal  vengo,  mi  madre, 
Vengo  del  rosal. 
A  riberas  de  aquel  rio 
Viera  estar  rosal  florido, 
Vengo  del  rosal. 
A  riberas  de  aquel  vado 
Viera  estar  rosal  granado, 
Vengo  del  rosal. 


KING  DINIZ  AND  THE  EARLY  LYRICS     15 

The  first  two  cantigas  quoted  (Nos.  797  and  170)  are, 
as  is  frequently  the  case,  in  the  form  of  a  dialogue 
between  mother  and  daughter  : 

"  Of  what  are  you  dying,  daughter  fair  ? 
Mother,  I  am  dying  of  love." 

The  mother  is  often  represented  as  hostile  : 

**  Madre,  poys  vos  desamor  avedes 
A  meu  amigo  ;^ 
Oje  quer'  eu  meu  amigo  ver 
Porque  mi  diz  que  o  nom  ousarey 
Veer  mha  madre  ;  ^ 
Vos  fezestes  tod'  o  vosso  poder, 
Madr'  e  senhor,  de  mi  guardar  que  non 
Visse  meu  amigu'  e  meu  cora9on  ;^ 
Dizede,  madre,  porque  me  metestes 
Em  tal  prison  ?  .  .  . 
E  ssey  filha,  que  vos  traz  enganada 
Con  seus  cantares  que  non  valem  nada.  .  .  . 
E  sodes  vos,  filha,  de  tal  linhagen 
Que  devia  vosso  servo  seer."* 


Viera  estar  rosal  florido, 
Cogi  rosas  com  suspiro, 
Vengo  del  rosal. 
Del  rosal  vengo,  mi  madre, 
Vengo  del  rosal." 

(I  come  from  the  rose-tree,  mother,  I  come  from  the  rose-tree.  By 
the  banks  of  that  stream  I  saw  a  rose-tree  in  flower  ;  I  come  from  the 
rose-tree.  By  the  banks  of  that  river  I  saw  a  red  rose-tree ;  I  come 
from  the  rose-tree.  I  saw  a  rose-tree  in  flower,  and  with  sighs  I 
plucked  the  roses  ;  I  come  from  the  rose-tree.  I  come  from  the  rose- 
tree,  mother,  I  come  from  the  rose-tree.) 

1  C.  da  Vat.,  No.  262.     By  Ayras  Caspancho.  , 

2  Ibid.,  No.  284.     By  Joham  Soares  Coelho. 

3  Ibid.,  No.  185.     By  King  Diniz. 

*  Ibid.,  No.  823.     By  Pedr'  Amigo  de  Sevilha. 


i6    STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

In  one  the  mother  says  : 

"  Filha  sey  eu  que  o  nom  faz 
(Daughter,  I  know  that  he  loves  you  not) ; 
and  the  daughter  answers  : 

Madre,  creer-vos  ey  d'al."  ^ 
'(Mother,  in  aught  else  will  I  believe  you.) 

Two  charming  cantigas  by  King  Diniz  show  the 
mother  already  won  over  or  being  coaxed  into  con- 
sent : 

"  Vy-vos,  madre,  com  meu  amig'  aqui 

Oje  falar  e  ouv'  eu  gram  prazer.  .  .  . 

Ca  poys  que  s'  el  ledo  partiu  d'aquem 

Nom  pode  seer  senom  por  meu  bem. 

El  pos  OS  sens  olhos  nos  mens  enton 

Quando  vistes  que  xi  vos  espediu, 

E  tornou  contra  vos  led'  e  riiu ; 

E  por  end'  ey  prazer  no  coragon."^ 

(I  saw  you,  mother,  here  to-day  speaking  with  my 
love,  and  great  was  my  delight.  .  .  .  For  since  he  went 
hence  joyfully  it  cannot  but  be  for  my  good.  And  then 
he  fixed  his  eyes  on  mine,  when  he  took  leave  of  you, 
and  turned  to  you  gaily  and  laughed,  and  therefore  I 
have  pleasure  in  my  heart.) 

"  Mha^  madre ^  velyda 
Vou  m'  a  la  baylia 
Do  amor. 

1  C.  da  Vat.,  No.  289.     By  Joham  Scares  Coelho. 

2  Ibid.,  No.  189.  3  =Minha. 

*  Monaci.     Senhor  Braga  in  his  edition  prints  fnadr'  /=  my  mother 
is  fair. 


KING  DINIZ  AND  THE  EARLY  LYRICS     17 

Mha  madre  loada 

Vou  m'  a  la  baylada 

Do  amor. 

Vou  m'  a  la  baylia 

Que  fazem  em  vila 

Do  amor, 

Que  fazem  em  casa 

l3o  que  eu  muit'  amava 

Do  amor." 

(Mother,  fair  mother,  I  am  going  to  the  dance  of  love. 
Mother,  noble  mother,  I  am  going  to  the  dance  of  love. 
I  am  going  to  the  dance  in  the  town,  to  the  dance  in  the 
house  of  my  love.) 

There  is  a  similar  cantiga  by  Stevam  Fernandes 
d'Elvas : 

*'  Madre,  chegou  meu  amig'  oj'  aqui. 
Novas  som,  filha,  com  que  me  nom  praz. 
Por  deus,  mha  madre,  gram  torto  per  faz. 
Nom  faz,  mha  filha,  ca  perdedes  hy. 
Mays  perderey,  madre,  se  el  perder. 
Bem  Ihe  sabedes,  mha  filha,  querer."^ 

(Mother,  to-day  my  love  came  hither. — News  this, 
my  daughter,  that  gives  me  no  pleasure. — Mother,  'fore 
Heaven,  you  do  me  great  wrong! — No,  my  daughter, 
for  this  is  for  your  loss. — Greater  loss  will  be  mine, 
mother,  if  I  lose  my  love. — Daughter,  you  know  how  to 
love  him  well.) 

And  another  by  Pedro  de  Veer : 

**  Vejo-vos,  filha,  tam  de  coragom 
Chorar  tam  muyto  que  ey  eu  pesar 

1  C.  da  Vat.,  No.  684 


i8     STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

E  venho-vos  por  esto  preguntar 
Que  mi  digades,  se  deus  vos  perdon', 
Porque  m'  andades  tarn  triste  chorando  ? — 
Nom  poss'  eu,  madre,  sempr'  andar  cantando. — 
Nom  vos  vej'  eu,  filha,  sempre  cantar 
Mays  chorar  muyt'  e  com  que  por  en^ 
Algum  amigo  queredes  gram  bem. 
E  venho-vos  por  esto  preguntar, 
Que  me  digades,  se  deus  vos  perdon', 
Porque  m'  andades  tam  triste  chorando  ? — 
Nom  poss'  eu,  madre,  sempr'  andar  cantando."  ^ 

(Daughter,  I  see  you  weeping  so  sorely  that  I  am 
grieved,  and  come  to  ask  you  to  tell  me,  so  Heaven 
pardon  you,  why  are  you  thus  ever  sadly  weeping  ? — 
Mother,  I  cannot  always  be  singing. — Daughter,  I  see 
you  not  always  singing,  but  heavily  weeping,  and  it 
must  be  that  someone  there  is  whom  you  greatly  love. 
And  therefore  I  come  to  ask  you  to  tell  me,  so  Heaven 
pardon  you,  why  are  you  thus  ever  sadly  weeping  ? — 
Mother,  I  cannot  always  be  singing.) 

More  rarely  the  cantiga  is  addressed  to  a  sister : 

"  Irmaa,  o  meu  amigo 
Que  mi  quer  bem  decora9om."^ 

Or  to  friends : 

"  Amigas,  que  deus  vos  valha, 
Quando  veher  meu  amigo 
Falade  sempr'  unhas  com  outras 
Emquant'  el  falar  comigo, 
Ca  muytas  cousas  diremos 
Que  ante  vos  nom  diremos."* 

1  Ed.  Th.  Braga.     Monaci  has  c6  q p'  en. 

2  C.  da  Vat.,  No.  725. 

3  Ibid.,  No.  266.     By  Vaasco  Gil. 

*  Ibid.,  No.  352.     By  Joham  de  Guilhade. 


KING  DINIZ  AND  THE  EARLY  LYRICS     19 

(Friends,  Heaven  be  with  you,  when  my  love  shall 
come,  ever  keep  speaking  one  to  another  while  he  speaks 
with  me,  for  many  things  shall  we  say  which  before 
you  we  shall  not  say.) 

Or  it  is  a  dialogue  between  the  lover  and  his  love : 

"  Amigo  pois  mi  dizedes 
Ca  mi  queredes  gram  bem 
Quand'  ora  vos  fordes  d'aquem 
Dizede-me  que  faredes  ? 
Senhor  fremosa  eu  vol-o  direy  : 
Tornar-m'  ey  ced'  ou  morrerey. 

"  Se  nostro  senhor  vos  perdon' 
Poys  aqui  sodes  coytado 
Quando  fordes  alongado 
Por  deus  que  farey  entom  ? 
Senhor  fremosa  eu  vol-o  direy : 
Tornar-m'  ey  ced'  ou  morrerey."^ 

(Come  tell  me,  love,  since  now  you  say 
That  you  most  surely  love  me  well, 
What  will  you  do  then,  truly  tell. 
When  from  me  you  are  gone  away  ? — 
Fair  lady,  I  will  tell  you,  I 
Must  soon  return  or  else  will  die.) 

Otherwise  the  lover  never  speaks,  although  the  follow- 
ing is  a  close  imitation  of  a  cantiga  de  amigo  : 

**  En  lixboa  sobre  lo  mar 
Barcas  novas  mandey  lavrar. 
Ay  mha  senhor  velida ! 
En  lixboa  sobre  lo  lez^ 

1  C.  da  Vat.,  No.  318.     By  Mem  Rodrigues  Tenoyro. 

2  By  some  derived  from  the  Arabic.  More  probably  from  the 
Latin  latus  (so  de  lez  a  le2  =  irom.  side  to  side,  and  the  le  and  les  in 
French  and  English  place-names) .     The  Cancioneirinho  reads  ler. 


20    STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

Barcas  novas  mandey  fazer. 
Ay  mha  senhor  velida  !"  ^ 

(At  Lisbon  on  the  sea  I  ordered  new  ships  to  be 
built.  Alas  !  fair  lady  mine.  At  Lisbon  on  the  shore  I 
bid  them  make  new  ships.     Alas  !  fair  lady  mine.) 

In  these  poems,  written  for  her  by  her  lover,  the 
Senhor  sings  of  herself  as  fair,  lovely,  etc.  In  the  poems 
more  directly  copied  from  the  Provengal  and  sung  by 
the  lover,  the  descriptions  are  not  much  more  detailed. 
She  is  velida,  lougduy  hem  talhada.  Joham  de  Guilhade 
speaks  of  her  fair  shape  {hem  talhada)  and  green  eyes.^ 
She  is  the  lume  d'estes  olhos  mens  (light  of  my  eyes);^ 
in  a  poem  by  King  Diniz  she  speaks  well  and  laughs 
better  than  any  other  : 

**  E  falar  mui  bem  e  riir  melhor 
Que  outra  molher." 

And  generally  the  cantigas  say  little.  They  consist  in 
repeating  a  sigh  of  grief  or  love  or  hope  in  slightly 
different  words ;  their  themes  are  the  conventional  love 
and  death : 

*'  E  moyr'  eu  e  praz-mi  muyto  de  morrer."* 

^  C.  da  Vat.,  No  754.     By  Joham  Zorro. 

2  Ibid.,  No.  344.     Cf.  : 

"  Os  olhos  verdes  que  eu  vi 
Me  fazem  ora  andar  asi." 

3  Ibid.,  No.  648. 

*  Ibid.,   No.    680.     By   Pero   Darmea.      Payo  Gomes  Charinho  is 


more  smcere 


Muytos  dizem  com  gram  coyta  d'amor 
Que  querriam  morrer  e  que  assy 
Perderiam  coytas,  mays  eu  de  mi 
Quero  dizer  verdad'  a  mha  senhor : 


KING  DINIZ  AND  THE  EARLY  LYRICS     21 

"  E  tal  confort'  ei 
Que  aquel  dia  morrerei 
E  perderei  coytas  d'amor." 

A  vague  sadness  and  wistful  saudade  runs  through  them. 
Even  the  serranilhas  have  not  the  clear  joy  of  the 
Spanish  serranillas.  The  Portuguese  pastorellas  and 
serranilhas,  in  so  far  as  they  were  not  a  growth  of  the 
soil,  were  due  to  French  rather  than  to  Castilian 
influence.     Some  of  them  are  highly  artificial,  as — 

"  Oy  oj'  eu  hua  pastor  cantar  .  .  . 
E  fazia  guirlanda  de  flores."  ^ 

**  Unha  pastor  se  queixava 
Muit'  estando  noutro  dia 
E  sigo  medes  falava 
E  chorava  e  dizia 
Com  amor  que  a  forgava : 
Par  Deus  vi  t'em  grave  dia 
Ai  amor ! 

"  Ela  s'estava  queixando 
Come  molher  com  gram  coita 
E  que  a  pesar  des  quando 
Nacera  nom  fora  doita, 
Porem  dizia  chorando : 
Tu  nom  es  se  nom  mha  coita  ^ 
Ai  amor ! 


Querria-me-lh'  eu  mui  gram  bem  querer 

Mays  nom  queria  por  ela  morrer 

Com'  outros  morrerom  e  que  prol  tem." 

(C.  da  Vat.y  No.  393. 

1  Ibid.,  No.  454.     By  Ayras  Nunes,  clerigo. 


Vda  coita  (Moura) 


22    STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

*'  Coitas  Ihe  davam  amores 
Que  nom  Ih'  eram  se  nom  morte ; 
E  deitou-s'ant'  uas  flores 
E  disse  com  coita  forte  : 
Mai  ti  venha  per  u  fores 
Ca  nom  es  se  nom  mha  morte 
Ai  amor  !"^ 

(A  shepherdess  upon  a  day  made  moan  and  spoke 
with  herself  and  wept  and  said,  distressed  with  love  : 
Alas !  evil  was  the  day  on  which  I  saw  thee,  love ! 
And  she  made  moan  as  one  in  great  grief  and  in  sorest 
trouble  since  she  was  born,  therefore  she  said :  Thou  art 
but  grief  to  me,  O  love !  And  love  gave  her  grief  and 
was  but  death  to  her,  and  she  threw  herself  down  before 
some  flowers  and  said  in  great  distress :  Sorrow  be  thine 
at  all  times,  for  to  me  thou  art  but  death,  O  love !) 

But  there  are  some  lighter  delightful  rustic  dance- 
songs  (bailadas),  as  the  two  following,  half  serranilhaf 
half  cantiga  de  amigo  : 

"  Baylemos  nos  ja  todas,  todas,  ay  amigas. 
So  aqaestas  avellaneyras  floridas ; 
E  quem  for  velida  como  nos  velidas, 
Se  amigo  amar, 

So  aquestas  avellaneyras  floridas 
Verra  bayar. 

"  Baylemos  nos  ja  todas,  todas,^  ay  irmanas, 
So  aqueste  ramo  d'estas  avellanas  ; 
E  quem  foi  lougana  como  nos  lou9anas, 
Se  amigo  amar. 

So  aqueste  ramo  d'estas  avellanas 
Verrd  baylar. 

1  Ed.  Lang,  No.  23.     C.  da  Vat.,  No.  102. 

2  Ed.  Th.  Braga.  Monad  has  «,  which  may  possibly  stand  for  tres, 
• '  we  three. ' ' 


KING  DINIZ  AND  THE  EARLY  LYRICS     23 

"  For  deus,  ay  amigas,  mentr'  al  non  fazemos 
So  aqueste  ramo  florido  baylemos; 
E  quern  bem  parecer  como  nos  parecemos, 
Se  amigo  amar, 

So  aqueste  ramo  sol  que  nos  baylemos 
Verra  baylar."^ 

(Friends,  together  let  us  dance 
Beneath  those  flowered  hazel-trees, 
And  she  who's  fair  as  we  are  fair 
If  in  love  will  join  us  there, 
Beneath  those  flowered  hazel-trees 
Will  join  us  in  the  dance. 

Together,  sisters,  let  us  dance 
Beneath  this  branch  of  the  hazel-trees, 

*  C.  da  Vat.,  No.  462.  By  Ayras  Nunes.  In  As  cent  melhores 
poesias  (liricas)  da  lingxia  poytugtiesa,  Escolhidas  por  Carolina  Michaelis 
de  Vasconcellos  {London  and  Glasgoiv,  1910,  price  6d.),  will  be  found 
this  hailada  de  mogas  in  a  second  version,  by  Joham  Zorro  (C.  da  Vat., 
No.  761) : 

*'  Bailemos,  agora,  por  Deus,  ay  velidas 

So  aquestas  avelaneiras  floridas  ! 

E  quem  for  velida  como  nos  velidas, 

E  amigo  amar, 

So  aquestas  avelaneiras  floridas 

Vira  bailar ! 

"  Bailemos  agora,  por  Deus,  ay  louvadas 
So  aquestas  avelaneiras  granadas  ! 
E  quem  for  louvada  como  nos  louvadas, 
E  amigo  amar, 

So  aquestas  avelaneiras  granadas 
Vira  bailar  !" 

Of  this  song  Senhora  Michaelis  de  Vasconcellos  says  :  "  In  doppelter 
Lesart  vorhanden,  als  Werk  zweier  verschiedener  Dichter,  des  hoch- 
begabten  Klerikers  Ayras  Nunes  und  des  Volksbarden  Joam  Zorro, 
meiner  Meinung  nach,  weil  es  ein  echtes  Volkslied  ist,  das  beide 
gerade  M^egen  seiner  Urspriinglichkeit  und  Beliebtheit  aufgelesen,  und, 
nach  hbfischer  v^eise,  mit  einem  neuen  som  versehen  haben. ' 


24    STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

And  she  who's  fair  as  fair  are  we 
If  in  love  she  likewise  be, 
There  beneath  the  hazel-trees 
Will  join  us  in  the  dance. 

While  we  have  leisure  let  us  dance 
Beneath  this  flowered  branch  together, 
And  she  who  as  we  is  fair  to  view 
If  in  love  will  come  there  too, 
And  there  beneath  this  hazel-bough 
Will  join  us  in  the  dance.) 

"  Poys  nossas  madres  vam  a  Sam  Simom 
De  Val  de  Prados  candeas  queymar, 
Nos  as  meninhas  punhamos  d'andar 
Com  nossas  madres,  s'  ellas  entom 
Queymen  candeas  por  nos  e  por  sy, 
E  nos  meninhas  baylaremos  hy. 

"  Nossos  amigos  todos  la  hiram 
Por  nos  veer,  e  andaremos  nos 
Bayland'  ant'  eles  fremosas  sos,^ 
E  nossas  madres,  poys  que  ala  vam, 
Queymen  candeas  por  nos  e  por  sy, 
E  nos  meninhas  baylaremos  hy. 

**  Nossos  amigos  hiram  por  cousir^ 
Como  baylamos  e  podem  veer 
Baylar  mogas  de  bom  parecer, 
E  nossas  madres,  poys  la  querem  hir, 
Queymen  candeas  por  n6s  e  por  sy, 
E  nos  meninhas  baylaremos  hy."  ^ 

(Since  to  St.  Simon  our  mothers  now  go 
In  Val  de  Prados,  candles  to  burn, 

1  Monaci  has  haylaudan  teles  ffmosas  cos. 

2  Ed.  Th.  Braga.    It  is  tempting  to  write  consir  (as  a  further  abbrevia- 
tion of  consirar,  the  early  Portuguese  word  for  "  consider  "). 

3  C.  da  Vat.,  No.  334.     By  Pero  Gomes  Barroso. 


KING  DINIZ  AND  THE  EARLY  LYRICS     25 

Let  us  their  daughters  set  out  in  our  turn 
And  go  with  our  mothers  together,  that  so 
While  candles  for  us  and  for  them  they  are  burning 
All  we  their  daughters  in  dance  shall  be  turning. 

Then  will  our  lovers  come  there  together 

In  order  to  see  us  their  fair  ones,  and  we 

Will  dance  there  alone  in  their  company, 

And  still  our  mothers,  since  now  they  go  thither, 

Candles  for  us  and  themselves  shall  be  burning 

While  in  the  dance  we  their  daughters  are  turning. 

Our  lovers  together  will  come  to  bestow 

On  us  and  our  dancing  many  a  glance, 

They  will  come  to  watch  the  fair  maidens  dance, 

And  still  our  mothers,  since  there  they  would  go, 

Candles  for  us  and  themselves  shall  be  burning 

While  in  the  dance  we  their  daughters  are  turning.) 

Monaci  speaks  of  Provengal  imitations  in  Portugal 
not  surviving  their  last  protector.  King  Diniz,  and 
Senhor  Braga  regards  King  Diniz  (1279-1325)  as  behind 
his  time  in  his  love  of  Provengal  poetry.  The  idea  that 
he  was  the  first  Portuguese  lyric  poet  was  derived  from 
a  passage  in  the  Catalogo  Real  de  Espana  by  Rodrigo 
Mendez  de  Silva,  quoted  by  Sanchez  in  commenting 
upon  the  Marques  de  Santillana's  reference  to  King 
Diniz :  "  Este  rey  .  .  .  compuso  los  primeros  versos 
en  lingua  portuguesa."^  Thus  Lope  de  Vega  in  El 
Giiante  de  Dona  Blanca,  act  ii.,  scene  i,  line  66  : 

"  Que  es,  Blanca,  si  no  lo  sabes, 
El  rei  Dionis  el  primero 
Que  en  Espana  en  lengua  propia 

^  In  Barbosa,  Bihliotheca  Lusitana  he  is  "o  primeiro  que  em  Hes- 
panha  a  iraitajao  dos  poetas  provenfaes  metrificou  em  rimas." 


26    STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

Hizo  versos,  cuya  copia 
Mostrarte  esta  noche  quiero."^ 

The  Portuguese  chronicles,  however,  have  a  quali- 
fying quasi :  King  Diniz  was  "  grade  trouador  &  quasi 
o  primeiro  que  na  hngoa  Portuguesa  sabemos  screuer 
versos,  o  que  elle  &  os  daquelle  tepo  comegarao  fazer 
aa  imita9ao  dos  Aruernos  &  prouengaes  :  segundo  vimos 
per  hu  cancioneiro  seu  q  em  Roma  se  achou,  em  tempo 
del  rei  Dom  Joao  III.  [1521-1557]  &  por  outro  que 
sta  na  torre  do  tombo,  de  louuores  da  Virgem  nossa 
senhora."^ 

The  Cancioneiro  da  Ajuda  contains  poems  by  no  less 
than  thirteen  pre-Dionysian  poets.  Senhor  Braga  dates 
some  twenty  of  the  poets  of  the  Cancioneiro  da  Vaticana 
before  1350  as  being  mentioned  in  the  Nohiliario  of  the 
Conde  Dom  Pedro,  and  considers  that  the  date  of  the 
earliest  trovador  mentioned  in  Portuguese  genealogies 
goes  back  to  the  first  half  of  the  twelfth  century.  He 
refers  the  following  poem  in  the  Cancioneiro  da  Ajuda 
to  the  capture  of  Santarem  in  1147  : 

**  A  mais  fremosa  de  quantas  vejo 
Em  Santarem  e  que  mays  desejo 
E  en  que  sempre  cuidando  sigo 
Non  cha  direi  mais  direi  comigo  : 
Ay  sentirigo  !  ay  sentirigo  ! 
Al  e  Alfanx  e  al  seserigo. 

"  Ella  e  outra,  amigo,  vi  as 
Se  deus  me  valha  non  a  dous  dias, 

^  Quoted  by  F.  Diez  and  by  Lang. 

2  Chronicas  dos  Rets  de  Portugal.  Em  Lishoa.  Inipresso  por  Pedro  Cras- 
beeck.  Anno  MDC.  (Chronica  del  Rei  Dom  Denis  dos  reis  de  Portu- 
gal o  sexto.     Reformada  pelo  licenciado  Duarte  Nunez  do  Liam.) 


KING  DINIZ  AND  THE  EARLY  LYRICS     27 

Non  cha  direi  eu  ca  o  dirias 
E  perder-l'  ias  por  en  comigo. 
Ay  sentirigo  !  ay  sentirigo  ! 
Al  e  Alfanx  e  al  seserigo. 

"  Cuidand'  ella  ja  ey  perdudo 
O  sen,  amigo,  e  ando  mudo, 
E  non  sey  ome  tan  intendudo 
Que  m'  oj'  entenda  o  porque  digo 
Ay  sentirigo  !  ay  sentirigo  ! 
Al  e  Alfanx  e  al  seserigo." 

Senhor  Braga  thinks  that  the  refrain  may  be  an  old 
battle-cry,  and  that  the  singer  is  an  aged  knight  who 
took  part  in  the  siege  of  1147,  and  laments  that  none 
of  his  contemporaries  are  now  left  to  understand  him. 
But  the  whole  of  the  poem,  except  the  refrain,  points 
to  a  later  date,  and  the  lines 

"  E  non  sey  ome  tan  intendudo 
Que  m'  oj'  entenda  " 

may  more  probably  be  taken  as  in  themselves  a  con- 
fession that  the  singer  belongs  to  a  later  age  than  the 
old  refrain.  M.  Alfred  Jeanroy  holds  that  there  was  no 
Portuguese  poetry  before  the  thirteenth  century,  and 
that  the  earliest  is  a  poem  of  the  year  1236.^  It  is  certain 
that  the  flourishing  period  of  Provencal -Portuguese 
poetry  began  with  the  return  of  Affonso  III.  (1246- 1279) 
from  a  long  sojourn  at  the  Court  of  France  to  usurp 
his  brother's  2  throne  in  Portugal,  and  continued  during 
his  reign  and  that  of  King  Diniz.  King  Affonso  had 
three  official  (salaried)  trovadores  at  his  Court.^     His 

1  Les  Origines  de  la  Poesie  lyrique  en  France  au  moyen-dge. 

2  Sancho  III.,  1223-1248. 

3  El  Rey  aia  trez  jograres  em  sa  casa  e  nom  mats.     {Portugalia  Monu- 
menta  Historica.)    The  Court  was  at  Lisbon  and  Santarem. 


28    STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

son  Diniz^  was  given  a  master  of  Provencal  poetry, 
Aymeric  d'Ebrard,  of  Cahors,  afterwards  Bishop  of 
Coimbra.  For  the  last  fourteen  years  of  his  reign 
Affonso  III.  was  bedridden  {jazia  en  huma  camay  nom  se 
podia  levantar),  and  Diniz  early  had  to  take  a  part  in 
affairs  of  State.  While  still  a  child  he  was  sent  to 
Seville  to  negotiate  with  his  grandfather,  King  Alfonso 
the  Learned,  concerning  the  sovereignty  of  the  Algarve, 
recently  conquered  from  the  Moors.  Senhor  Braga 
quotes  a  romance  : 

"  O  infante  Dom  Diniz 
A  Sevilha  havia  chegado  .  .  . 
De  edade  era  pequeno 
Mai  quinze  annos  tem  contado."^ 

King  Diniz  married  Isabel,  daughter  of  King  Pedro  III. 
of  Aragon,  and  niece  of  the  Count  of  Provence,  the 
Saint  Elizabeth  of  the  legend  of  roses.  The  chronicle 
says  of  him  that  ''among  all  the  kings  then  in  Christen- 
dom the  King  Dom  Denis  was  known  as  the  most 
humane  and  benignant,  being  very  valiant  and  mag- 
nanimous ;  and  for  his  truth,  justice  and  liberality.® — 
He  never  promised  aught  that  he  did  not  perform,  nor 
broke  his  pledge,  nor  issued  two  contradictory  decrees. — 
Against  malefactors  he  exercised  severity,  so  that  one 
might  travel  securely  in  his  time,  which  before  was  not 

1  Born  at  Lisbon  in  1261. 

2  Sepulveda,  Romances.  Anvers,  1551.  Cf.  the  charming  account 
of  this  episode  in  the  Chronica  del  Rei  Dom  Denis:  "Era  o  Infante 
entam  de  vi  annos,  mui  gentilhome  &  auisado  pera  aquella  idade  .  .  . 
dizen  algiias  historias  antigas  de  Castella  que  o  Infante  Dom  Denis, 
como  quem  ja  naJJlIa  tenra  idade  come^aua  ser  util  a  seu  reino, 
chorou  n'o  mesmo  conselho." 

3  There  was  a  saying,  "  Liberal  como  hum  Dom  Denis." 


KING  DINIZ  AND  THE  EARLY  LYRICS     29 

possible,  because  the  roads  were  infested  by  robbers. — 
He  broke  up  and  cultivated  much  land  and  greatly 
favoured  the  peasants  (lauradores),  whom  he  called  the 
nerves  of  the  commonwealth.-*^  Wherefore  in  his  time 
there  were  fewer  poor,  and  being  the  King  who  gave 
most,  he  was  also  the  King  who  left  most  in  the 
treasury. — He  built  towns  and  castles,  fortresses  and 
convents  through  the  length  and  breadth  of  Portugal, 
and  he  made  many  just  and  advantageous  laws.^ — And 
in  order  that  letters  might  not  flourish  less  than  arms 
in  his  kingdom,  at  a  time  when  they  were  at  so  low 
an  ebb  in  Spain  {andaudo  tain  apagadas),  he  instituted 
anew  the  University  of  Coimbra  and  brought  to  it 
learned  foreigners  to  teach  all  manner  of  learning. — 
Besides  these  great  virtues,  the  King  Dom  Denis  had 
another,  for  which  he  was  greatly  loved  by  his  subjects, 
in  that  he  was  very  humane  and  accessible  (conuersauel) 
without  losing  anything  of  the  majesty  of  a  king.  He 
planted  pine-woods,  built  ships,  and  generally  reorga- 
nized the  life  of  the  Portuguese  nation. 

An  old  inscription  (1314)  records  proudly  that 

"  Esta  fez  el  rei  Diniz 
Que  acabou  tudo  o  que  quiz." 

He  found  time  to  write  many  poems — 138  out  of  1,700 
early  lyrics  are  attributed  to  him.  Senhor  Braga 
cites  the  following  lines  from  one  of  his  poems  as 
proof  that  he  never  forgets  that  he  is  a  king : 

1  He  was  himself  known  as  0  Lavrador. 

2  Among  others,  "That  innkeepers  {a  taverneira),  bakers  {a padeira), 
and  butchers  should  be  believed  on  their  oath  concerning  what  is 
owing  to  them"  ;  "of  those  who  play  with  false  or  loaded  dice"; 
**  of  those  who  find  birds  and  do  not  restore  them  [to  their  owners]  "  ; 
•*  of  those  who  deny  God  and  His  saints." 


30    STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

"  Uma  verdade  vos  direi : 
Se  mi  valha  nosso  senhor 
Erades  boa  para  rey." 

But  it  is  probable  that  this  and  some  other  poems 
attributed  to  the  King  were  not  written  by  him.  Like 
other  Portuguese  Kings  he  made  a  collection  of  lyrics 
which  was  known  as  the  book  of  trovas  of  King  Diniz,^ 
and  the  tendency  would  be  to  attribute  to  him  any  of 
uncertain  authorship.  King  Diniz  openly  writes  in  the 
Proven9al  style : 

"  Quer'  eu  en  maneyra  de  proven^al 
Fazer  agora  um  cantar  d'amor," 

although  he  claims  to  put  new  and  deeper  feeling  into 
the  conventional  forms  : 

"  Provengaes  soem  mui  bem  trobar 
E  dizer  elles  que  e  com  amor, 
Mays  OS  que  trobam  no  tempo  da  frol 
E  nom  em  outro,  sey  eu  bem  que  nom 
Am  tam  gram  coyta  no  seu  cora9om 
Qual  m'  eu  por  mha  senhor  vejo  levar." 

But  however  skilfully  and  musically  King  Diniz  may 
sing  in  the  Proven9al  manner,^  he  also  cultivated  with 

1  Among  the  books  possessed  by  King  Duarle  were  0  Livro  das 
Trovas  d'El  Rei  Dom  Diniz,  0  Livro  das  Trovas  d'El  Rei  Dom  Affonso, 
and  O  Livro  das  Trovas  d'El  Rei  [Duarte], 

2  The  following  examples  may  be  given : 

"  Hun  tal  home  sey  eu,  o  bem  talhada, 

Que  por  vos  tern  a  sa  morte  chegada ; 

Veedes  quern  e,  seed'  em  nembrada: 

Eu,  mha  dona. 
"  Hun  tal  home  sei  eu  que  perto  sente  * 

De  si  a  morte  chegada  certamente ; 

*  Ed.  Lang.  Monaci :  q  p'co  or  /?o  sente.  Braga :  per  consenie. 
Moura :  preto. 


KING  DINIZ  AND  THE  EARLY  LYRICS     31 

evident  delight  the  more  indigenous  Gahcian- Portuguese 
poetry,  and  it  is  with  an  added  pleasure  that  one  reaches 
in  the  Cancioneiro  da  Vaticana  the  section  headed :  Em 
estaffolha  adeante  sse  comega  as  cdtigas  d'amigo  q  0  mui 
rpbre  Dom  Denis ^  rei  de  Portugal^  ffez.    (From  this  page 

Veedes  quern  e,  venha-vos  em  mente : 
Eu,  mha  dona. 
"  Hun  tal  home  sey  eu,  aquest'  oide, 
Que  por  vos  morre,  vo-lo  em  partide; 
Veedes  quem  e,  nom  xe  vos  olvide  : 
Eu,  mha  dona." 

(A  man  know  I,  fair  one,  who  for  you  has  his  death  at  hand.  See 
who  it  is  and  remember.  I,  my  lady.  A  man  know  I  who  feels 
assuredly  that  his  death  is  near.  See  who  it  is  and  call  to  mind.  I, 
my  lady.  A  man  know  I  who  for  you  is  dying.  Listen  and  I  will  tell 
you.     See  who  it  is  and  forget  not.     I,  my  lady.) 

"  Senhor  fremosa,  vejo-vos  queixar 
Porque  vos  am'  e  no  meu  cora9om 
Ey  mui  gram  pesar,  se  deos  me  perdon', 
Porque  vej'  end'  a  vos  aver  pesar, 
E  queria  m'  em  de  grado  quytar 
Mais  nom  posso  for^ar  o  cora9om. 

**  Que  mi  for90u  meu  saber  e  meu  sen, 
Desi  meteu-me  no  vosso  poder, 
E  do  pesar  que  vos  eu  vej'  aver 
Par  deus,  senhor,  a  mim  pesa  muit  'em, 
E  partir-m'  ia  de  vos  querer  bem 
Mais  tolhe  m'end'  o  coragom  poder. 

"  Que  me  forfou  de  tal  guisa,  senhor, 
Que  sen  nem  for^a  non  ei  ja  de  mi, 
E  do  pesar  que  vos  tomades  i 
Tom'  eu  pesar  que  non  posso  mayor ; 
E  queria  nom  vos  aver  amor 
Mais  o  cora9om  pode  mais  ca  mi." 

(C.  da  Vat.,  No.  146.  Fair  lady,  I  see  you  complain  because  I  love 
you,  and  in  my  heart  I  greatly  grieve,  so  Heaven  pardon  me,  because 
I  see  that  you  are  grieved  at  this,  and  willingly  would  I  cease  to  love, 


32     STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

forth  begin  the  cantigas  de  amigo,  which  the  very  re- 
spectable Dom  Denis,  King  of  Portugal,  made.)^ 

With  the  death  of  King  Diniz  in  1325  the 
Portuguese- Provencal  poetry  came  somewhat  abruptly 
to  an  end,  surviving  in  isolated  instances,  and  perhaps 
rather  in  the  influence  of  the  satirical  Provencal 
sirventeSf  which  were  well  suited  to  the  Portuguese 
love  of  satire.  The  Cancioneiro  da  Vaticana  contains 
"  cantigas  de  escarnh'  e  de  mal  dizer,"  such  as  that 
written  by  Martim  Soares  with  the  note  :  "  This  other 
satirical  song  he  made  on  a  knight  who  thought  that  he 
wrote  very  well  and  composed  excellent  lyrics,  and  it  was 

but  I  cannot  constrain  my  heart  thereto.  For  my  heart  constrained 
my  mind  and  wit,  and  placed  me  in  your  power  ;  and  for  the  grief  I  see 
you  have,  'fore  Heaven,  lady,  do  I  greatly  grieve,  and  would  put  oft 
my  love,  but  my  heart  has  left  me  powerless  so  to  do.  For,  lady,  it 
constrained  me  in  such  wise  that  now  I  have  neither  force  nor  wit,  and 
for  the  grief  this  gives  to  you  I  could  not  be  more  greatly  grieved  ;  and 
I  would  cease  to  love  you,  but  my  heart  is  stronger  than  I.) 
1  Besides  the  examples  already  given,  the  following  may  be  quoted  : 

"  Nom  chegou,  madr',  o  meu  amigo 
E  oj'  est  o  prazo  saido, 
Ai  madre,  moiro  d'amor ! 

"  Nom  chegou,  madr',  o  meu  amado 
E  oj'  est  o  prazo  passado, 
Ai  madre,  moiro  d'amor  ! 

'•  E  oj'  est  o  prazo  saido 
For  que  mentio  o  desmentido, 
Ai  madre,  moiro  d'amor  ! 

"  E  oj'  est  o  prazo  passado 
For  que  mentio  o  perjurado, 
Ai  madre,  moiro  d'amor  ! 

"  Forque  mentio  o  desmentido 
Fesa-mi  pois  per  si  e  falido, 
Ai  madre,  moiro  d'amor  ! 


KING  DINIZ  AND  THE  EARLY  LYRICS     33 

not  so."^     Garcia  de  Resende  in  the  preface  to  his 
Cancioneiro  geral  [1516]^  says  that  the  arte  de  trovar  has 

"  Porque  mentio  o  perjurado 
Pesa-mi  pois  mentio  per  seu  grado. 
Ai  madre,  moiro  d'amor  !" 

(C.  da  Vat.,  No.  169.  My  love  has  not  come,  and  to-day  is  the  last 
day.  Mother.  I  am  dying  of  love  !  He  lied  to  me,  and  it  grieves  me 
that  he  is  false.     Mother,  I  am  dying  of  love  !) 

"  Amad'  e  meu  amigo 
Valha  Deus  ! 
Vede-la  frol  do  pinho 
E  guisade  d'andar. 

"  Amad'  e  meu  amado 
Valha  Deus ! 
Vede-la  frol  do  ramo 
E  guisade  d'andar. 

"  Vede-la  frol  do  pinho 

Valha  Deus  ! 

Selad'  o  bayosinho  * 

E  guisade  d'andar. 
"  Vede-la  frol  do  ramo 

Valha  Deus ! 

Selad'  o  bel  cavalo 

E  guisade  d'andar. 

"  Selad'  o  bayosinho 
Valha  Deus ! 
Treide  vos,  ai  amigo, 
E  guisade  d'andar. 

*  C.  da  Vat.,  No,  965.  "  Est'  outro  cantar  fez  de  mal  dizer  a  hun 
cavaleyro  que  cuydava  que  trobava  muy  ben  e  que  fazia  muy  bons 
sons,  e  non  era  assy." 

2  An  edition  was  published  by  E.  K.  von  Kausler  in  vol.  xv. ,  xvii., 
and  xxvi.  of  the  Bihliothek  des  literarischen  Vereins  of  Stuttgart.  A  new 
edition  is  being  published  at  Coimbra  in  4  vols.  {Joias  litterarias). 
The  1516  edition  of  the  Lisbon  Bibliotheca  Nacional  gives  no  date  on 

*  Braga  :  bayoninho ;  Monaci:  hayo  rinho  (in  1875,  in  correction  of 
ninho  in  Canti  antichi  portoghesi,  1873).    A.  Coelho  proposed  bayosinho. 

3 


34  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

always  been  held  in  great  esteem,  and  speaks  of  its  use- 
fulness in  hymns  and  canticles,  in  preserving  the  history 
of  Emperors  and  Kings,  in  Court  society,  love-making, 
tournaments,  and  masks,  and  also  for  the  punishment 
of  those  who  deserve  it.^ 

"  Selad'  o  bel  cavalo 

Valha  Deus ! 

Treide-vos,  ai  amigo, 

E  guisade  d'andar." 
(C.  da  Vat.,  No.  173.  Loved  is  my  friend — Be  with  me,  Heaven  ! — 
See  the  flower  of  the  pine  and  make  ready  to  go.  Loved  is  my  love 
— Be  with  me,  Heaven  !— See  the  branch  in  flower  and  make  ready  to 
go.  See  the  flower  of  the  pine— Be  with  me,  Heaven  ! — Saddle  the 
little  bay  and  make  ready  to  go.  See  the  branch  in  flower — Be 
with  me,  Heaven ! — Saddle  the  fair  horse  and  make  ready  to  go. 
Saddle  the  little  bay— Be  with  me.  Heaven  !— Hasten,  O  my  friend, 
and  make  ready  to  go.  Saddle  the  fair  horse- Be  with  me,  Heaven  ! 
— Hasten,  O  my  friend,  and  make  ready  to  go.) 

the  title-page,  but  has  the  following  colophon:  "  Acabousse  de  em- 
preemyr  o  cancyoneyro  geerall.  Com  preuilegio  do  muyto  alto  & 
muyto  poderoso  Rey  dom  Manuell  nosso  senhor.  Que  nenhua 
pessoa  o  possa  empremir  ne  troua  que  nelle  vaa  sob  pena  de  dozentos 
cruzad^  e  mais  perder  todollos  volumes  que  fizer.  Nem  menos  o 
poderam  trazer  de  fora  do  rcyno  a  vender  ahynda  q  la  fosse  feito  so 
a  mesma  pena  atras  escrita.  Foy  ordenado  &  remendado  por  Garcia 
de  Reesende  fidalguo  da  casa  del  Rey  nosso  senhor  &  escrivam  da 
fazenda  do  principe  Come90use  emalmeyrym  &  acabou  ena  muyto 
nobre  &  sempre  leall  9idade  de  Lisboa.  Per  Herma  de  capos  alema 
bobardeyro  del  rey  nosso  senhor  &  empremjdor,  Aos  xxviii  dias  de 
setebre  da  era  de  nosso  senhor  Jesucristo  de  mil  &  quynhem  &  Xvi 
anos. ' ' 

I  "Que  em  todo  tepo  foy  muy  estimada  [a  arte  de  trouar]  e  com 
ela  nosso  senhor  louuado  como  nos  hynos  &  canticos  que  na  santa 
ygreja  se  cantam  sse  veraa.  E  assy  muytos  emperadores  Reys  & 
pessoas  de  memoria.  Polos  rryraan^es  &  trouas  sabemos  suas  estorias 
&  nas  cortes  dos  grandes  principes  he  muy  necessaria  na  jentileza, 
amores,  justas  &  momos,  &  tambem  para  os  que  maos  trajos  v  enuen- 
9oes  fazem.  Per  trouas  sam  castigados."  The  whole  preface,  in  the 
Spanish  translation  by  Juan  Valera,  is  printed  in  Mencndez  y  Pelayo's 
Antologta  de  poetas  Uricos  castellanos,  tom.  7,  pp.  cli-cliii. 


KING  DINIZ  AND  THE  EARLY  LYRICS    35 

A  Spanish  minstrel,  Joham  jograr,  morador  em  Leonid 
sang  the  praises  of  King  Diniz,  and  he  says  that  the 
trobadores  in  Portugal,  Leon,  Castille,  and  Aragon  never 
sang  again  after  his  death,  and  that  the  jograes  re- 
mained unpaid : 

"  Os  namorados  que  trobam  d'amor 
Todos  deviam  gram  doo  fazer 
Et  non  tomar  em  si  nenhum  prazer 
Porque  perderom  tam  boo  senhor 
Com'  e  el  rey  dom  denis  de  portugal. 
De  que  nom  pode  dezir  nenhum  mal 
Homem  pero  seja  profa^ador.^ 
Os  trobadores  que  poys  ficarom 
Em  o  seu  reyno  et  no  de  Leom 
No  de  Castella,  no  d'Aragom 
Nunca  poys  de  sa  morte  trobarom  ; 
E  dos  jograres  vos  quero  dizer 
Nunca  cobrarom  panos  nem  aver 
Et  o  seu  bem  muyto  desejarom  .  .  . 
tam  boo  senhor 
De  que  eu  posso  en  bem  dizer  sem  pavor 
Que  nom  ficou  d'al  nos  Christaos  .  .  . 

foy  rey  a  fame  prestador 
Et  saboroso  e  d'amor  trobador. 
Tod'  o  seu  bem  dizer  nom  poderey."^ 

And  King  Diniz  later  was  universally  praised  in 
glowing    tributes.^      If    he   was   a    belated   protector 

^  Home  po  seid  pos  fazador.     Monaci. 
^  C.  da  Vat.,  No.  708. 

3  Pedro  Andrade  de  Caminha  speaks  of  "  Dinis  grande  "  {Epist.  3). 
In  Sa  de  Miranda  he  is 

' '  em  guerra  e  em  paz 
Honra  das  armas,  honra  dos  costumes  "  (Ele^.  3). 
And 

"  nosso  alto  e  excellente 
Dom  Denis,  rei  tam  louvado 
Tam  justo,  a  Deus  tam  temente  "  {Epist.  i). 


36  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

of  Provengal  poetry,  he  was  also  a  keen  admirer  of 
the  indigenous  cantiga  de  amigo,  one  of  the  most  fresh 
and  charming  forms  of  lyric  to  be  found  in  any  litera- 
ture. 

It  is  thought  that  the  livro  de  cantigas  bequeathed  by 
the  illegitimate  son  of  King  Diniz,  Pedro,  Conde  de 
Barcellos,  to  the  King  of  Castille,  Alfonso  XI.  (who, 
however,  died  five  years  before  him)  in  1350  may 
possibly  somehow  have  come  into  the  possession  of 
Dona  Mencia  de  Cisneros.  The  passage  in  the 
Marques  de  Santillana's  letter,  quoted  above,  continues : 
**  I  remember,  very  magnificent  sir,  as  a  small  boy,  to 
have  seen,  among  other  books  in  the  possession  of  my 
grandmother,  Dona  Mencia  de  Cisneros,  a  large 
volume  of  Portuguese  and  Galician  songs,  serranas,  and 
decires,  of  which  the  greater  part  were  by  the  King 
Don  Dionis  of  Portugal.  He  was,  sir,  I  believe,  your 
great-grandfather  ;  and  those  who  read  his  works 
praised  them  for  their  subtle  inventions  and  soft  and 
graceful  words."  ^     King  Duarte  (1428-1438)  possessed 

In  his  Eclogue  Basto  he  refers  to  Kings  Sancho  and  Diniz : 
"  Aos  bons  reis  Sancho  e  Denis 
Chamavao  Ihes  lavradores." 

Joao  de  Barros  writes  of  him  as 

"  O  justo  Diniz,  tao  nobre  e  clemente 

.  .  .  em  todalas  cousas  sabido  e  prudente. " 

Cf  Camoes,  Lusiads,  iii.  96-98. 

1  "  Acuerdome,  Seiior  muy  magnifico,  siendo  yo  en  edat  no  pro- 
vecta,  mas  asaz  mozo  pequeno,  en  poder  de  mi  abuela  Dona  Mencia  de 
Cisneros  entre  otros  libros  aver  visto  un  grant  volumen  de  cantigas, 
serranas  e  decires  Portuguezes  e  Gallegos :  de  los  quales  la  mayor 
parte  eran  del  Fiey  Don  Dionis  de  Portugal  :  creo,  Senor,  fue  vuestro 
bisabuelo  :  cuyas  obras  aquellos  que  las  leian  loaban  de  invenciones 
sutiles  e  de  graciosas  e  dulces  palabras." 


KING  DINIZ  AND  THE  EARLY  LYRICS     37 

a  Livro  das  Trovas  de  El  Rei  Dom  Diniz,  and  Duarte 
Nunes  refers  to  a  cancioneiro  of  King  Diniz  which  was 
discovered  at  Rome  during  the  reign  of  Joao  III. 
(1521-1557).-^  Angelo  Colocci  possessed  an  earHer  and 
larger  collection  of  Portuguese  lyrics  than  the  two 
now  known,^  and  compiled  a  catalogue,  which  has 
survived  and  was  published  (from  the  Vatican  Codex 
3217)  as  an  appendix  in  Monaci's  edition  of  the  Can- 
cioneiro da  Vaticana.  In  1823  Charles  Stuart  (after- 
wards Lord  Stuart  of  Rothesay)  ^  had  published  frag- 
ments of  a  Portuguese  cancioneiro  in  an  edition  limited 
to  twenty-five  copies.^  In  1847  appeared  a  first  edition 
of   the    cancioneiro     of    King    Diniz     {Cancioneiro    da 

1  Some  think  that  Sa  de  Miranda  may  have  seen  the  cancioneiro  of 
King  Diniz  during  his  stay  at  Rome,  and  may  refer  to  it  directly 
(rather  than  more  vaguely  to  Proven9al  poetry)  in  the  lines  of  his 
letter  to  Fernando  de  Menezes  : 

"  Eu  digo  OS  proven9ais  que  inda  se  sente 
O  som  das  brandas  rimas  que  entoarao." 

2  I.e.,  the  Cancioneiro  da  Vaticana  and  the  Cancioneiro  Colocci -Branciiti, 
a  codex  formerly  belonging  to  Count  Brancuti  and  copied  for  Angelo 
Colocci  (d.  1548)  in  the  sixteenth  century,  (See  Enrico  Molteni. 
//  Canzoniere  Portoghese  Colocci-Branctiti.     Halle,  1880.) 

3  Inaccurately  named  "Lord  Carlos  Stuart  Rothsoy  "  by  Senhor 
Braga,  and  by  Senhora  Michaelis  de  Vasconcellos  "  Lord  Stuart 
Rothsey." 

4  ''  Fragmentos  de  hum  Cancioneiro  inedito  que  se  acha  na  livraria  do 
Real  Collegio  dos  Nobres  de  Lisboa.  Impresso  a  custa  de  Carlos 
Stuart.  Paris,  1823.  This  is  the  Cancioneiro  da  Ajuda,  which  formerly 
belonged  to  the  Jesuits  and  later  to  the  Collegio  dos  Nobres,  whence 
it  was  transferred  in  1825  to  the  royal  palace  of  Ajuda.  A  second, 
but  not  very  valuable,  edition  was  published  by  the  Brazihan,  F.  A. 
Varnhagen  :  Trovas  e  Cantares  de  un  Codice  do  Seculo  XIV.,  ou  antes 
mui  provavelmente  0  Livro  das  Cantigas  do  Conde  de  Barcellos.  Madrid, 
1849. 


38   STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

Vaticana),  discovered  at  Rome  by  Wolf  (Codex  4803), 
and  copied  by  the  Visconde  da  Carreira,  with  a  preface 
by  the  Brazihan  Caetano  Lopes  de  Moura,^  followed 
in  1872  by  Varnhagen's  C ancioneirinho  de  Trovas 
antigas  colligidas  de  um  grande  cancioneiro  da  Bibliotheca 
do  Vaticano.  Vienna,  1872.  In  the  following  year,  and 
again  in  1875,  Ernesto  Monaci  published  some  selections 
from  the  Vatican  codex.^  In  1875  he  also  published 
his  excellent  complete  edition  of  the  Cancioneiro  da 
Vaticana,  copied  with  every  detail  of  the  many  minute 
differences  due  to  the  fact  that  over  a  hundred  authors 
of  different  countries  and  periods  had  contributed  to 
the  collection.^  "  Questa  edizione,"  he  says  in  his 
preface,  "  rappresenta  il  codice  pagina  per  pagina, 
linea  per  linea,  abbreviatura  per  abbreviatura."  Working 
upon  this  text  Senhor  Braga  produced  his  critical  edition 
three  years  later.*  Thus  gradually  the  poems  of  King 
Diniz  and  his  contemporaries  were  brought  to  the  light 
of  day,  and  a  new  and  delightful  world  of  Portuguese 

1  Cancioneiro  de  El  Rei  D.  Diniz,  pela  primeira  vez  impresso  sobre 
o  manuscripto  da  Vaticana,  com  algunas  notas  illustrativas  e  uma 
prefa9ao  historico-litteraria  pelo  Dr.  Caetano  Lopes  de  Moura.  Paris: 
Aillaiid,  1847. 

2  Canti  Atitichi  Portoghesi  tratti  dal  codice  Vaticano  4803,  con  tra- 
duzioni  e  note  per  Ernesto  Monaci.     Imola,  1873. 

Cantos  de  ledino  tratti  dal  grande  canzoniere  portoghese  della 
Biblioteca  Vaticana  per  Ernesto  Monaci.     Halle  a.  S.,  1875. 

3  II  Canzoniere  Portoghese  della  Bibliotheca  Vaticana,  messo  a  stampa 
da  Ernesto  Monaci.  Con  una  prefazione,  con  facsimili  e  con  altre 
illustrazioni.     Halle  a.  S.,  1875. 

*  Cancioneiro  da  Vaticana.  Edi9ao  critica  restituida  sobre  o  texto  de 
Halle,  accompanhada  de  um  glossario  e  de  uma  introduc9ao  sobre 
OS  trovadores  e  cancioneiros  portuguezes.  Por  Theophilo  Braga. 
Lisboa,  1878. 


KING  DINIZ  AND  THE  EARLY  LYRICS     39 

literature  was  rediscovered.  A  fuller  and  more  critical 
reconstruction  of  the  whole  body  of  early  Portuguese 
lyrics  is,  however,  still  required.^ 

1  Of  the  1878  (Lisbon)  edition  Senhora  Michaelis  de  Vasconcellos 
remarks  that  it  "  entspricht  kritischen  Anforderungen  nicht  ganz, 
erstens  weil  sie  nur  den  Einhalt  emes  Liederbuchs  bringt  und  zweitens 
weil  die  Textgestaltung  eine  vielfach  willkurliche,  ungleiche  und 
sinnlose  ist. " 


CHAPTER    II 

EARLY  PROSE 

The  first  beginnings  of  Portuguese  prose  must  be 
looked  for  in  the  fourteenth  century,  in  genealogies, 
chronicles,  and  lives  of  saints.  In  the  reign  of  Joao  I. 
(1385- 1433)  Portuguese  finally  ousted  Latin  in  official 
documents,^  but  it  had  already  established  itself  securely 
fifty  years  before  his  accession.  Unfortunately,  most 
of  the  early  chronicles  have  only  survived  in  the  re- 

^  As  an  example  of  Latin  through  which  Portuguese  already  pierces 
may  be  given  the  following  passage  from  an  edict  of  Affonso  III. 
(1246-1279):  "  Item  quod  calumnie  de  ipsa  villa  de  Gaia  sint  tales  et 
de  terminis  suis  scilicet  quod  omnis  homo  qui  sacaverit  cultellum  in 
Gaia  extra  casam  per  mentem  malam  pro  dare  cum  eo  alicui,  sive  det 
sive  non  det  mando  quod  pectet  maiordomo  sexaginta  solidos  si  sibi 
hoc  maiordomus  potuerit  probare  per  bonos  homines,  et  licet  det 
multa  vulnera  cum  eo  alicui,  si  homo  de  eis  non  fuerit  mortuus,  mando 
quod  non  pectet  maiordomo  magis  quam  dictos  60  solidos."  The 
following  is  from  a  letter  of  King  Diniz  (1279-1325) :  "  Quod  naves  et 
universe  barce  magne  et  parve  que  de  mari  cum  mercis  seu  aliis  rebus 
venalibus  intrarent  per  faucem  Dorii  ripis  venirent,  merces  seu  venales 
adportantes,  dividerentur  inter  civitatem  [Oporto]  et  populum  ante- 
dictum  [Gaia]."  In  the  reign  of  Manoel  I.  (1495-1521)  complaints 
were  made  that  the  doctors  wrote  their  recipes  in  Latin.  An  entertain- 
ing account  exists  of  the  concessions  granted  to  the  people  in  Cortes. 
They  asked  to  be  relieved  of  certain  taxes,  to  which  the  answer  was  that 
the  taxes  were  levied  for  the  people's  good.  They  besought  the  King 
to  diminish  his  large  and  costly  retinue,  but  were  told  that  this  was 
impossible.     When,  however,  they  asked  that  the  physicians  should 

40 


EARLY  PROSE  41 

visions  of  Duarte  Nunes^  and  others.  Some  of  the 
earliest  fragments  are  printed  in  Portugalice  Momimenta 
Historica  (vol.  i.,  Scriptores).  From  these  Chronicas 
Breves  may  be  quoted  the  dying  advice  of  the  Count 
Dom  Anrriques  [Henriques]  (to  whom  Alfonso  VI.  had 
given  a  part  of  Galicia  and  so  much  of  Portugal  as  had 
been  won  from  the  "sarraziis'' — parte  de  galiza  com  0 
que  era  gaanhado  de  purtugal)  to  his  son  : 

"  Filho,  toma  esffor9o  no  meu  coragom,  toda  terra 
que  eu  leixo  que  he  dastorga  ataa  leom  e  ataa  coinbra 
nom  percas  della  nenhuma  cousa  ca  eu  a  tomey  com 
muito  trabalho :  filho  toma  esfforqo  no  meu  coragom 
e  sey  semelhauel  a  mim  .  .  .  E  poren,  meu  filho, 
sempre  en  teu  cora9om  ama  justiga  ca  o  dia  que  a 
leixares  de  fazer  huum  palmo  logo  o  outro  dia  ella 
affastara  de  ty  huma  bra9a." 

(Son,  take  heart  from  me,  all  the  land  that  I  leave, 
which  is  from  Astorga  to  Leon  and  to  Coimbra,  lose 
not  any  part  of  it,  for  I  won  it  with  great  toil :  son, 
take  heart  from  me  and  be  like  to  me  .  .  .  and  more- 
over, my  son,  ever  in  thy  heart  love  justice,  for  on  the 
day  that  thou  ceasest  from  it  an  inch  straightway  it 
will  depart  from  thee  an  ell.) 

Or  the  account  of  King  Diniz : 

"  Morto  el  rei  dom  afonso  reinou  el  Rey  dom  donis 

make  up  their  prescriptions  only  in  the  vulgar  tongue,  em  lingoagem,  the 
permission  was  most  graciously  granted:  "  Assi  quomo  nollo  pedis 
volo  outorgamos  co  peiia  ao  boticario  que  nao  use  mais  ho  officio  se 
der  has  mezinhas  per  recepta  em  latim,  &  mais  pague  dous  mil  reaes 
pera  que  ho  accusar  &  em  outra  tanta  pena  queremos  que  encorra  ho 
physico  q  per  latim  &  nao  per  lingoagem  quomo  dito  he."  Chronica  do 
felicissimo  Rey  Dom  Emanuel  da  gloriosa  memoria.  .  .  .  Damiao  de  goes 
colegio  &  compos  de  nouo."     [Lisbon,  1619.] 

1  Almeida-Garrett  callslhim  the  "iconoclast  of  our  ancient  chronicles." 


42    STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

seu  filho  e  auia  quando  conpegou  a  reinar  xviii  annos. 
E  cassou  coma  rainha  dona  issabel  filha  del  Rey  dom 
pedro  daragam  .  .  .  Este  Rey  dom  donis  reynou  em 
purtugal  quorenta  e  cinquo  annos." 

The  language  is  similar  to  that  of  the  Livro  das 
Linhagens  compiled  by  Pedro,  Conde  de  Barcellos  (1289- 
1354),  son  of  King  Diniz.  The  genealogies  embrace 
those  of  Adam  and  Alexander,  Priam,  Julius  Caesar, 
King  Arthur  of  England.  With  pithy  brevity  the 
characters  and  reigns  of  the  Portuguese  Kings  are 
related,  of  Alfonso  II.,  "que  foy  muy  boo  christaao 
no  come90  mais  na  9ima  foi  peor";  of  King  Diniz 
who  "  foy  muy  boo  rrey  e  de  gram  justi9a  e  muy  boo 
cristaao  e  fez  muito  por  a  santa  egreia."^  The  preface 
is  a  fine  piece  of  Portuguese  prose : 

"  Em  nome  de  Deus  que  he  fonte  e  padre  damor  e 
por  que  este  amor  nom  sofre  nenhuuma  cousa  de  mall 
porem  em  seruillo  de  coragom  he  carreyra  rreall  e 
nenhum  melhor  serui90  nom  pode  o  homem  fazer  que 
amalo  de  todo  seu  sem  e  seu  proximo  como  ssi  meesmo 
porque  este  pre9epto  he  ho  que  Deus  deu  a  Moyses  na 
vedra  ley.  Porem  eu  comde  dom  Pedro  filho  do  muy 
nobre  rrey  dom  Denis  ouue  de  catar  por  gram  trabalho 
por  muitas  terras  escripturas  que  fallauam  das  lin- 
hageens.  E  veemdo  as  escripturas  com  grande  estudo 
e  em  como  fallauam  doutros  grandes  feitos  compuge 
este  liuro  por  gaanhar  o  seu  amor  e  por  meter  amor  e 
amizade  autre  os  nobres  e  fidallgos  de  Espanha." 

*  Of  the  war  with  his  son  Afonso  the  Livro  das  linhagens  gives  the 
following  account:  "El  rey  dom  denis  soube  que  jazia  sobre  a  villa 
de  guimaraes  e  ell  veosse  deytar  sobre  coymbra.  E  chegou  hi  o 
primeiro  dia  de  margo  em  coreesma,  e  fez  muito  estrago  e  o  arraualde 
todo  foi  estragado,  e  derribarom  as  casas  e  filharom  muito  pam  e  muito 
vinho  e  muito  azeite  e  danarom  todo  o  campo  que  era  semeado  de  pam 
nouo  e  cortarom  todos  os  oliuares  tambem  d'aaquem  como  d'aalem." 


EARLY  PROSE  43 

(In  the  name  of  God,  who  is  fountain  and  father  of 
love,  and  because  this  love  suffers  no  evil,  and  to  serve 
Him  from  the  heart  is  a  kingly  task,  and  man  can  do 
no  better  service  than  to  love  Him  with  all  his  mind 
and  his  neighbour  as  himself,  for  this  precept  gave 
God  to  Moses  in  the  old  law.  Therefore  I,  Count 
Dom  Pedro,  son  of  the  very  noble  King  Dom  Denis, 
with  great  toil  sought  in  many  lands  for  writings  which 
spoke  of  descents.  And  considering  these  writings 
with  much  study,  and  how  they  spoke  of  other  great 
deeds,  I  composed  this  book  to  gain  his  love  and  to 
set  love  and  friendship  among  the  nobles  and  knights 
of  Spain.) 

Some  three-quarters  of  a  century  after  0  Livro 
das  Linhagens  King  Duarte  wrote  0  Leal  Conselheiro, 
a  masterpiece  of  Portuguese  prose.  In  the  style  of 
both  works  there  is  a  clearness  and  precision  which 
show  that,  in  the  hands  of  a  skilled  craftsman, 
Portuguese  should  not  be  so  immeasurably  inferior  to 
Castilian  as  it  too  often  is.  The  Visconde  de  Santarem 
in  his  introduction  to  the  first  edition  ^  wrote  that  it 
was  "the  oldest  monument  of  our  language  that  we 
have  as  a  complete  work."  Since  it  was  written  "  at 
the  request  of  the  very  excellent  Queen  Dona  Leonor 

^  From  the  Codex  7007,  discovered  in  the  Bibliotheqiie  NationaU  at 
Paris  some  years  previously:  "Leal  Conselheiro,  o  qual  fez  Dom 
Eduarte,  Pela  gra^a  de  Deos  Rei  de  Portugal  e  do  Algarve  e  Senhor  de 
Ceuta,  a  requerimento  da  muito  excellente  Rainha  Dona  Leonor  sua 
molher,  seguido  do  Livro  da  Ensinanga  de  bem  cavalgar  toda  sella, 
que  fez  o  mesmo  Rei,  o  qual  come90u  em  sendo  Infante,  precedido 
d'uma  introdufao,  illustrado  com  varias  notas  e  publicado  debaixo  dos 
auspicios  do  Excellentissimo  Senhor  Visconde  de  Santarem.  Paris  : 
Aillaud,  1842." 


44   STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

his  wife,"  whom  he  married  in  1428,-'^  and  since  King 
Duarte  died  in  1438,  the  approximate  date  of  the  work 
is  fixed.  It  was,  says  the  King,  all  written  with  his 
own  hand  {de  minha  mado  foy  todo  primeiro  escripto).  In 
the  preface  addressed  to  the  Queen  he  makes  excuses 
for  the  style  '*  since  I  was  minded  rather  to  set  forth 
the  matter  of  my  writing  clearly  than  to  write  it  in  a 
beautiful  and  careful  manner."  But  although  he  speaks 
elsewhere  of  "  my  poor  way  of  writing  {esta  inynguada 
maneira  de  men  screver),"  he  in  fact  was  at  great  pains  to 
write  well,  and  produced  a  work  fascinating  alike  in  its 
matter  and  its  style,  and  a  precious  mine  for  those 
Portuguese  authors  who  would  free  their  writing  from 
Gallicisms  and  abstract  verbiage.  In  Chapter  xcviii 
he  reveals  the  secret  of  his  art,^  a  chapter  "  written  by 
me  for  my  guidance  (para  meu  avysamento) j''  (Chap,  xc) : 

''  Da  maneira  para  bem  tornar  algua  le^^tura  em  nossa 
lynguagem.  Primeiro  conhecer  bem  a  sentenga  do  que 
a  de  tornar  e  poella  enteiramente,  nom  mudando,  acre- 
centando,  nem  mynguando  algua  cousa  do  que  esta 
scripto.  O  segundo  que  nom  ponha  pallavras  latidanas 
nem  doutra  lynguagem,  mas  todo  seja  em  nossa  lyngua- 
gem scripto,  mais  achegadamente  ao  geeral  boo  custume^ 
de  nosso  fallar  que  se  poder  fazer.  O  terceiro  que 
sempre  se  ponham  pallavras  que  sejam  dereita  lyngua- 
gem respondendo   ao  latym,  nom    mudando  huas  per 

1  It  also  refers  to  Henry  V.  of  England  as  dead  (d.  1422):  "  The 
very  excellent  King  Henry  of  England,  my  cousin,  que  Deus  aja." 

2  Cf.  also  his  remark,  "  E  nom  screvo  esto  por  maneira  scollastica." 
Cf.  Ruy  de  Pina,  who  says  that  King  Duarte  was  "  amadorde  sciencia, 
de  que  teve  grande  conhecimento,  e  nom  per  discurso  d'Escollas  mas 
per  continuar  d'estudar  e  leer  per  boos  livros." 

3  Souza  {Provas  da  Historia  Genealogica),  who  copied  this  chapter, 
has  ao  chdo  e  geral  custume  (the  plain  general  custom). 


EARLY  PROSE  45 

outras,  assy  que  onde  el  desser  per  latym  scorregar  non 
ponha  afastar,  e  assy  em  outras  semelhantes,  enten- 
dendo  que  tanto  monta  hua  como  a  outra,  porque 
grande  deferenga  faz  pera  se  bem  entender  seerem  estas 
pallavras  propiamente  scriptas.  O  quarto  que  nom 
ponha  pallavras  que  segundo  o  nosso  custume  de  fallar 
sejam  avydas  per  deshonestas.  O  quynto  que  guarde 
aquella  ordem  que  igualmente  deve  guardar  em  qual- 
quer  outra  cousa  que  se  escrever  deva,  scilicet,  que  se 
screvam  cousas  de  boa  sustancia  claramente  pera  se 
bem  poder  entender,  e  fremoso  o  mais  que  elle  poder,  e 
curtamente  quanto  for  necessario,  e  pera  esto  aproveita 
muyto  paragraphos,  e  apontar  bem." 

(Of  the  way  well  to  translate  any  passage  into  our 
language.  First,  well  to  understand  the  sentence  to  be 
translated  and  to  give  it  whole,  not  changing  nor  adding 
nor  omitting  anything  that  is  written.  Secondly,  not 
to  give  words  of  Latin  or  other  language,  but  to  write  it 
all  in  our  language,  following  as  closely  as  may  be  the 
general  good  custom  of  our  speech.  Thirdly,  always  to 
give  words  answering  precisely  to  the  Latin,  not  chang- 
ing one  for  other,  as  where  the  Latin  says  "  to  separ- 
ate "  not  to  write  "to  part,"  and  so  in  similar  cases, 
thinking  that  it  is  all  one,  for  it  makes  great  difference 
for  a  good  understanding  of  the  sense  that  these  words 
should  be  properly  given.  Fourthly,  not  to  give  words 
which  in  our  custom  of  speech  are  held  to  be  disreput- 
able. Fifthly,  to  keep  that  rule  which  should  likewise 
be  observed  in  any  other  writing — that  is,  to  write 
matters  of  a  good  substance,  clearly,  that  they  may  be 
understood  well,  and  as  beautifully  as  may  be,  and  as 
briefly  as  may  be  required,  and  for  this  paragraphs  and 
a  good  punctuation  are  a  great  help.) 


46   STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

How  successful  he  was  in  carrying  out  his  own 
precepts  is  shown  throughout  the  book,  and  may  be 
seen,  for  instance,  in  his  translation  of  St.  Matthew 
vi.  24 : 

**  Nom  podees  servyr  a  Deus  e  ao  mamona,  porem 
eu  vos  digo  que  nom  sejaaes  sollamente  cuydosos  em 
vossas  almas  por  o  que  avees  de  comer,  nem  pera  o 
vosso  corpo  que  avees  de  vistir,  certamente  a  alma 
mais  he  que  manjar  e  o  corpo  mais  que  vestidura. 
Olhaae  as  aves  do  ceeo  que  nom  semeam  nem  colhem 
nem  ajuntam  em  celleiros,  e  nosso  padre  cellestrial  as 
governa ;  vos  mais  e  melhores  sooes  que  ellas,  qual  de 
vos  outros  assy  cuydosos  pode  acrecentar  em  sua 
grandeza  huu  covado,  e  das  vestiduras  porque  sempre 
cuidaaes  ?  Consiiraae  os  lileos  do  campo  como  crecem, 
nom  trabalham  nem  colhem  ;  eu  vos  digo  que  nem 
Sallamon  em  toda  sua  gloria  he  coberto  assy  como 
huu  destes.  Se  o  feno  do  campo,  que  hoje  he  e  de 
manhaa  no  forno  he  posto,  Deus  assy  a  este,  quanto 
mais  a  vos  fara  de  pouca  fe  ?  Nom  queiraaes  porem 
seer  contynuadamente  cuydosos,  dizendo,  que  comere- 
mos  ou  que  beveremos,  ou  de  que  nos  cobriremos,  todas 
estas  cousas  gentes  demandam.  Certamente  nosso  padre 
sabe  que  as  avees  mester,  buscaae  porem  primeiro  o 
reyno  de  Deos  e  a  sua  justiga  sempre,  e  todas  estas 
cousas  vos  serom  acrecentadas." 

King  Duarte  shows  great  care  and  skill  in  distin- 
guishing shades  of  meaning  by  use  of  the  corresponding 
word,^  avoiding  what  he  calls  desvairo  de  vocablos,  and  it 
is  noticeable  in  this  respect  that  he  more  than  once 
mentions  the  heticas  d'Aristotilles.  His  thought  is  so 
subtly  expressed  in   thin,  clear   sentences   that   these 

1  Thus  in  one  chapter  occur  the  following  varieties  of  sloth  : 
occiosidade,  priguy^a,  negrigencia,  envelhentamento,  leixamento,  langoVf 
mingiia,  pesume,  empachamento,  empacho,  desleixado,  tardynhciro ,  froxo. 


EARLY  PROSE  47 

essays  at  times  recall  those  of  Bacon.  Although  he 
professes  to  understand  more  of  the  chase  than  of 
letradura,  he  was  a  keen  reader.  The  chronicles  claim 
for  his  son,  King  Affonso  V.,  the  honour  of  having  first 
collected  a  library,^  but  a  document  discovered  at 
Evora  gives  a  list  of  books  in  the  possession  of  King 
Duarte.  Besides  the  cancioneiros  of  King  Affonso, 
King  Diniz,  and  himself,  the  list  includes  a  Chronicle 
of  Spain,  Chronicle  of  Portugal,  Dialectics  of  Aris- 
totle, Segredos  of  Aristotle,  Book  of  the  Chase  com- 
piled by  King  Joao  I.,  Caesar,  Seneca,  Cicero,  O 
Livro  da  Romayquia,  and  O  acypreste  de  fysa  (=The 
Archpriest  of  Hita}.  O  Leal  Conselheiro  is  a  delight 
to  read  both  for  its  style ^  and  the  character  of  its 
author,  who  shows  himself  to  have  been  a  very  loyal 
and  noble  Christian  gentleman,^  for  its  quaintnesses  and 
the  hundred  lights  it  throws  upon  Portuguese  life  and 
character  at  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century.  The 
chronicles  attribute  the  King's  good  education  to  his 

*  "  Foy  o  Prymeiro  Rey  destes  Reynos  que  ajuntou  boos  livros  e 
fez  uma  livraria  em  seus  pagos."  Ruy  de  Pina,  Chronica  do  Senhor 
Rey  Dom  Affonso  V. 

2  With  the  exception  of  a  few  archaic  words,  as  trigar  (Senhor  trigate 
por  me  ajudar— Lord,  haste  to  help  me  ;  os  priguy90S0S  desordenada- 
mente  se  trigam ;  Sa  de  Miranda  uses  trigoso)  and  such  forms  as 
smollas  (alms),  strollogos  (astrologers),  celorgiades  or  solorgiades  (surgeons) 
it  might  well  be  imitated  at  the  present  day. 

3  Of  charming  modesty,  but  not  without  a  quiet  sense  of  humour. 
In  the  Cancioneiro  de  Resende  Dyoguo  Braudam  speaks  of  him  as 

' '  o  bom  rrey  dom  duarte 
q  foy  tam  perrey to  e  tam  acabado. ' ' 

In  his  reign  the  phrase  palavra  de  rei  (word  of  a  king)  became 
proverbial. 


48   STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

English  mother,^  daughter  of  John  of  Gaunt,  and  say 
that  he  was  naturally  eloquent,  "  so  that  by  his 
humanity  and  eloquence  he  drew  towards  him  the 
hearts  of  men,"^  and  that  he  was  "endowed  with  so 
many  graces  that  in  him  there  was  nothing  to  desire 
but  a  better  fortune."  His  short  and  troubled  reign 
(1433-1438)  can  have  given  him  few  opportunities  for 
study,  and  before  coming  to  the  throne  his  time  was 
equally  crowded.  He  gives  the  following  picture  of 
his  life  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  : 

"  Os  mais  dos  dias  bem  cedo  era  levantado  e,  missas 
ouvidas,  era  na  rollagom  ataa  meo  dia  ou  acerca  e 
vinha  comer.  E  sobre  mesa  dava  odiencias  per  boo 
spa9o,  e  retrayame  aa  camera  e  logo  aas  duas  oras  pos 
meo  dia  os  do  conselho  e  veedores  da  fazenda  eram 
com  mygo,  e  aturava  com  elles  ataa  ix  oras  da  noite ; 
e  desque  partiom,  com  os  oficiaaes  de  minha  casa 
estava  ataa  xi  oras.  Monte,  ca9a,  muy  pouco  husava  ; 
e  o  paa9o  do  dicto  senhor  vesitava  poucas  vezes  e 
aquellas  por  veer  o  que  el  fazia  e  de  mym  Ihe  dar 
conta." 

(Most  days  I  rose  very  early  and,  after  hearing  Mass, 
was  in  the  courts  till  midday  or  nearly,  and  came  to  break 
my  fast.     And  before  rising  from  table  I  gave  audiences 

1  Chronica  e  Vida  del  Rey  Dom  Duarte,  dos  Reys  de  Portugal  undecimo 
(Lisbon,  1643):  "And  as  the  Queen  Dona  Philippa,  his  mother, 
besides  her  great  virtues,  was  a  woman  of  great  intelligence  {de  muita 
policia)  and  brought  up  her  sons  with  less  luxury  and  a  better  educa- 
tion than  do  the  ladies  of  Spain,  the  King  Don  Duarte,  like  all  his 
brothers,  was  well  taught  in  letters  and  in  manners."  One  of  his 
brothers  was  Prince  Henry  the  Navigator,  also  "  mui  studioso  das 
letras. ' ' 

'^  Cf.  Ruy  de  Pina :  "He  was  very  eloquent  and  was  born  so,  for 
God  endowed  him  in  this  with  many  graces."  He  became  known 
as  "  Edward  the  Eloquent." 


EARLY  PROSE  49 

for  a  good  while,  and  retired  to  my  room,  and  at  two 
o'clock  after  midday  the  councillors  and  the  inspectors 
of  the  treasury  were  with  me,  and  I  worked  with  them 
till  nine  o'clock  at  night ;  and  after  they  were  gone  I 
was  with  the  officials  of  my  household  until  eleven.  I 
went  to  the  chase  very  little  and  rarely  visited  the 
palace  of  the  said  senhor  [the  King,  his  father]  and 
then  only  to  see  what  he  was  doing  and  to  make  report 
to  him). 

He  explains  his  literary  studies  as  snatched  por  fol- 
gan^a  during  church  ceremonies,^  or  during  business 
which  was  not  of  a  very  special  character,^  and  refers  to 
the  example  of  his  father,  King  Joao  I.,  who  wrote  a 
book  of  hours  of  Sancta  Maria  and  psalms,  and  a  book  of 
the  chase ;  of  his  brother  Don  Pedro's  "  Book  of  virtuous 
well-doing,"  and  "  of  hours  of  confession  "  ;  and  to  that 
of  Alfonso  the  Learned  :  '*  E  aquel  honrado  Key  Dom 
Affonso  estrollogo  quantas  multidoes  fez  de  leituras." 

1  Chapter  xcvi.  gives  the  duration  of  various  services  :  Ordinary  high 
mass,  one  hour  ;  ordinary  vespers,  two  hours ;  service  on  Christmas 
Eve,  with  matins,  gospel,  mass,  and  sermon,  five  hours  ;  Ash  Wednes- 
day, four  hours  ;  Palm  Sunday,  blessing  and  distribution  of  palms, 
procession,  mass,  etc.,  six  hours  ;  Thursday  in  Holy  Week,  four  hours  ; 
Good  Friday,  four  hours  ;  Easter  Eve,  six  hours.  That  of  Easter  Day 
"  depends  on  the  length  of  the  procession,  since  when  that  is  over  they 
only  say  one  prayer. ' ' 

2  '•  E  por  pensar  que  poderiam  dizer  que  fazendo  tal  leitura  caya 
em  este  peccado  de  occiosidade,  per  seer  obra  pera  mym  tam  pouco 
perteecente,  respondo  nom  me  parecer  assy,  consiirando  a  maneira 
que  sobrello  tenho,  ca  esto  fa90  principalmente  nos  grandes  oficyos  da 
igreja  que  custumo  douvyr  acabando  o  que  ey  de  rezar,  ou  em  algus 
poucos  spa90S  que  me  synto  fora  doucupaQOoes,  onde  filho  esto  por 
folganga  como  outros  teem  no  que  Ihes  praz  ;  e  gramas  a  Nosso  Senhor 
o  mais  do  tempo  me  sento  assy  desposto  que  nom  avendo  cousas  muyto 
speciaaes  que  me  constrangam,  como  quero  screver  em  esto,  assy 
livremente  o  fago,  que  os  outros  cuydados  pouco  me  torvam." 

4 


50   STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

0  Leal  Conselheiro  contains  several  chapters  on 
what  the  King  calls  the  "sin  of  sadness"  as  opposed 
to  "  boa  ledice."  Chapter  xxv.  treats  "  Do  nojo,  pezar, 
desprazer,  avorrecymento  e  suydade,"  and  describes 
suydade^  at  length.  Chapter  xxxii.  deals  with  the 
sin  of  greed  {gulla  or  guargantoyce).  He  also  con- 
demns seeking  after  new  things  {novydades  achar), 
and  speaking  in  church,  and  says  that  many  spend 
their  days  em  f alias  sem  proveito  and  "  do  not  under- 
stand how  the  twenty-four  hours  granted  to  us  pass."  ^ 
Chapter  xcv.  gives  no  less  than  thirty  rules  to  be 
observed  in  church  {na  capeella)  :  The  priests  and 
singers  are  always  to  arrive  early;  they  are  not  to 
hurry   in    singing   or   praying    or    in    any   other   part 

1  =the  modern  smidade,  of  which  the  best  equivalents  are  "  wistful- 
ness, "  or  the  GaHcian  morriha,  Latin  desiderium,  and  German  Sehn- 
sucht.  It  originally  meant  solitude  and  was  written  soidade.  A  poem 
by  King  Diniz  has  soydade.  In  Gil  Vicente  it  is  suidade.  So  Sa  de 
Miranda:  "A  suidade  nao  se  estrece  "  (satidade  cannot  be  shaken  off). 
Gil  Vicente,  writing  in  Spanish  (in  ' '  Comedia  sobre  a  divisa  da  cidade 
de  Coimbra  "),  has: 

"  Soledad  tengo  de  ti, 
O  terra  donde  naci. ' ' 
King  Duarte  analyzes  saudade  with  great  care.  It  is,  he  says,  born  of 
the  senses,  not  of  reason,  and  may  be  pleasurable  or  sad,  and  he  notes 
that  neither  Latin  nor  any  other  language  has  a  corresponding  word 
for  it:  "  E  a  suydade  ...  he  huu  sentido  do  cora9om  que  vem  da 
sensualidade  e  nom  de  razom.  ...  E  porem  me  parece  este  nome  de 
suydade  tam  proprio  que  o  latym  nem  outra  linguagem  que  eu  saiba 
nom  he  pera  tal  sentido  semelhante.  De  se  haver  [a  suidade]  algumas 
vezes  com  prazer  e  outras  com  nojo  ou  tristeza.  ..."  So  a  later 
writer,  Francisco  Manoel  de  Mello,  says  :  "  He  a  saudade  huma 
mimosa  paixao  da  alma,  e  por  isso  tao  subtil  que  equivocamente  se 
experimenta,  deixandonos  indistincta  a  dor  da  satisfa^ao.  He  hum 
mal  de  que  se  gosta  e  hum  bem  que  se  padece." 

2  Among  the  qualities  he  wishes  a  favourite  to  have  is   "que  nom 
seja  pallavroso." 


EARLY  PROSE  51 

of  the  service,  but  to  do  everything  vv^ith  leisure  and 
quietness ;  no  laughter  or  mockery  is  to  be  allowed ; 
there  must  be  silence;  the  singers  must  all  have  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  what  they  are  going  to  sing,  and 
are  not  to  attempt  higher  notes  than  they  can  easily 
attain,  both  in  solos  and  for  singing  in  unison.^  In 
another  chapter  King  Duarte  says  that  the  Portuguese 
are  loyal  and  of  good  hearts,  and  the  English  are 
valiant  men  of  arms,  of  great  and  good  order  in  their 
churches  and  houses.  He  divides  the  inhabitants  of 
Portugal  into  five  estates :  (i)  orators — i.e.,  priests, 
monks,  and  hermits  ;  (2)  defenders  of  the  country,  both 
against  foreign  enemies  and  against  ''  the  proud  and 
malicious  enemies  who  dwell  in  the  land  "  ;  (3)  labourers 
and  fishermen  ;  (4)  officials  (councillors,  judges,  etc.)  ; 
(5)  "  those  who  follow  certain  approved  arts  and  profes- 
sions "  (physicians,  surgeons,  merchants,  players  (tange- 
dores),  armourers,  goldsmiths,  etc.). 

King  Duarte's  "  Art  of  Riding  "  (Livro  de  Ensinanga 
de  hem  cavalgar  toda  sella)  is  written  in  the  same  clear 
and  idiomatic  style.  It  tells  of  riding  and  hunting 
and  horses;  of  "the  malices  of  the  beasts";  how 
"  good  and  loyal  beasts  greatly  cheer  those  who  mount 
them  if  they  have  a  reasonable  skill  in  riding  "  ;  of  the 
form  of   spurs  and  how  to  use  them,  and  how  "  the 

1  Chapter  xcix.  [Do  regimento  do  estamago)  has  the  same  curiously 
modern  ring.  The  King,  long  before  Gladstone,  warns  his  readers 
that  they  should  "  masticate  food  well  at  meals  "  and  drink  only  twice 
or  three  times  at  most ;  that  eggs  agree  with  some  and  not  with  others  ; 
that  many  of  cream  and  other  "  milk  viands  "  should  eat  little  or  none, 
of  cherries,  peaches,  oysters,  vinegar,  lemons,  little  or  none  ;  there  are 
to  be  seven  or  eight  hours  between  dinner  and  supper,  and  "  to  go  to 
bed  at  a  reasonable  hour  and  so  to  rise  early  is  very  good. ' ' 


52    STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

Irish,  since  they  ride  without  stirrups,  do  not  observe 
our  manner  of  using  the  spur."  He  himself  excelled  in 
riding  and  the  chase,  but  he  will  not  have  the  education 
of  books  neglected : 

"  Os  mo9os  de  boa  lynhagem  e  criados  em  tal  casa 
que  se  possa  fazer  devem  seer  ensynados  logo  de 
comego  a  leer  e  a  screver  e  fallar  latym,  continuando 
boos  lyvros  per  latym  e  lynguagem,  de  boo  camynha- 
mento  per  vyda  virtuosa  ;  ca  posto  que  digam  semel- 
hante  leitura  nom  muito  conviir  a  homees  de  tal  stado, 
mynha  teen^om  he  que  pois  todos  almas  verdadeira- 
mente  somos  obrigados  creer  que  avemos,  muyto  princi- 
palmente  nos  convem  trabalhar  com  a  mercee  do 
senhor  por  salvagom  dellas,  o  que  muyto  se  faz  com 
sa  gra9a  per  o  estudo  de  boos  lyvros  e  boa  conver- 
sagam." 

(Sons  of  good  family  brought  up  in  houses  where  this 
is  possible,  should  straightway  be  taught  to  read  and 
write  and  speak  Latin,  continuing  to  read  good  books  in 
Latin  and  romance,  such  as  are  good  guides  to  a  virtu- 
ous life ;  for  although  they  may  say  that  such  reading 
is  not  very  suitable  to  men  of  their  station,  I  think  that 
since  we  are  all  truly  obliged  to  believe  that  we  have 
souls,  it  behoves  us  very  principally  to  work  with  the 
favour  of  the  Lord  for  their  salvation,  which  with  His 
grace  is  greatly  wrought  through  the  study  of  good 
books  and  good  conversation.) 

In  more  than  one  passage  of  his  works  King  Duarte 
unfolds  an  art  de  lire  of  the  fifteenth  century.  He 
advises  that  a  good  book  should  be  read  again  and 
again,  since  it  will  ever  give  new  pleasure,  and  in  the 
preface  to  the  "  Art  of  Riding,"  as  in  a  similar  longer 


EARLY  PROSE  53 

passage  in  O  Leal  Conselheiro,  he  bids  his  readers  read 
slowly:  '' Leamno  de  come90,  pouco,  passo  e  bem 
apontado,  tornando  alguas  vezes  ao  que  ja  leerom  pera 
o  saberem  melhor ;  ca  se  o  leerem  rijo  e  muyto  junta- 
mente,  como  livro  destorias,  logo  desprazera,  e  se  enfa- 
darom  del,  por  o  nom  poderem  tambem  entender  nem 
remembrar." 

King  Duarte  died  at  the  age  of  forty-seven  on 
September  g,  1438,^  of  a  fever  at  Thomar.  His  death 
was  hastened  by  grief  at  his  brother  Fernando's  cap- 
tivity in  Africa,  and  his  perplexity  as  to  whether  he 
should  yield  Ceuta  to  the  Moors  for  his  ransom ; 
possibly,  too,  by  his  seven  physicians.  His  biographer, 
Ruy  de  Pina,  says  that  ''  as  to  the  cause  of  his  sudden 
death  there  were  many  opinions  among  his  seven 
physicians  and  the  Infantes  there  gathered  together." 
His  body  was  carried  for  burial  to  Batalha,  with  torches 
and  crosses,  *'  monks  and  priests  and  other  noble 
company." 

Ruy  de  Pina  was  himself  no  mean  writer  of  Portu- 
guese prose,^  as  his  preface  to  the  Chronicle  of  King 
Edward,  addressed  to  King  Manoel,  proves  : 

"  Estorea,  muy  excellente  Rey,  he  assi  mui  liberal 
princesa  de  todo  bem,  que  nunqua  em  sua  louvada 
conversagao  nos  recolhe  que  della  nao  partamos  sem 
em  toda  calidade  de  bondades  e  virtudes  spirituaaes  e 
corporaaes  nos  acharmos  outros  e  sentirmos  em  nos 
hum  singular  melhoramento.  Nem  he  sem  causa; 
porque  a  doutrina  hystorial,  pelo  grande  provimento 

^  Born  at  Vizeu,  1391. 

2  He  uses  some  French  words,  as  remercear  {Chronica  del  Rei  D. 
Affonso  v.),  and  the  following  is  a  truly  Sanchian  "prevarication  "  : 
•'  Em  que  grande  parte  do  sol  foy  cm." 


54    STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

dos  verdadeiros  enxemplos  passados  que  consigo  teem 
he  assi  doce  e  conforme  a  toda  a  humanidade  que 
atem  os  maaos  que  per  ligao  ou  per  ouvida  com  ella 
partecipam  torna  logo  boos  ou  com  desejo  de  o  seer  : 
e  OS  boos  muyto  melhores.  Cuja  virtuosa  for^a  he 
tamanha  que  per  obras  ou  vontade  dos  fracos  faz 
esfor9ados  e  dos  escassos  liberaaes  e  dos  crus  piadosos 
e  dos  frios  na  Fe  Catolicos  e  boos  Christaaos."  ^ 

(History,  most  excellent  King,  is  so  liberal  a  princess 
of  all  good  that  we  never  leave  its  noble  presence  with- 
out finding  ourselves  changed  in  all  manner  of  good- 
ness and  virtues,  spiritual  and  corporal,  and  feeling  in 
us  a  singular  improvement.  And  not  without  reason, 
for  the  teaching  of  history  by  the  great  store  of  true 
examples  in  the  past  is  so  sweet  and  suitable  to  all  men 
that  even  the  wicked,  who  through  reading  or  hearing 
have  some  part  in  it,  are  straightway  made  good  or  left 
with  a  desire  to  be  so  :  and  the  good  are  made  much 
better.  The  force  of  its  virtue  is  such  that  either  in 
deed  or  will  it  renders  the  weak  strong,  the  mean 
liberal,  and  the  cruel  merciful,  and  turns  those  who  are 
cold  in  the  faith  to  Catholics  and  good  Christians.) 

In  the  year  1490  he  was  appointed  "  Chief  Chronicler 
of  Chronicles,  and  of  things  past,  present,  and  that  are 
for  to  come."  He  made  use  of  the  earlier  work  of  the 
Chronista  Fernao  Lopes,  and  his  successor,  Gomes 
Eannes  de  Azurara,  and  in  turn  left  an  unfinished 
Chronicle  of  King  Manoel  which  was  used  by  Damiao 
de  Goes  (1501-1572)  in  his  Chronicle,  one  of  the 
best  works  of  Portuguese  prose  in  the  sixteenth 
century. 

1  Chronica  do  Senhor  Rey  D.  Duarte.  Escrita  por  Ruy  de  Pina, 
{Collect^do  de  livros  ineditos  de  historia  portitgueza  dos  reinados  de  D. 
Joao  I.,  D.  Duarte,  D.  Affonso  V.,  e  D.  Joao  II.  Publicados  de  ordem 
da  Academia  Real  das  Sciencias  de  Lisboa  por  Jose  Correa  da  Serra. 
Vol.  i.     Lisboa,  1790.) 


CHAPTER   III 

GIL  VICENTE 

Gil  Vicente  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century 
introduced  the  drama  into  Portugal.  Important,  how- 
ever, as  were  his  services  in  this  respect,  he  had  few 
followers,  and  when  Almeida- Garrett  wrote  his  plays 
in  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century,  he  could  be 
hailed  as  the  immediate  successor  of  Vicente.  The 
Portuguese  genius  is  not  dramatic ;  even  the  famous 
play  of  Antonio  Ferreira  (i 528-1569),  Ines  de  Castro,  is 
rather  a  play  containing  beautiful  episodes  than  a 
beautiful  play,  and  Gil  Vicente  himself  really  lives 
and  fascinates  by  the  divine  gift  of  lyricism  which  w^as 
essentially  his  own  and  essentially  Portuguese.  He  is 
the  most  spontaneous  and  natural  poet  of  Portugal. 

The  date  of  his  birth  has  been  given  as  1470,  chiefly 
on  the  ground  that  the  two  following  lines  occur  in  his 
comedia  Floresta  de  Enganos,  acted  at  Evora  in  1536 ; 

"  Ya  hice  sesenta  y  seis, 
Ya  mi  tiempo  es  pasado." 

(I  am  now  sixty-six  ;  my  time  is  over.)  These  words 
are  spoken  by  the  Chief  Justice,  the  doutor  Justiga 
Maior  do  Reino,  a  part  which,  it  is  argued,  may  have 
been  played  by  Vicente  himself.      These  hypothetical 

55 


56   STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

arguments  are  often  two-edged,  and  it  may  be  noted 
that  Vicente's  wife  died  in  1533,  only  three  years 
before  the  comedia  was  acted,  so  that,  had  he  written 
the  doutor's  part  for  himself,  he  would  scarcely  have 
allowed  the  nio(^a  to  speak  of  his  having  a  beautiful 

wife  ; 

"  Quern  tal  quer 
Nao  havia  de  ter  mulher 
E  formosa  como  a  vossa." 

It  is  more  accurate  to  say  that  he  was  born  about 
the  year  1470.^  The  place  of  his  birth  is  also  uncertain. 
According  to  Senhor  Braga,  his  father,  Martim  Vicente, 
was  a  silversmith  of  Guimaraes,  the  art  being  hereditary 
in  his  family;  and  according  to  Christovam  Alao  de 
Moraes  (w^hose  veracity  is,  however,  open  to  suspicion), 
Gil  was  an  only  son.  The  name  Gil  Vicente  was 
a  common  one  in  the  fifteenth  century,  and  Senhor 
Braga  considers  that  the  poet  was  a  different  person 
from  the  famous  silversmith  of  the  same  name,  who 
was,  he  thinks,  a  cousin,  one  of  four  children  of  Martim's 
brother  Luiz.^ 

1  In  the  Auto  da  Festa,  published  in  a  miscellany  of  autos  of  the 
sixteenth  century  from  the  library  of  the  Conde  de  Sabugosa,  the 
velha  says  of 

"  Gil  Vicente, 
Que  faz  os  Autos  a  El-Rei," 
that  he  is  stout  and  over  sixty  : 

"  He  logo  mui  barregudo 
E  mais  passa  dos  sessenta." 
The  Conde  de  Sabugosa,  in  an  accompanying  study  {Lisbon,   1907)^ 
attributes  the  play  to  the  year  1535.     In   1531  Gil  Vicente  spoke  of 
himself  as  "  near  death."     And  this  was  evidently  not  due,  as  five 
years  earlier,  to  illness. 

2  Theophilo  Braga,  Gtl  Vicente  e  as  Origens  do  Theatro  Nacional  Porto, 
1898.     Other  vv^orks  on  Vicente  are  — Visconde  Sanches  de  Baena, 


GIL  VICENTE  57 

Guimaraes  was  at  that  time  a  great  religious  centre, 
and  while  many  offerings  to  the  Vtrgem  da  Oliveira 
provided  employment  for  workers  in  gold  and  silver, 
the  fetes  and  processions  and  the  Church's  love  of 
dramatic  effects  may  have  laid  the  basis  of  Gil 
Vicente's  art,  and  the  popular  customs  and  observation 
of  the  crowds  coming  in  from  the  surrounding  country 
would  give  to  his  genius  that  indigenous  cast  which  is 
one  of  its  chief  charms.^  As  Senhor  Braga  says,  "  no 
poet  was  ever  more  profoundly  national."  About  the 
year  1488  Vicente  went  to  study  law  in  the  University 
of  Lisbon,  and  in  1492  he  was  chosen  to  be  "  Master 
of  Rhetoric  "  to  the  Duke  of  Beja.  In  the  preceding 
year  the  King's  only  son,  Affonso,  had  been  killed  at 

Gil  Vicente.  1894.  J.  I.  Brito  Rebello,  Ementas  histoncas  II.  :  Gil 
Vicente.  Lisbon,  1902.  Visconde  de  Ouguela,  Gil  Vicente.  Lisbon,  1890. 
Carolina  Michaelis  de  Vasconcellos,  Gil  Vicente  der  Schopfer  des  Portug. 
Dramas  {Grundriss,  pp.  280-286).  Visconde  de  Castilho,  A  Mocidade  de 
Gil  Vicente.  Lisbon,  1897.  Edgar  Prestage,  The  Portuguese  Drama  in 
the  Sixteenth  Century  :  Gil  Vicente.  [The  Manchester  Quarterly.]  1897.  J-  !• 
Brito  Rebello,  Gil  Vicente  {Grandes  Vultos  Portuguezes,  No.  2).  Lisbon, 
1912.  In  this  last  work  General  Brito  Rebello  prints  two  signatures 
of  Gil  Vicente  (at  an  interval  of  twenty  years)  to  show  that  the  poet 
and  silversmith  were  distinct.  But  the  argument  from  these  docu- 
ments is  by  no  means  conclusive,  and,  in  fact,  rather  strengthens  the 
opposite  view  of  Senhor  Anselmo  Braamcamp  Freire,  given  in  articles 
entitled  Gil  Vicente  poeta  ourives,  published  in  the  Jornal  do  Commercio 
(February,  1907),  and  again  in  a  paper  read  before  the  Lisbon  Academia 
de  Sciencias  in  1912  (printed  in  the  Diano  de  Noticias,  December  16, 
1912).  His  view  rests  principally  on  vol.  xlii.,  p.  20,  of  the  Registers 
of  the  reign  of  King  Manoel  I.,  where  Gil  Vicente,  "  silversmith  of  the 
Queen,"  and  (in  a  gloss)  Gil  Vicente,  trovador,  appear  as  the  same 
person.  The  vexed  question,  raised  by  C.  Castello  Branco  in  188 1, 
awaits  fresh  documents  for  its  solution. 

1  Beira  Baixa  has  also  been  given  as  his  native  province,  owing  to 
the  frequent  allusions  to  it  in  his  works.  Others  give  Lisbon  or 
Barcellos  as  his  native  town. 


58   STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

Santarem  by  a  fall  from  his  horse,  at  the  age  of 
sixteen,  eight  months  after  his  marriage  to  Isabel, 
daughter  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  of  Spain.  The 
chronicles  and  poets  ^  of  the  time  give  vivid  pathetic 
pictures  of  his  death,  and  of  the  general  grief. 
The  Duke  of  Beja,  brother  of  Queen  Leonor  and 
cousin  of  the  King,  was  now  heir  to  the  throne.  As 
King  Manoel  I.  he  married  his  brother's  widow,  but 
after  her  death  in  childbirth  he  married  Maria, 
another  daughter  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella.  It 
was  on  the  occasion  of  the  birth  (June  6,  1502)  of 
her  son,  afterwards  King  Joao  III.,  that  Vicente's 
Monologo  do  Vaqueiro  or  Visita(^am  was  recited  in 
the  palace  Qune  8,  1502).  Consisting  of  little  over 
a  hundred  lines,  and  written  in  Spanish,  this  was, 
according  to  his  own  testimony,  his  first  work  —  a 
primeira  cousa  que  0  aiUor  fez — and  he  adds  in  a  colo- 
phon that,  being  of  a  kind  hitherto  unknown  in 
Portugal,  it  so  pleased  the  ''old  Queen"  that  she 
requested  the  author  that  it  should  be  represented  at 
matins  on  Christmas  Day,  and  because  the  matter  was 
so  unsuitable  the  author  wrote  a  second  work  {Auto 

1  Cf.  Cancioneiro  de  Resende.  "  De  luys  anrriqz  aa  morte  do  prin9epe 
dom  Affonso  que  deos  tern."  The  news  is  brought  to  the  Queen  and 
Princess,  and 

"  Solas  las  dos  se  partiero 
Syn  mas  esperar  companhas, 
Desmayadas, 

Corriendo  quanto  podierom 
Las  que  levam  sus  entranhas 
Lastimadas. 

Llhegando  com  gram  dolor 
Comegan  desta  manera 
Gritos  dando." 


GIL  VICENTE  59 

Pastoril  Castelhano)  in  its  stead/  From  1502  to  1536 
Vicente  continued  to  provide  autos,  comedias,  and/^irpas 
for  the  Court,  either  for  special  ceremonies  or  for 
rehgious  festivals,  such  as  Christmas  or  Epiphany.  In 
15 12  he  married  Branca  Bezerra,  daughter  of  Martim 
Crasto,  and  niece  of  the  rich  Prior  de  Santa  Maria  do 
Castello.2  He  had  four  children — Martim,  Luiz  (1514- 
1594),  Valeria,  and  Paula,  who  helped  her  father  in  the 
collection,  possibly  in  the  composition,  of  his  works, 
and  later  became  a  lady-in-waiting  of  the  Infanta 
Maria.^  King  Manoel  died  of  the  plague  in  December, 
I52i,andat  Christmas  of  1523  {Auto  Pastoril  Portuguez) 
we  find  the  poet  referring  to  himself  as  utterly  penni- 
less and  "  without  a  farthing  " : 

"  Hum  Gil  .  .  . 
Hum  que  nao  tem  nem  ceitil, 
Que  faz  os  aitos  a  elrei." 

In  the  following  year  he  receives  from  the  King  the 
sum  of  12,000  reis,  with  a  supplementary  sum  of 
8,000,  and  in  January,  1525,  a  present  of  wheat  "  in 
view  of  the  services  which  I  have  received  from  Gil 
Vicente  and  of  those  which  I  hope  in  future  to  receive 
from  him."  In  1531  he  took  a  prominent  part  in  put- 
ting an  end  to  a  persecution  of  the  "  new  Christians  " 
at  Lisbon  after  the  earthquake  of  January  26.     In  a 

1  "  E  por  ser  cousa  nova  em  Portugal  gostou  tanto  a  Rainha  velha 
desta  representa9ao  que  pedio  ao  autor  que  isto  mesmo  Ihe  represen- 
tasse  as  matinas  do  Natal,  endere9ado  ao  nascimento  do  Redemptor, 
e  porque  a  sustan9a  era  mui  desviada,  em  lugar  disto  fez  a  seguinte 
obra. '  ■ 

2  Th  :  Braga.     Gil  Vicente.     1898. 

3  See  Carolina  Michaelis  de  Vasconcellos,  A  Infanta  D.  Maria  de 
Portugal  (1521-1577).     Porto,  1902. 


6o   STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

letter  to    King  Joao  III.,  who  was   at    Santarem,  he 
relates  the  event  as  follows  : 

"  Senhor, — Os  frades  de  ca  nao  me  contentarao 
nem  em  pulpito  nem  em  pratica  sobre  esta  tormenta 
da  terra  que  ora  passou  :  porque  nao  bastava  o  espanto 
da  gente  mas  ainda  elles  Ihe  affirmavao  duas  cousas  que 
OS  mais  fazia  esmorecer." 

He  goes  on  to  say  that  the  monks  thus  increased  the 
panic  by  telling  the  people  (i)  that  the  earthquake  was 
due  to  the  great  sins  of  Portugal ;  (2)  that  another 
earthquake  was  coming  at  one  o'clock  on  the  following 
Thursday ;  and  that  he  accordingly  called  the  monks 
together  and  made  them  "  hua  falla.''  He  besought 
them  to  remember  that  preaching  was  not  cursing 
{pregar  nao  ha  de  ser  praguejar) ;  that  *'  if  in  the  towns 
and  cities  of  Portugal,  and  especially  Lisbon,  there  are 
many  sins,  there  are  also  infinite  alms  and  pilgrimages, 
many  masses  and  prayers  and  processions,  feasts,  peni- 
tences, and  an  infinite  number  of  pious  works,  public 
and  private "  ;  and  that  if  there  were  still  some 
"  strangers  in  our  faith,"  it  was  better  to  convert  them 
than  to  persecute  them  "  por  contentar  a  desvairada 
opiniao  do  vulgo."  They  all  praised  and  accepted  his 
advice,  and,  he  says,  he  had  not  hoped,  being  now  near 
death,  to  be  enabled  to  render  the  King  so  great  a 
service. 

**Assi  visinho  da  morte  como  estou.'"  In  the  colophon  to 
Floresta  de  Enganos  (1536)  we  are  told  that  this  comedia 
was  ''  the  last  that  Gil  Vicente  wrote  in  his  time." 
In  1536  he  perhaps  retired  to  his  Qainta  do  Mosteiro, 
the  property  near  Torres  Vedras  given  to  him  by  King 
Manoel,   in   a   country   of   flowered   hills   and  crystal 


GIL  VICENTE  6i 

streams  that  might  remind  him  of  his  native  Minho.^ 
Here  he  occupied  himself  in  collecting  his  works,^  but 
died  before  the  collection  was  ready  for  publication,  in 
or  before  the  year  1540. 

To  say  that  Gil  Vicente  was  thoroughly  Portuguese 
is  not  to  imply  that  he  of  his  own  genius  invented  a 
dramatic  art  for  Portugal.  No  doubt  he  might  find  the 
germs  of  drama  in  the  dialogues  of  the  early  Portuguese 
cantigas  de  amigOy  in  the  religious  processions,  and  espe- 
cially in  the  drama  of  the  mass,  of  which  secular 
parodies  were  acted  in  Portugal  in  the  fifteenth  century. 
But  in  the  colophon  to  his  first  auto  he  implies  that  it 
was  a  "  new  thing "  imported  from  Spain  for  the 
pleasure  of  the  Spanish  princesses  at  the  Portuguese 
Court.  The  second  play,  Auto  Pastoril  Castelhano,  like- 
wise written  in  Spanish,  was  in  parts  directly  imitated 
from  Juan  del  Encina  (I469?-I534),  and  to  the  in- 
fluence of  Encina  Vicente's  dramatic  art  must  prin- 
cipally be  attributed.  There  are  many  signs  in  his 
work  of  a  close  acquaintance  with  Spanish  literature. 
When  in  the  Auto  da  Barca  do  Purgatono  (1518)  the 
Devil  says  to  the  lavradoVy 

"  E  OS  marcos  que  mudavas 
Dize,  porque  os  nao  tornavas 
Outra  vez  a  seu  logar  ?" 

this  is  perhaps  less  a  direct  observation  of  life  than  a 

*  In  the  Auto  da  Historia  de  Deos  (1527),  however,  he  complains 
that  the  country  between  Cintra  and  Torres  Vedras  is  all  stones  and 
thistles. 

2  "  Trabalhei  a  copillacao  dellas  com  muita  pena  de  minha 
velhice  e  gloria  de  minha  vontade"  (dedicatory  letter  to  King 
Joao  III.). 


62   STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

reminiscence  of  the  '*  mal  lahrador''  in  Berceo  {circa 
1200),  who 

**  Cambiaba  mojones  por  ganar  eredat." 

Branca  Gil  of  0  Velho  da  Horta  (i5i2)and  the  feiticeira 
of  the  Comedia  de  Rubena  (1521)  were  evidently  drawn 
from  the  Celestma,  of  which  many  editions  appeared 
during  Vicente's  life.  The  epithet  "  Eza  mano  melibea'' 
{Farga  das  Ciganas,  1521)  must  be  traced  to  the 
same  source.  The  Coplas  of  Jorge  Manrique  (1440-78) 
he  imitated  in  the  epitaph  ^  which  he  wrote  for 
himself,  and  (their  metre)  in  the  Auto  da  Alma, 
Vicente  was  also  influenced,  although  to  a  slighter 
degree,  by  the  French  mystery  and  morality  plays, 
and  the  many  references  to  France  in  his  works 
prove  that  the  mention  in  the  Cancioneiro  de  Resende 
(1516)  of  mil  /alias  de  Franca  was  no  mere  phrase.  In 
the  Auto  da  Fe  (15 10)  a  bed  is  spoken  of  as  chaqueada  d 
la  francesa,  and  the  shepherds  sing  "  hua  enselada  que 
veio  de  Franga.''  In  the  Auto  dos  quatro  tempos  is  sung 
a  '*  cantiga  franceza  que  diz : 

Ay  de  la  noble 
Villa  de  Paris." 

The  Chief  Justice  in  Floresta  de  Enganos  has  taken 
his  degree  at  Paris — "  un  doctor  hecho  en  Sena." 
Lisbon's  armorial  ship  {Nao  d' Amoves,  1527)  is  "worth 

1  In  the  Church  of  Sao  Francisco  at  Evora  : 

"  O  grao  juizo  esperando 
Ja9o  aqui  nesta  morada 
Tambem  da  vida  can^ada 
Descan9ando." 


GIL  VICENTE  63 

more    than    all    Paris."     In   the   AtUo   da  Fama   the 
Frenchman  speaks  in  his  own  language  : 

*'  V6s  estis  tarn  bella  xosa 
Y  xosa  tam  preciosa," 

Fame  refusing   to  be  his  "  porque  nao  tenho  rezao." 
Even  French  words,  lihre\  tafetd,  pantufos,  are  used.^ 

Vicente  might  imitate,  but  he  remained  essentially 
national,  quaint,  and  individual ;  his  works  are  like 
sculptured  flowers  of  early  Gothic,  simple  but  full  of 
charm  and  character.  He  seemed  ever  to  belong  to  the 
pre-Manueline  age,  and  if  he  lived  to  see  the  breaking 
up  of  old  customs,  the  exchange  of  simplicity  for  pomp 
and  display  "  os  extremos  de  pampas  e  vento  "  ^  as  gold 
poured  in  from  the  newly  discovered  colonies,  it  was  to 
protest  in  his  later  plays  against  the  disappearance  of 
simple  tastes  and  the  increase  of  luxury. 

**  Que  ninguem  nao  se  contenta 
l5a  maneira  que  sohia, 
Tudo  vai  fora  de  termos." 

{Romagem  de  Aggravados^  1533.) 

On  the  death  of  King  Manoel  (1521)  he  represents 
the  people  longing  for  rest : 

"  Diria  o  povo  em  geral : 
Bonanza  nos  seja  dada 

1  With  English  masks  and  morality  plays  Vicente  was  probably 
unacquainted,  although,  as  Senhora  Michaelis  de  Vasconcellos  points 
out,  his  daughter  Paula  wrote  an  English  grammar. 

2  "  Trovas  que  se  fizeram  nas  terras  no  tempo  de  D.  Manoel." 
The  same  anonymous  trovas  say  that 

*'  Em  Africa  a  fome 
Morrem  cavalleiros 
E  ca  nos  palheiros 
O  ouro  se  come. ' ' 


64   STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

Que  a  tormenta  passada 
Foi  tanta  e  tao  desigual." 

{Obras  v art  as.) 

In  1525  he  says  the  Portuguese  people  needs  to  be 

recast: 

'*  Refundicion 
En  la  Portuguesa  gente." 

Already  in  15 13  he  had  inveighed  against  the  gilt 
and  painted  chambers  of  the  rich,  and  called  upon 
the  Portuguese  to  be  Portuguese,  not  Saxons  nor 
Italians : 

"  Nao  queirais  ser  Genoezes 
Senao  muito  Portuguezes." 

In  the  Triumpho  do  Inverno  he  laments  the  vanished 
simple  pleasures,  the  neglect  of  the  gaiteiro  and  song 
and  dance  : 

'*  Em  Portugal  vi  eu  ja 
Em  cada  casa  pandeiro  ^ 
E  gaita  em  cada  palheiro 
E  de  vinte  annos  a  ca 
Nao  ha  hi  gaita  nem  gaiteiro. 

*  *  *  * 

O  d'entao  era  cantar 
E  bailar  como  ha  de  ser." 

But  in  this  age  "  Todos  somos  negligentes  "  [Auto 
de  Feira,  1527). 

Vicente  also  experienced  the  change  of  taste  which 
delighted  no  longer  in  simple  Portuguese  wares  but 
turned  to  classical  themes  and  the  new  poetry  intro- 

1  Cf.  pandora,  pandura,  "  a  musical  instrument  with  three  strings,  a 
kit,  a  croude,  a  rebecke. "  Florio,  quoted  by  E.  Weekley,  The  Romance 
of  Words.     London,  1912,  pp.  137,  138.     So  bandore,  banjore,  banjo. 


GIL  VICENTE  65 

duced  by  Sa  de  Miranda  after  his  journey  to  Italy  in  or 
about  the  years  1521-1526.  Vicente's  0  Clerigo  da 
Beira  (1526)  is  supposed  to  aim  in  more  than  one 
passage  at  Sa  de  Miranda  who,  for  his  part,  is  said  to 
have  despised  the  autos  as  barbarous  and  mediaeval.  In 
December,  1532,  Andres  Falcao  de  Resende,  after  see- 
ing Vicente's  Auto  da  Lusitania,  records  his  opinion 
that 

"  Gillo  auctor  et  actor, 
Gillo  jocis  levibus  doctus  perstringere  mores," 

would  have  excelled  Plautus  and  Terence  had  he 
written  in  Latin  and  not  solely  in  the  vulgar  tongue. 
Vicente  seems  to  have  felt  that  he  was  being  out- 
distanced by  the  "  new  style."  In  the  preface  dedicat- 
ing Dom  Duardos  (printed  separately  during  the  author's 
lifetime)  to  King  Joao  III.,  he  speaks  of  his  *'  comedies, 
farces,  and  moralities  "  as  "  low  figures  in  which  there 
is  no  fitting  rhetoric  to  satisfy  the  delicate  spirit  of  your 
Highness  "  ;  and  similarly  in  the  letter  dedicating  his 
collected  works  to  the  King  he  says :  ''  Ancient  and 
modern  writers  have  left  no  good  thing  to  say  nor  fair 
device  or  invention  to  discover,"  ^  and  speaks  of  "  minha 
ignorancia''  and  of  his  '^  malditos  detr actor esJ'  There 
was  evidently  a  tendency  to  look  down  upon  his  small 

1  The  discovery  of  India  had  brought  to  literature  as  well  as  to 
every  other  aspect  of  Portuguese  life  unrest  and  a  striving  after  ' '  new 
inventions."  The  new  inventions  of  Gil  Vicente,  for  which  Garcia 
de  Resende  praised  his  plays 

("  representagoes 
De  estilo  mui  eloquente, 
De  mui  novas  invenciones 
E  feitas  per  Gil  Vicente : 
Elle  foi  o  que  inventou 

5 


66    STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

learning^  and  his  preference  for  simple,  popular  lan- 
guage,^ scenes,  and  characters;  and  apparently  the 
more  erudite  Court  poets  accused  him  of  plagiarism. 
No  doubt  any  borrowings  by  a  poet  so  natural  and 
original  as  Gil  Vicente  would  be  more  noticeable  than 
those  of  writers  whose  whole  art  and  outlook  were 
borrowed.  Of  the  Farga  de  Inez  Pereira  represented 
before  Joao  III.  *' in  his  convent  of  Thomar  "  in  1523, 
the  author  says :  *'  Its  argument  is  that,  inasmuch  as 
certain  men  of  good  learning  doubted  whether  the 
author  himself  wTote  these  things  or  stole  them  from 
other  authors,  they  gave  him  this  theme — namely,  the 
common  saying :  *  I  would  rather  have  an  ass  that 
carries  me  than  a  horse  that  throws  me.'  "  ^ 

With  the  Farga  de  Inez  Pereira  character  drama  w^as 
initiated  in  Portugal.  Gil  Vicente  delineates  his  char- 
acters with  skill,  although  sometimes  they  are  made 

Isto  ca  e  que  o  usou 

Com  mais  gra9a  e  mais  doutrina, 

Posto  que  Joao  del  Enzina 

O  pastoril  come^ou  ") 

soon  ceased  to  satisfy,  and  gave  way  before  the  metrical  innovations 
of  the  new  school.  Garcia  de  Resende  in  this  passage  explicitly  says 
that  Vicente  introduced  into  Portugal  the  auto  pastoril  invented  by 
Juan  del  Encina. 

1  Even  in  the  nineteenth  century  he  has  been  barbarously  accused 
of  lack  of  culture. 

2  Cf.  his  "  Amadis  de  Gaula  "  (1533)  : 

"  Mabilia.  Yo,  Sefior,  no  se  latin, 
Amadis.  Ni  yo  oso  hablar  romance." 

3  "  O  seu  argumento  he  que  porquanto  duvidarao  certos  homens  de 
bom  saber  se  o  autor  fazia  de  si  mesmo  estas  cousas  ou  se  as  furtava  de 
outros  autores,  Ihe  derao  este  thema  sobre  que  fizesse — s.  hum  exemplo 
commum  que  dizem  :  '  Mais  quero  asno  que  me  leve  que  cavallo  que 
me  derrube.' ' ' 


GIL  VICENTE  67 

ingenuously  to  describe  themselves;  his  peasants  and 
humbler  townsfolk  are  especially  vivid,  and  generally 
wherever  his  native  satire  finds  vent,  the  passage 
stands  out  in  strong  relief.  Thus  we  have  the  alniocreve 
(carrier)  riding  along  on  his  mule  with  great  jingling 
of  bells  and  singing  a  serranilha  : 

**  Senhor,  o  almocreve  he  aquelle 
Que  OS  chocalhos  ougo  eu  ;"^ 

the  doctor  who,  after  a  long  speech  of  nothings,  con- 
cludes that  his  patient  will  live  unless  he  dies : 

"  De  manera 
Que  para  dalle  vida 
Es  menester  que  no  muera;"^ 

the  lisboeta  embarking  for  India  and  leaving  for  his  wife 
a  three  years'  store  of  corn,  oil,  honey,  and  cloth  ;^  the 
royal  page  upbraiding  a  second  page  for  being  redolent 
of  turnips,  and  having  probably  kept  cattle  in  the  serra;^ 
the  courtier  with  his  slippers  of  velvet ;  the  courtier- 
priest,  Frei  Pago,  with  his  velvet  cap  and  his  gloves 
and  gilt  sword,  *'  mincing  like  a  very  sweet  courtier  " 
(fazendo  meneios  de  muito  doce  cortezdo),  and  speaking 
softly  and  courteously,  with  great  store  of  compliments, 
words  borne  away  by  the  wind,  palavrinhas  de  ventos  ;^ 
the  peasant  who  has  spent  all  his  life  toiling  and  per- 
secuted, a  living  death,  ploughing  the  land  to  give 
bread  to  others;®  the  shrewd  market-woman,  regateira, 
selling  her  eggs  at  two  reaes,  and  pouring  water  into 
the  milk ;  "^  the  serving-man  receiving  bread  and  garlic 

^  Farga  dos  Almocreves.     1526.  ^  Farga  dos  Fisicos. 

3  AiUo  da  India.     1519.  ■*  0  Clerigo  da  Beira.     1526. 

5  Romagem  de  Aggravados.     1533. 

^  Auto  da  Barca  do  Purgatorio.     1518.  "^  Ibid. 


68  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

(migas  y  ajo)  for  his  meal ;  ^  the  hardworking  woman 
upbraiding  her  husband  for  Hving  on  her  labour  during 
the  hot  summer  months  : 

"  No  verao  nao  ganhas  nada, 
Co'  a  calma  vens-te  a  mim."^ 

There  is  the  shepherd  who  declares  that  he  has  never 
stolen  anything  but  grapes  from  time  to  time : 

''  Eu  nunca  matei  nem  furtei 
Nega^  uvas  algum'  ora;"^ 

the  girl  with  her  pot  au  lait  or,  rather,  oil,  pote  de  azeite^ 
on  her  head,  calculating  how  she  will  sell  it  and  buy 
eggs,  and  have  from  each  egg  a  duck,  and  for  each 
duck  a  tostdo,  and  make  a  rich  and  honourable  marriage, 
when  the  pot  breaks ;  ^  the  old  Lisbon  woman  who 
bids  the  escudeiro  go  and  apprentice  himself  to  a  tailor 
or  a  weaver,  and  not  come  courting  and  playing  the 
guitar  when  he  is  starving : 

"  Que  nao  te  fartas  de  pao 
E  queres  musiquiar;" 

her  daughter,  who  considers  that  work,  other  than 
painting  and  adorning  herself,  makes  a  girl  ugly  and 
bent  ;^  the  poor  escudeiro  who  passes  his  days  '*  fasting, 
singing  and  playing,  sighing  and  yawning,"  and  spends 
but  a  tostdo  in  a  month,  or  who  has  not  a  single  coin 
of  silver,  but  takes  two  hours  to  don  his  (hired)  clothes, 
and  dreams  that  he  is  a  gra7i  sefior,  and  loves  to  tell  of 
Roland  and  Hannibal  and  Scipio : 

1  Comedia  do  Viuvo.     15 14.  *  Triumph 0  do  Inverno. 

3  =  Except.  ^  Auto  da  Bana  do  Purgatono. 

^  Auto  deMofina  Mendes.     1534.         ^  Quern  tern  farelos  ?     1505. 


GIL  VICENTE  69 

"  Cuenta  de  los  Anibales, 
Cepiones,  Rozasvalles, 
Y  no  matara  un  jarro,"^ 

or  who  spends  his  time  singing  and  shooting  sparrows, 
and  keeps  his  wife  shut  up  *'  hke  a  nun  of  Oudivellas  ;"^ 
his  mofo  sleeps  on  the  ground,  the  ceihng  his  only 
covering  : 

"  No  chao  e  o  telho  por  manta,"^ 

or  is  slightly  better  oif,  with  an  old  Alemtejan  rug : 

"  Hua  manta  d'Alemtejo 
Que  na  minha  cama  tinha 
Manta  ja  usadazinha," 

but  is  awoken  at  midnight  to  hear  his  master's  verses : 

"  Esta  noite  eu  lazerando 
Sobre  hua  area  e  as  pernas  fora 
Elle  acorda-me  a  hua  hora, 
— Oh  se  soubesses,  Fernando, 
Que  trova  que  fiz  agora  ! 
Faz-me  accender  o  candieiro 
E  que  Ihe  tenha  o  tinteiro, 
E  o  seu  galgo  uivando 
E  eu  em  pe,  renegando 
Porque  ao  somno  primeiro 
Esta  meu  senhor  trovando." 

This  scene  of  the  sleepy  boy  holding  the  inkstand 
for  his  master  to  write  down  his  latest  verses  while 
the  dog  howls  is  but  one  of  many  vivid  scenes  occurring 
in  Vicente's  plays — the  fair  of  broad  harvesting  hats, 

1  Quem  tern  farelos  ? 

2  Cf.  the  Auto  de  laSibiUa: 

''Cassandra.  Ylamujer?     Sospirar; 
Despues,  en  casa  renir  y  grunir 
De  la  triste  alii  cautiva." 
^  Far^a  de  Inez  Pereira. 


70  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

and  little  honey-jars,  and  shoes,  and  ducks,  and  beans 
from  Vianna,  and  the  market-girls  coming  down  from 
the  hills  carrying  baskets  on  their  heads  ;^  or  the 
peasant  (villdo)  bringing  his  son  to  be  a  priest,  that  he 
may  live  a  life  of  ease  f  or  the  deceit  practised  upon  a 
merchant  by  a  poor  escudeiro  dressed  up  as  a  widow  f 
or  the  scene  in  which  appears  a  little  girl  shepherdess 
(pastora  menina)  who  had  frequently  seen  God  : 

1  Auto  da  Feira. 

2  Romagem  de  Aggravados  : 

^'  Peasatit.  Por  isso  quero  fazer 
Este  meu  rapaz  d'Igreja, 
Nao  com  deva^ao  sobeja 
Mas  porque  possa  viver 
Como  mais  folgado  seja. 
Quereis-m'o,  Padre,  ensinar 
E  dar-vos-hei  quanto  tenho  ? 
Priest.  Se  o  elle  bem  tomar. 
Peasant.  Pera  tudo  tern  engenho 
E  tern  voz  pera  cantar. 

Priest.  Toma  este  papel  na  mao 
E  le  esses  versosinhos. 

Boy.  Isto  he  pera  cominhos 
Ou  hei  d'ir  por  a^afrao  ? 
Priest.  Ainda  nao  sabes  nada. 
Boy.  Sei  onde  mora  a  tendeira." 
(Peasant.  I  therefore  wish  to  make  my  son  a  priest,  not  indeed  for 
the  vocation,  but  that  he  may  live  at  ease.     If  you,  Padre,  will  teach 
him,  I  will  give  you  all  I  have.     Priest.  Yes,  if  he  is  willing.     Peasant. 
O  he  has  talent  for  everything,  and  he  has  a  good  voice.     Priest  {to 
Boy).  Take  this  paper  in  your  hand  and  read  these  verses.     Boy.   Is  it 
to  buy  cummin  or  must  I  go  for  saffron  ?     Priest.  You  know  nothing 
at  all.     Boy.  I  know  where  the  shopwoman  lives.) 
3  "  Floresta  de  Enganos  : 

"  Viuva.  Senhor,  embora  estejais. 

Mercador.  Embora  estejais,  Senhora, 
Que  he  o  que  demandais  ? 

V.  Eu  o  direi  ora. 
Ai  coitada 
Que  venho  ora  tiio  cansada, "  etc. 


GIL  VICENTE  71 

"  Angel.  Conhecias  tu  a  Deos  ? 

Moga,  Muito  bem,  era  redondo. 

A .  Esse  era  o  mesmo  dos  ceos. 

M.  Mais  alvinho  qu'estes  veos. 
O  vi  eu  vezes  avondo. 
Como  o  sino  comegava 
Logo  deitava  a  correr. 

A.  Que  Ihe  dizias? 

M.    Folgava 
E  toda  me  gloriava 
Em  ouvir  missa  e  o  ver. 

A,  Pastora,  bom  era  isso. 

Diabo,  Era  a  mor  mixeriqueira 
Golosa  .  .  . 
He  refalsada  e  mentirosa." 

(Angel.  Didst  thou  know  God?  Girl.  Very  well. 
He  was  round.  A.  That  was  the  very  God  of  Heaven. 
G.  Whiter  than  these  sails.  I  saw  Him  often  and 
often.  When  the  bell  began  to  ring  I  set  off  running. 
A.  And  what  didst  thou  say  to  Him  ?  G.  I  rejoiced  and 
gloried  to  hear  Mass  and  to  see  Him.  A.  Shepherdess, 
that  was  good.  The  Devil.  She  was  the  greatest  gossip  ; 
she  is  all  lies  and  deceit.^) 

Vicente  might  introduce  all  the  gods  of  Olympus 
(as  in  the  AtUo  dos  quatro  tempos)  or  an  artificial  echo 
scene  (as  in  the  Comedia  de  Ruben  a),  but  he  soon  falls 
back  upon  the  familiar  scenes  and  popular  customs  in 
which  he  so  evidently  delights — shepherds  dancing  a 
chacota  to  the  gaita  and  tamboril,  or  the  "  lamentation 
of  Maria  Parda,  because  she  saw  so  few  branches  over 
the  taverns  in  the  streets  of  Lisbon,  and  wine  so  dear, 
and  she  could  not  live  without  it,"  or  a  simple  cantiga 
de  amigo,  such  as  that  sung  by  the  wife  of  the  Jewish 

1  Auto  da  Barca  do  Purgatorio. 


72  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

tailor  of  Lisbon  {Auto  da  Lusitania).  Her  husband, 
who  was  not  content  with  simple  kid  and  cucumbers 
for  dinner,  but  wished  for  carrots  and  beans  and 
cummin  and  saffron,  sang  a  Spanish  ballad  : 

"  Ai  Valen9a,  guai  Valenga, 
De  fogo  sejas  queimada, 
Primeiro  foste  de  Moiros 
Que  de  Christanos  tomada." 

But  his  wife  says  :  **  This  is  the  song  that  I  would 

have  " : 

"  Donde  vindes  filha 
Branca  e  colorida  ? 
De  la  venho  madre, 
De  ribas  de  hum  rio. 
Achei  mens  amores 
N'hum  rosal  florido. 
— Florido,  mha  filha 
Branca  e  colorida. 
— De  la  venho  madre, 
De  ribas  de  hum  alto. 
Achei  meus  amores 
N'hum  rosal  granado. 
— Granado,  mha  filha 
Branca  e  colorida." 

(Daughter,  whence  come  you,  so  white  and  so  fair  ? — 
Mother,  I  come  from  the  banks  of  a  river.  There  found 
I  my  love  by  a  rose-tree  in  flower. — In  flower,  my 
daughter,  so  white  and  so  fair. — Mother,  I  come  from 
the  banks  of  a  stream.  There  found  I  my  love  by  a 
red  rose-tree. — Red  rose-tree,  my  daughter,  so  white 
and  so  fair.) 

His  plays  were  often  written  hurriedly,  as  the  Auto 
de  S.  Martinho,  composed  for  the  Corpus  Christi  pro- 
cession of  1504,  of  which  he  says  that  it  was  "  ordered 


GIL  VICENTE  73 

very  late — Ndo  foi  mais  porque  foi  pedido  muito  tarda  ; 
or  in  illness,  as  the  Templo  de  Apollo  (1526)  :  "  Os  dias 
em  que  esta  ohra  fahricou  esteve  enfermo  de  grandes  febres 
0  autor,'^  That  his  plays  won  a  wider  appreciation  than 
that  of  the  Court  is  proved  by  his  saying  of  his  farce 
Quern  temfarelos?  (1505) :  "This  name  was  given  to  it 
by  the  people — Este  nome  poz-lh'o  0  vulgo,'^  It  is  in 
this  play  that  he  skilfully  turns  a  monologue  into  a 
dialogue : 

"  Falla  a  mo9a  da  janella  tao  passo  que  ninguem  a 
ouve,  e  polas  palavras  que  elle  responde  se  pode  con- 
jeturar  o  que  ella  diz." 

(The  girl  speaks  so  low  from  the  window  that  no  one 
hears  her,  and  her  words  are  conjectured  from  his 
answers.^) 

Similarly  in  the  Monologo  do  Vaqueiro  there  are  signs 
of  dramatic  action  breaking  through  the  monologue. 
The  herdsman  forces  an  entrance  into  the  palace 
(^/  una  punada),  and  he  expresses  his  joy  by  leaping 
into  the  air : 

'  In  the  same  play  he  introduces  dogs  as  actors  : 

"  CcUs.  Ham,  ham,  ham,  ham. 

Aires.  Nao  ougo  co'  a  caingada. 
Rapaz,  da-lhes  hua  pedrada 
Ou  fart'  OS  erama  de  pao. 

Aparigo.  Co'  as  pedras  os  ajude  Deos. 

Cdes.  Ham,  ham,  ham,  ham." 

{Dogs.  Ham,  ham,  ham,  ham.  Aires.  I  cannot  hear  for  this  barking. 
Throw  stones  at  them,  boy,  or  give  them  their  fill  of  bread.  Boy.  They 
must  be  content  with  stones.     Dogs.  Ham,  ham,  ham,  ham.) 

Thus  the  barking  takes  the  place  of  the  answers  to  his  courting, 
although  presently  the  old  mother  makes  herself  heard  to  some  purpose. 


74  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

*'  Mi  i6  saltar  quiero  yo, 
He  zagal, 
Digo,  dice,  salte  mal  ?" 

In  his  satire  Vicente  attacks  great  and  small  im- 
partially. In  the  Auto  da  Barca  da  Gloria  (1519)  Death 
enters  successively  with  a  Count,  a  Duke,  a  King,  an 
Emperor,  a  Bishop,  an  Archbishop,  a  Cardinal,  and  a 
Pope.  The  Emperor,  says  the  Devil,  has  already  had 
his  Paradise,  and  it  is  really  unfair  that  he  should  go  to 
it  again.  The  Bishop  has  earned  a  passage  in  the 
Devil's  boat  by  his  "  phantasies  and  haughtiness,"  the 
Pope  by  luxury,  pride,  and  simony.  In  the  Triumpho 
do  Inverno  the  peasants  are  lashed  in  their  turn.  They 
are  good  for  nothing,  foolish,  and  malicious,  and 
murmur  without  understanding : 

"  Que  ma  cousa  sao  villaos 
E  a  gente  popular, 
Que  nao  sabem  desejar 
Senao  huns  desejos  vaos 
Que  nao  sao  terra  nem  mar ; 
De  nenhum  bem  dizem  bem 
Nem  o  sabem  conhecer, 
Murmurao  sem  entender." 

But  it  is  above  all  the  Church  and  Pope,  priests  and 
friars,  that  Vicente  scourges  with  his  satire — the 
"  purple  friars  "  {frades  vermelhos),  the  "  Popes  asleep  " 
{Papas  adormidos) ;  the  village  cur  a  who  had  always 
omitted  to  pray  the  hours  to  the  Virgin ;  the  sporting 
priest  in  0  Clerigo  da  Beira  (1526)  : 

(*'  Ir  d  ca9a  cada  dia, 
Aleluia,  aleluia !") ; 

the  priol  of  Minho  skilled  in  obtaining  chickens : 

"  Qu'  apanha  as  frangas  mui  bem  "; 


GIL  VICENTE  75 

the  friar  who  beheves  love,  not  hell,  to  be  the  worst 

torment : 

**  Esto  es  lo  que  estudie, 
Esta  era  mi  libraria." 

{Auto  das  Fadas.) 

Sometimes  they  are  less  prosperous.  There  is  the 
*'  purple  German  friar "  to  whom  Maria  Parda  be- 
queaths her  old  cloak  with  holes  burnt  in  it  by  fire  ; 
there  is  the  poor  chaplain  who  complains  that  he  has 
to  be  up  at  one  o'clock  every  morning  to  say  mass 
before  the  chase,  and  has  to  go  to  market,  and  look 
after  the  niggers  in  the  kitchen,  and  clean  his  master's 
boots,  receiving  in  return  a  bare  pennyworth  of  daily 
food,  although  his  master  protests  that  he  gives  him 
a  tostdo  for  every  mass  {Farga  dos  Almocreves,  1526).^ 
In  the  Cortes  de  Jupiter  (15 19)  the  Lisbon  canons  are 
to  accompany  the  Princess  Beatriz  on  her  voyage  well 
beyond  the  mouth  of  the  Tagus  in  the  form  of  tunny- 
fish.  In  the  Auto  da  Feira  (1527)  Mercury  upbraids 
Rome  for  warring  against  all  sins  but  her  own : 

"  O  Roma  sempre  vi  la 
Que  matas  peccados  ca 
E  leixas  viver  os  teus." 

In  his  lyricism,  as  in  his  satire,  Vicente  was  thoroughly 
Portuguese.  It  is  noticeable  that  he  wrote  his  best 
lyrics  not  in  Spanish  but  in  Portuguese,^  lyrics  of  a  clear 

^  The  author  notes :  ' '  The  basis  of  this  farce  is  that  a  nobleman 
of  very  small  income  kept  great  state  and  had  his  chaplain  and  his 
silversmith  and  other  dependents,  whom  he  never  paid."  The  tostdo, 
which  in  the  sixteenth  century  would  buy  a  duck  (p.  68)  is  worth  five- 
pence  (loo  yHs). 

2  The  delightful  praises  of  spring  in  the  Auto  dos  Quatro  Tempos  and 
in  the  Triumpho  do  hwerjio  are,  however,  in  Spanish. 


76  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

joyousness  and  mystic  simplicity  which  must  place  him 
among  the  greatest  poets  of  all  time.^  The  Auto  da 
Barca  do  Inferno  ends  with  a  magnificent  invocation  of 
the  angel  to  the  knights  who  died  fighting  in  Africa : 

**  0  Cavalleiros  de  Deos 
A  v6s  estou  esperando  ; 
Que  morrestes  pelejando 
For  Christo,  Senhor  dos  Ceos. 
Sois  livres  de  todo  o  mal, 
Sanctos  por  certo  sem  falha, 
Que  quem  morre  em  tal  batalha 
Merece  paz  eternal." 

(Knights  of  God 

For  you  I  wait, 

You  who  fighting  met  your  fate 

For  the  Christ,  the  Lord  of  Heaven. 

From  all  evil  are  you  free, 

Holy  are  you  certainly, 

Unto  him  who  in  such  conflict 

Dies  eternal  peace  is  given.) 

The  Auto  da  Barca  do  Purgatorio  opens  with  the 
lines  : 

**  Remando  vao  remadores 
Barca  de  grande  alegria ; 

1  The  noblest  and  most  discerning  praise  of  Gil  Vicente  is  to  be 
found  in  the  study  by  Marcelino  Menendez  y  Pelayo  (1856-1912) 
{Antologia  de  liricos  castellanos,  torn.  7,  prologo,  part  iii.):  "Gil  Vicente 
es  uno  de  los  grandes  poetas  de  la  Peninsula,  y  entre  los  nacidos  en 
Portugal  nadie  le  lleva  ventaja,  excepto  el  epico  Camoens,  que  vino 
despues,  que  es  mucho  mas  imitador  y  que  abarca  un  circulo  de  repre- 
sentaciones  poeticas  menos  extenso.  El  alma  del  pueblo  portugues  no 
respira  Integra  mas  que  en  Gil  Vicente,  y  gran  numero  de  los  elementos 
mas  populares  del  genio  peninsular,  en  romances  y  cantares,  supersti- 
ciones  y  refranes,  estan  admirablemente  engarzados  en  sus  obras,  que 
son  lo  mas  nacional  del  teatro  anterior  a  Lope  de  Vega  "  (p.  clxiii). 


GIL  VICENTE  77 

O  patrao  que  a  guiava 
Filho  de  Deos  se  dizia ; 
Anjos  eram  os  remeiros 
Que  remavam  a  porfia ; 
Estandarte  d'esperanga, 
O  quam  bem  que  parecia  ! 
O  masto  da  fortaleza 
Como  cristal  reluzia ; 
A  vela,  com  fe  cosida, 
Todo  o  mundo  esclarecia. 
A  ribeira  mui  serena 
Que  nenhum  vento  bolia." 

(Rowers  now  are  rowing 

A  boat  of  great  delight ; 

The  boatman  who  was  steering  it 

The  Son  of  God  is  hight ; 

And  angels  were  the  oarsmen, 

Rowing  with  all  their  might. 

Its  flag  the  flag  of  hope, 

O  how  fair  a  sight ! 

Its  mast  the  mast  of  fortitude, 

And  as  crystal  bright ; 

The  boat's  sail,  sewn  with  faith. 

To  all  the  world  gave  light. 

Upon  the  waters  calm 

No  breath  of  wind  may  light.) 

The  Auto  da  Historia  de  Deos  contains  the  exquisite 
vilancete  sung  by  Abel : 

**  Adorae,  montanhas 
O  Deos  das  alturas  ! 
Tambem  as  verduras. 
Adorae,  desertos 
E  serras  floridas 
O  Deos  dos  secretos, 
O  Senhor  das  vidas ! 
Ribeiras  crescidas 


78  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

Louvae  nas  alturas 
Deos  das  creaturas  ! 
Louvae,  arvoredos 
De  fruto  prezado, 
Digam  os  penedos : 
Deos  seja  louvado ! 
E  louve  meu  gado 
Nestas  verduras 
O  Deos  das  alturas." 

(Ye  mountains  adore  the  God  of  the  heights,  and 
ye  green  places.  Adore,  ye  deserts  and  flowered  hills, 
the  God  of  secret  ways,  the  Lord  of  life.  Deep 
streams,  praise  on  the  heights  the  God  of  living  things. 
Praise  him,  ye  trees  of  noble  fruit,  let  the  rocks  say : 
God  be  praised.  And  let  my  flock  praise  in  these 
green  places  the  God  of  the  heights.) 

Fascinating,  too,  is  the  cantiga  de  amigo  in  the 
Tragicomedia  Pastoril  da  Serra  da  Estrella  : 

"  Hum  amigo  que  eu  havia 
Man^anas  d'ouro  m'envia. 
Garrido  amor. 
Hum  amigo  que  eu  amava 
Man^anas  d'ouro  me  manda. 
Garrido  amor." 

(A  friend  I  had  sends  me  apples  of  gold.  Fair  is  love. 
A  friend  I  loved  sends  me  apples  of  gold.    Fair  is  love.) 

Some  of  Vicente's  plays  were  published  separately 
during  his  lifetime,  and  the  collection  of  his  works  was 
evidently  far  advanced  at  his  death.  It  was,  however, 
not  until  over  twenty  years  later — on  September  3, 
1561 — that  his  daughter  Paula  received  licence  to  hold 
the  copyright  of  the  cancioneiro  of  Gil  Vicente's  com- 
plete works,  to  be  sold  at  a  price  not  exceeding  one 
cruzado  (  =  400  rets)  per  volume.  But  although  other 
editions  followed,   his  influence  would   seem  to  have 


GIL  VICENTE  79 

been  greater  in  Spain  than  in  his  own  country,  and  it 
was  only  after  the  appearance  of  the  edition  of  1834,^ 
based  upon  a  copy  of  the  first  edition  in  the  library  at 
Gottingen,  that  his  works  have  been  thoroughly  studied 
in  Portugal. 

Vicente  had  written  his  plays  partly  under  Spanish 
influence,  and  his  work  was  in  turn  imitated  in  Spain 
by  Lope  de  Vega  and  Calderon  among  others.  It  is 
impossible  not  to  connect  the  scene  of  the  escudeiro 
coming  in  to  ''  dine "  on  a  crust  of  bread  and  a 
shrivelled  turnip  in  Quem  tern  farelos  ?  with  Lazarillo's 
account  of  the  poor  Toledan  hidalgo  in  Lazarillo  de 
Tormes,  whether  the  anonymous  Spanish  author  copied 
from  Gil  Vicente,  or  Vicente  copied  from  an  earlier 
edition  of  Lazarillo  than  that  of  1554.  Perhaps,  how- 
ever, both  copied  from  life,  or  from  some  earlier  source.^ 
His  master,  says  the  Portuguese  Lazarillo, 

*'  Vem  alta  noite  de  andar, 
De  dia  sempre  encerrado, 
Porque  anda  mal  roupado 
Nao  ousa  de  se  mostrar. 
Vem  tao  ledo — sus  cear  ! 
Como  se  tivesse  que  ; 
E  eu  nao  tenho  que  Ihe  dar 
Nem  elle  tem  que  Ih'  eu  de. 
Toma  hum  pedago  de  pao 
E  hum  rabao  engelhado, 
E  chanta  nelle  bocado 
Como  cao." 

■Obras  de  Gil  Vicente.  Correctas  e  emendadas  pelo  cuidado  e 
diligencia  de  Jose  Victorino  Barreto  Feio  e  J.  G.  Monteiro.  3  vols. 
Hamburg,  1834. 

2  Possibly  from  the  Archpriest  of  Hita,  whose  works  were  known  in 
Portugal  (see  supra,  p.  47).  See  J.  Fitzmaurice-Kelly,  Chapters  on 
Spanish  Literature  {London:  Constable,  1908)  p.  48  ad  fin. 


8o  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

But  however  much  Vicente  may  imitate  or  be 
imitated  in  the  construction  and  characters  of  his 
plays,  he  nevertheless  keeps  his  originality,  and  in  his 
lyrical  gift  he  remains  inimitable.  He  is  the  only 
great  Portuguese  poet  of  unforced  mirth  and  jollity  : 

*'  Este  he  Maio,  o  Maio  he  este, 
Este  he  o  Maio  e  florece." 

(May  is  here,  for  May  is  here, 
May  is  here  and  all  a-flower.) 

As  a  poet  he  ranks  second  only  to  Camoes,  and  may 
perhaps  without  exaggeration  be  called  the  greatest 
original  genius  of  Portugal. 


CHAPTER    IV 

SA  DE  MIRANDA 

**  Thick-set,  of  medium  height,  with  very  white  hands 
and  face,  smooth  black  hair,  beard  long  and  thick,  eyes 
green,  well  shaded,^  but  almost  excessively  large,^  nose 
long  and  aquiline,  grave  and  melancholy  in  appearance, 
but  of  easy  and  pleasant  conversation,  witty  and  refined, 
and  less  sparing  of  words  than  of  laughter."  Such  is 
the  picture  of  Francisco  de  Sa  de  Miranda,  drawn  by  the 
anonymous  biographer  in  the  1614  edition  of  his  works.^ 
The  description  tallies  with  the  portrait  reproduced  by 
Senhora  Michaelis  de  Vasconcellos  as  a  frontispiece  to 

1  This  refers  not  to  the  colour  of  the  eyes,  but  more  probably  to 
the  length  and  thickness  of  the  eyelashes. 

2  This  is  omitted  in  the  quotation  on  p.  cxxxiv  of  Senhora  Michaelis 
de  Vasconcellos'  preface.  On  the  same  page,  however,  there  is  a 
reference  to  his  "  large  eyes." 

^  As  Obras  do  Doctor  Francisco  de  Saa  de  Miranda.  Agora  de  nouo 
impressas  com  a  Relagao  de  sua  calidade  &  vida.  For  Vicente  Alvarez. 
Anno  de  1614.  [Lisbon]:  Domingo  Fernandez,  liureiro.  "  Foy  homem 
grosso  de  corpo ;  de  meaa  estatura,  muito  aluo  de  maos  &  rostro  ;  com 
pouca  cor  nelle ;  o  cabello  preto  &  corredio ;  a  barba  muito  pouoada 
&  de  seu  natural  crescida ;  os  olhos  verdes  bem  assombrados,  mas 
com  algiia  demasia  grandes  ;  a  nariz  comprida  &  com  cauallo  ;  graue 
na  pessoa,  melancholic©  na  apparencia,  mas  facil  &  humano  na  con- 
uersa9ao,  engracado  nella,  com  bom  tom  de  falla,  &  menos  parco  em 
fallar  que  em  rir. ' ' 

81  6 


82  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

her  edition.^  The  anonymous  author  of  the  biography  ^ 
is  generally  considered  to  be  Gon9alo  Coutinho. 
Writing  some  fifty  years  after  the  poet's  death,  he 
derived  his  account  from  Diogo  Bernardes  and  other 
personal  friends  of  Sa  de  Miranda,^  and  it  remains  the 
most  important  and  trustworthy  source  of  our  informa- 
tion. According  to  this  account,  Francisco  was  the 
son  of  a  canon  of  Coimbra  Cathedral  belonging  to  the 
ancient  house  of  Sa,  and  w^as  born  in  the  year  1495  at 
Coimbra.'*  The  date  presents  some  difficulties,  espe- 
cially since  Senhor  Braga  has  discovered  and  published 
a  document  legitimizing  Francisco  in  the  year  1490.-'^ 

1  Poesias  de  Francisco  de  Sd  de  Miranda.  Edicao  feita  sobre  cinco 
manuscriptos  ineditos  e  todas  as  edicoes  impressas,  acompanhada  de 
um  estudo  sobre  o  poeta,  variantes,  notas,  glossario  e  um  retrato,  por 
Carolina  Michaelis  de  Vasconcellos.     Halle  :  Max  Niemeyer,  1885. 

2  "  Vidado  Dovtor  Francisco  de  Sa  de  Miranda,  coUegida  depessoas 
fidedignas  que  o  conhecerao  &  tratarao  &  dos  liuros  das  geracoes  deste 
Reyno."  This  brief  notice  was  translated  into  English  in  an  abridged 
form  by  O.  Crawfurd  :  Portugal,  Old  and  New.     London,  1880, 

3  "  Diogo  Bernardes  (a  quern  seguimos  em  muita  parte  disto)." 

4  So,  in  a  letter  to  Jorge  de  Montemaior,  Miranda  says  : 

"  Vezino  a  aquel  tu  monte  do  has  nacido 
Cogi  este  aire  de  vida  i  del  Mondego 
Tan  clara  i  tan  sabrosa  agua  he  bevido. ' ' 

The  author  of  the  famous  Diana  was  born  at  Montemor  o  Velho  in 
the  valley  of  the  Mondego.    He  early  went  to  Spain,  and  on  his  return 
to  Portugal  was  known  as  Montemayor.  Cf.  the  first  line  of  this  letter  : 
*'  Montemaior  que  a  lo  alto  del  Parnaso 
Subiste," 

and  those  of  a  letter  addressed  to  him  by  Pedro  de  Andrade  Caminha : 
"Monte  Mayor  cujo  alto  ingenho  espanta 
Grandes  ingenhos,  e  ditosamente 
A  todo  estilo  e  verso  se  levanta." 

5  Sd  de  Miranda  e  a  Eschola  italiana.  Por  Theophilo  Braga.  Porto, 
1896. 


SA  DE  MIRANDA  83 

Senhor  Braga  gives  the  year  of  his  birth  as  1485.  As, 
however,  he  was  at  the  University  of  Lisbon  with  his 
future  brother-in-law,  Manoel  Machado  de  Azevedo, 
who  died  about  1580  at  the  age  of  eighty,  this 
difference  in  their  ages  is  remarkable.  On  the  other 
hand,  in  Bernardim  Ribeiro's  eclogue  Jano  (Ribeiro) 
and  Franco  (Sa  de  Miranda)  appear  to  be  of  the  same 
age.^  Jano  expressly  says  that  he  is  twenty-one,  and 
could  the  date  of  the  poem  be  determined,  it  w^ould 
bear  not  only  on  Ribeiro's  age  but  on  that  of  Sa  de 
Miranda.2  If  the  latter  was  born  in  1485,  he  would 
have  been  fifty-one  at  the  time  of  his  marriage,  which 
is  in  itself  unlikely,  although  his  remark  on  first  meet- 
ing Dona  Briolanja,  begging  her  to  excuse  him  for 
having  delayed  so  long,  undoubtedly  was  not,  as  some- 
times interpreted,  a  discourteous  reference  to  her  age, 
but  to  his  own.  It  is  improbable,  again,  that  he  was 
thirty-six  when  he  set  out  for  Italy,  a  journey  dictated 
apparently  by  no  necessity  or  disgrace  at  Court,  but  by 
a  very  natural  desire  to  travel  and  visit  the  Italian 
cities  and  poets.  Against  these  improbabilities  must 
be  set  the  fact  that  thirteen  poems ^  "  Do  Doutor  Fra- 
cisco  de  Saa  "  are  included  in  the  Cancioneiro  de  Resende 
(1516),  a  remarkable  fact  if  Sa  de  Miranda  was  then 

1  E.g.,  Jano  says : 

"  Franco,  comtigo 
Desabafo  eu  em  falar. ' ' 

2  Senhor  Braga  attributed  it  to  1496,  but  more  recently  gives  the 
date  of  Ribeiro's  birth  as  1482,  Dona  Carolina  Michaelis  de  Vascon- 
cellos  in  her  notes  believed  that  the  eclogue  refers  to  the  plague  of 
1521,  in  which  case  Ribeiro  would  have  been  born  in  1500. 

3  Eight  cantigas,  three  esparsas,  two  glosas. 


84  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

only  twenty-one.^     Perhaps  the  year  1489  or  1490  may 
provisionally  be  given  as  that  of  his  birth. 

In  1513  he  was  at  the  Court  of  Dom  Manoel;  in 
1521,  the  year  of  King  Manoel's  death,  he  set  out  on 
his  travels  through  Spain  and  Italy.  "  Before  settling 
down  to  philosophy  and  a  life  of  quietness,"  says  the 
1614  biography,  "  he  wished  to  see  the  world  {quis  pere- 
grinar  polio  mundd),  and  visited  Italy  and  the  most 
celebrated  places  in  Spain."  He  saw  at  his  leisure 
{com  vagar  S'  curiosidade)  Rome,  Venice,  Naples,  Milan, 
Florence,  and  the  best  of  "  Cicilia." 

"  Vi  Roma,  vi  Veneza,  vi  Milao 
Em  tempo  de  Espanhois  e  de  Franceses, 
Os  jardins  de  Valen^a  de  Aragao 
Em  que  o  amor  vive  e  reina."^ 

The  Campagna,  the  '^  grandes  campos  de  Roma,''  in- 
spired him  with  a  cantiga  which  shows  him  sad  and  weary 
of  "  foreign  skies."  ^    He  made  the  acquaintance  of  many 

1  He  took  his  degree  in  Law  after  first  studying  literae  humaniores,  in 
which  he  won  distinction  {letyas  de  humanidade  en  que  foy  insigne). 

2  Letter  of  Sa  de  Miranda  to  Fernando  de  Menezes. 

3  "  Por  estes  campos  sem  fim 
Em  que  a  vista  se  estende 
Que  verei,  triste  de  mim, 
Pois  ver  vos  se  me  defende  ? 
Todos  estes  campos  cheos 
Sao  de  dor  e  de  pesar 
Que  vem  pera  me  matar 
Debaixo  de  ceos  alheos 
Em  terra  estranha  e  mar, 
Mai  sem  meo  e  mal  sem  fim 
Dor  que  ninguem  nao  entende 
Ate  quam  longe  se  estende 
O  vosso  poder  em  mim." 


SA  DE  MIRANDA  85 

celebrated  Italians,^  including  Sannazaro,  to  whom  he 
alludes  as  ''that  good  old  man,"  and  perhaps  Ariosto 
(1474-1533)  and  Pietro  Bembo  (1470-1547),  both  pro- 
bably some  twenty  years  his  seniors.  When  he  returned 
to  Portugal  he  remained  for  some  time  at  the  Court  of 
Joao  III.,  who  had  been  long  upon  the  throne  (jd  aula 
muito  que  reynana),  and  became  "  one  of  the  most 
esteemed  courtiers  of  his  time."  The  year  of  his  return 
was  1526,  or  possibly  1527.  A  few  years  later,  perhaps 
in  1532,  he  retired  definitely  from  the  Court.  The  1614 
biography  says  that  this  was  due  to  a  passage  of  his 
eclogue  AleixOy  "falsely  interpreted  by  envy."  It  is 
thought  that  he  may  have  sympathized  too  openly  with 
his  friend  Bernardim  Ribeiro,^  who,  probably  owing  to 
a  love-intrigue,^  had  been  banished  from  Court,  and  that 
he  incurred  the  displeasure  of  the  powerful  favourite, 
the  Conde  de  Castanheira.  He  was  obviously  inclined 
to  be  outspoken,  although  he  was  well  aware  of  the 
drawbacks;^  he  confessed  that  it  was  difficult  for  a 

1  He  was  himself  distantly  connected  with  the  family  of  Colonna. 

2  His  sympathy  is  shown  in  several  passages  of  the  eclogue. 

3  Not,   however,   with  the   daughter   of  King  Manoel,  as  ran  the 
legend. 

*  C/.  '  •  Nao  tenhas  por  amigo 

Quem  te  anda  sempre  a  vontade 
Dissimulando  contigo. 
Olha  aquelle  dito  antigo : 
Que  enfada  muito  a  verdade." 

(Eclogue  Basto.) 

(Think  not  the  man  your  friend  who  deceives  you  according  to  your 
wishes.     Consider  the  ancient  saying  that  truth  is  irksome.) 

Or,  "  Porque  dizer  a  verdade 

Livremente  sem  engano 
Traz  consigo  tanto  dano, 


86   STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

man  of  character  to  be  a  courtier/  and  he  retired 
voluntarily  to  the  "  segura  pobreza "  of  the  rat  des 
champs  and  to  ares  mats  sdos. 

Que  pode  tanto  a  maldade 
Que  faz  mal  ao  desengano." 

(Eclogue  Montano.) 

(To  tell  truth  freely  without  deceit  brings  with  it  much  hurt,  for 
wickedness  has  such  power  that  it  harms  sincerity.) 

In  a  letter  addressed  to  Sa  de  Miranda,  his  brother-in-law  advises 
him  to  restrain  his  ardour  to  reform  the  world  : 

"  Nao  queirais  emendar  tudo 
No  mundo  e  seu  desconcerto." 

^  In  the  famous  lines  of  his  letter  to  Joao  III.  : 

"  Homem  d'um  so  parecer 
D'um  so  rosto  e  d'ua  fe, 
D'antes  quebrar  que  torcer 
Outra  cousa  pode  ser 
Mas  de  corte  homem  nao  e." 

(A  man  of  single  mind  and  face  and  faith,  who  would  rather  break 
than  bend,  may  be  anything  he  please  ;  but  a  courtier  he  is  not.) 

He  himself  in  this  letter,  as  in  his  Coimbra  speech,  praises  the 
King  in  no  measured  terms,  but  other  writers  bear  witness  to  the  real 
popularity  of  Joao  III.,  and  to  the  fact  that  Sade  Miranda  was  no  mere 
flatterer  when  he  wrote  : 

"  Outros  reis  os  sens  estados 
Guardao  de  armas  rodeados 
Vos  rodeado  de  amor." 

(Other  kings  surround  themselves  with  arms  to  guard  their  states, 
but  you  with  love.) 

Or,  "  Ums  sobre  outros  corremos 

A  morrer  por  vos  com  gosto  ; 
Grandes  testemunhas  temos 
Com  que  maos  e  com  que  rosto 
Por  deus  e  por  vos  morremos." 

(We  run  in  eagerness  to  die  for  you  willingly  ;  we  have  great  proofs 
of  how  bravely  and  with  what  deeds  we  die  for  God  and  for  you.) 


SA  DE  MIRANDA  87 

He  received  from  the  King  a  benefice  (commenda) 
attached  to  the  Order  of  the  Knights  of  the  Convent 
of  Thomar,  consisting  of  a  small  property  situated  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  River  Neiva,  in  the  Archbishopric 
of  Braga,  and  retired  to  the  country-house  which  he 
possessed  in  the  same  district,  a  quinta  called  A  Tapada, 
"  leaving  the  comfort  of  the  Court,  the  conversation  of 
his  friends,  and  the  hope  of  greater  favour."^  Here  he 
spent  the  remainder  of  his  life,  and  here  the  greater 
part  of  his  poems  was  written.  The  surrounding 
country  is  delightful  in  extreme,  one  of  the  pleasantest 
districts  of  the  pleasant  province  of  Minho,  fertile  fields 
and  valleys  alternating  with  wooded  hills  and  crystal 
streams,  and  the  green  of  maize  and  vines  with  the 
grey  of  granite.  In  the  glowing  heat  of  summer  leafy 
shade  and  icily  cold  springs  are  never  far  distant,  and 
in  winter  the  mists  give  a  new  charm  to  the  country, 
southern  sun  and  northern  mists  combining  to  form 
an  ideal  land  of  legend,  dream,  and  song. 

Sa  de  Miranda,  who  had  a  very  deep  and  real  love 
of  nature,  was  keenly  alive  to  the  beauty  of  his 
surroundings,  and  by  no  means  looked  upon  his  retire- 
ment as  exile.  Probably  his  own  tastes  had  as  much 
to  do  with  it  as  any  unpleasant  episode  at  Court.  He 
had  always  disliked  the  life  of  cities.^     From  an  earlier 

Cf.  Pedro  de  Andrade  Caminha,  who  in  an  epitaph  on  Joao  III. 
writes  : 

**  Gram  Rey,  da  Patria  Pay,  cuja  memoria 
Dara  sempre  a  seu  povo  pena,  e  gloria." 
1  "  Deixando   o  mimo  da  Corte,    a  conuersafam    dos  amigos,   a 
esperan^a  de  mayores  merces  "  (biography  of  1614). 
2  "  Ah  prudente  Francisco,  desprezaste 
Sempre  as  cidades  vans. ' ' 

(Pedro  de  Andrade  Caminha  to  Sa  de  Miranda.) 


88  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

retreat  near  Coimbra,  about  the  year   1527,  he  wrote 
that  he  had  more  joyful  days  than  sad  ones  : 

**  Tenho  mais  dias  contado 
De  ledos  que  nao  de  tristes," 

and  that  with  reading  and  writing  the  hours  sped  : 

"  Co'  que  li,  co'  que  escrevi 
Inda  me  nao  enfadei." 

So  some  fifteen  years  later  he  wrote  to  his  brother, 
Mem  de  Sa,  later  Governor  of  Brazil : 

"  Polo  qual  a  este  abrigo 
Onde  me  acolhi  cansado 
E  ja  com  assaz  peri  go, 
A  essas  letras  que  sigo 
Devo  que  nunca  me  enfado, 
Devo  a  minha  muito  amada 
E  prezada  liberdade 
Que  tive  aos  dedos  jugada. 
Aqui  somente  e  mandada 
Da  rezao  boa  e  verdade. 
Nas  cortes  nao  pode  ser  !" 

(Therefore  to  this  retreat,  to  which  I  came  tired  and 
in  some  danger,  to  these  letters  which  I  follow,  I  owe 
it  that  I  never  grow  weary,  and  owe  my  much-loved, 
much-prized  liberty,  which  I  was  within  an  ace  of  losing. 
Here  it  is  only  bound  by  good  reason  and  truth.  In 
Courts  this  cannot  be.) 

Of  his  life  in  this  retreat  it  is  possible  to  piece 
together  a  very  pleasant  picture.  His  reading  was 
various.  Homer  he  read  in  the  original,  even  writing 
notes  in  his  copy  in  Greek.  A  copy  of  Horace  was 
rarely  out  of  his  hand  (parece  nao  largaua  da  mdo). 
Dante  and  Petrarca  in  Italian,  and  in  Spanish  Garcilaso 
de  la  Vega  and  Boscan  (0  hom  Lasso,  0  bom  Boscdo), 


SA  DE  MIRANDA  89 

were  among  his  favourites :  Garcilaso,  apparently,  in 
a  manuscript  belonging  to  his  friend  Antonio  Pereira, 
of  Cabeceiras  de  Basto,  who  also  taught  him  to  love 
the  "  livros  divinos."^ 

To  music  he  was  devoted,  and  himself  played  on  the 
violin  or  viola.  But  he  evidently  led  an  out-of-door 
life.  He  would  be  up  early  before  crimson  dawns, ^ 
and  still  out  with  his  dogs,  tracking  the  wolf  in  one  of 
those  summer  calmas^  that  are  so  oppressive  in  the 
rocky  river  valleys  of  Minho  and  Traz-os-Montes,  tired 
and  thirsty,  covered  with  mud  and  dust,  unable  to  find 
his  way.'*     He  was  fond  of  hunting  the  wolf  {inclinade 

1  Pereira  advocated  a  translation  of  the  Bible  into  the  vulgar  tongue. 
Sa  de  Miranda  writes  to  a  friend  : 

"  Ora  aprendo 
Ler  por  elles  de  giolhos 
De  que  sei  quam  pouco  entendo. 
Mas  fossem  dines  mens  olhos 
De  cegar  sobre  elles  lendo. " 
(I  am  now  learning  to  read  them  on  my  knees,  and  know  how  little 
I  can  understand,  but  would  my  eyes  were  worthy  to  grow  blind  in 
reading  them.) 

So  Pedro  de  Andrade  Caminha  writes  to  him  that  in  his  retreat 
he  seasons  his  pleasures  with  the  reading  of  "divine  and  human 
histories ' '  : 

•'  Co'  as  divinas  historias,  co'  as  humanas 
Temperas  o  prazer." 

2  "  De  color  de  biva  grana 
Abriendo-se  los  cielos  al  oriente." 

3  "  A  calma 
Que  era  grande  e  o  sol  ardia." 
Cf.  the  first  line  of  his  beautiful  sonnet : 

•'  O  sol  e  grande,  caem  co'a  calma  as  aves." 
■*  "  Levou  me  um  lobo  apos  si, 
Eu  como  doudo  corria." 
(After  a  wolf  I  went  and  like  a  madman  ran.) 


go  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

d  ca^a  de  lobos),  and  his  hunting  sometimes  took  him 
far  afield,  even  as  far  as  Cabeceiras  de  Basto,  towards 
Traz-os-Montes.  References  to  wolf-hunting  and  fishing 
are  many  in  his  works.^  He  knew  well  the  difference 
between  trout  fresh  from  the  stream  and  fish  coming 
by  carrier  from  the  town : 

"  Com  dous  peixinhos  passaras 
Do  rio,  nao  d'almocreves, 
Que  as  vilhas  fazem  tarn  caras. 
Beberas  nas  fontes  claras." 

(Your  fare  will  consist  of  two  little  fishes  from  the 
river,  not  those  of  carriers,  those  which  are  so  dear  in 
the  towns ;  your  drink  will  be  from  the  clear  springs.) 

He  knew  how  excellent  was  the  water  of  Minho's 
springs,  how  preferable  were  partridges  shot  in  the 
hills,  and  fruits  gathered  with  one's  own  hands  to 
the  produce  bought  in  the  market.^     At  other  times  he 

"  Y  ansi  cansado  i  todo 
Aqui  lleno  arribe  de  polvo  i  lodo." 

(And  thus  tired  and  all  I  arrived  here  full  of  dust  and  mud.) 

"  Afogado  da  quentura 
Por  terra  que  nao  sabia." 

(Suffocated  by  the  heat,  in  a  country  which  I  did  not  know.) 
1  In  Eclogue  4  he  refers  to  trout  pressing  up  stream  ;  in  Eclogue  2 
to  the  cruel  wolves  coming  down  from  the  hills : 

''  Estes  lobos  ruins 
Que  decern  dos  montesins." 

'*  Nao  vinha  nada  da  pra^a, 
Alii  da  vossa  cacha9a, 
Alii  das  vossas  perdizes  ! 
Alii  das  fruitas  da  terra 
(Que  da  cada  tempo  a  sua), 
Colhida  a  mao  cada  ua  !" 


SA  DE  MIRANDA  91 

would  walk  far  from  the  village  in  green  woods,  where 
*'  streams  flowed  gently  and  the  birds  sang,"  or  in  the 
granite  serras,  "  free  to  sing  aloud  at  will,"  and  would 
watch  the  water  rushing  down  between  the  silent  rocks, 
the  birds  singing  as  they  flew,^  the  lines  of  cranes  and 
clouds  of  starlings,^  the  flight  of  doves  {vodo  as  potnbas 


(Nothing  came  from  the  market,  but  O  what  wine  and  partridges, 
what  fruit,  each  in  its  season,  gathered  with  our  own  hands !) 

Cf.  ' '  Lembro  vos  as  vossas  fruitas ! 
Lembro  vos  as  vossas  truitas  ! 
Que  andao  ja  per  vossas  na  agua." 

(Think  of'  your  fruits,  your  trout,  already  yours,  though  still 
uncaught.) 

1  "  Aqui  se  a  paixao  me  toma 

Posso  cantar  voz  em  grito 
Que  me  nao  ou^a  ninguem, 
Somente  as  aves  (que  tais 
Duas  aventagens  tem 
D'esses  outros  animals, 
Voar  e  cantar  tambem) 
Ou  o  som  da  agua  que  cai 
Rompendo  polos  penedos, 
Dece  ao  fundo  e  6  alto  sai, 
Parte,  e  a  grande  pressa  vai : 
Elles  por  sempre  all  quedos!" 

2  "  Em  arenga  vao  os  grous." 

"  Estorninhos  com  quanta 
Presteza  andando  em  vela 
Se  estendem  como  ua  manta." 

Sa  de  Miranda  shows  a  direct  observation  of  nature  (especially  of 
birds),  an  eye  for  reality  not  to  be  found  in  the  vaguer  idylls  of  his 
contemporaries.  Often,  however,  his  observations  are  reminiscences 
of  older  poets  (especially  Horace).  These  two  passages,  for  instance, 
are  perhaps  unconscious  imitations  of  Dante,  Inferno,  v.  : 


92  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

em  handas)  and  "gentle  swallows"  (altas  andurinhas 
brandas).  Or  he  would  meditate  by  the  Neiva  or 
by  the  fountain  near  his  house,  or  tend  his  garden. 
Pedro  de  Andrade  Caminha  writes  to  him  as  follows : 

**  Louvas  teu  doce  Neiva,  as  aguas  sans 
Da  tua  fonte,  as  fruitas  que  plantaste, 
As  aves  que  ouves,  os  teus  santos  ocios." 

(You  praise  your  sweet  Neiva,  the  pure  water  of 
your  fountain,  the  fruits  that  you  have  planted,  the 
birds  you  hear,  your  sacred  leisure.) 

His  hunting  brought  him  into  contact  with  the 
peasants,  whom  he  would  also  meet  at  the  village 
fairs  and  on  his  land  {A  Igums  que  d'alem  da  serra  Das 
feiras  me  conhecido)}  His  brother-in-law  writes  to 
him: 

**  Vos  quereis  com  descripgois 
E  com  vossas  letras  grandes 
Que  em  Italia,  Espanha  e  Frandes 
Vos  reconhe9am  as  nagois. 

**  Eu  quisera  que  os  saloios 
Vos  estimassem  somente 
Porque  da  vossa  semente 
Sempre  colhereis  mais  moios." 

"  E  come  i  gru  van  cantando  lor  lai 
Facendo  in  aer  di  se  lunga  riga  ;" 

and  "  E  come  gli  stornei  ne  portan  1'  ali 

Nel  freddo  tempo  a  schiera  larga  e  piena." 

Cf.  Camoes,  Lus.,  x.  94  : 

"  Qual  bando  espesso  e  negro  de  estorninhos." 

^  (Some  [shepherds]  from  the  other  side  of  the  serra  who  knew  me 
from  seeing  me  at  the  fairs.) 


SA  DE  MIRANDA  93 

(You  wish  with  your  poetry  and  high  Hterature  that 
your  name  should  extend  to  the  nations,  to  Italy, 
Spain,  and  Flanders.  I  could  wish  that  the  peasants 
only  should  respect  you,  for  thus  will  your  seed  ever 
produce  more  fruit.) 

*'  Excellent  folk,"  he  says  of  some  shepherds  whom 
he  found  taking  their  sesta  in  the  hills  when  he  had  lost 
his  way  near  Cabeceiras  de  Basto  : 

"  Vi  pastores  com  seu  gado 
Estar  a  sesta  passando. 
Nunca  vi  tam  boa  gente." 

He  would  share  their  simple  fare  of  milk  and  bread 
{papas  mexidas),  and  rustic  fruits,  apples,  and  figs  black 
and  white,^  and  while  they  praised  their  way  of  life, 
he  praised  his  hunting  : 

"  Cada  um  suas  cousas  gabava, 
Eu  tambem  as  minhas  cagas." 

He,    however,    knew    their    love    of    prattling  ^    and 

1  "  Detiverao  me  consigo, 
Nao  fallecerao  mil  fruitas, 
A  ma9a  branca,  e  o  figo 
Preto,  branco,  e  outras  muitas." 

2  "  Inhorantes 
Que  fallam  mais  do  que  entendem. ' ' 

•  •  Guarda  cabras 
Que  se  vao  de  ponto  em  ponto, 
Querem  sos  duas  palavras 
Que  dos  gados  e  das  lavras, 
Despois  nao  tem  fim  nem  conto." 

(Wandering  goatherds  who  would  have  but  a  word  with  you  about 
their  herds  and  crops,  and  then  they  go  on  without  end  or  measure.) 


94  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

complaining^  and  their  tendency  to  idleness.^  At  the 
same  time  he  evidently  found  many  cases  of  real  oppres- 
sion and  injustice  to  the  farm-servants  and  peasants. 
"  There  are  many  apparently  honest  men  in  the 
villages,"  he  says,  **who  live  in  comfort  by  fleecing 
the  peasants  ": 

"  Que  eu  vejo  nos  povoados 
Muitos  dos  salteadores 
Com  nome  e  rosto  de  honrados 
Andar  quentes  e  forrados 
De  pelles  de  lavradores  ;" 

and  speaks  of  peasants  having  to  leave  their  own 
vines  to  work  for  a  whole  week  in  some  great  vineyard 
belonging  to  men  more  powerful  than  they : 

"  Nao  me  forgao  pola  geira 
Pera  cavar  a  gram  vinha 
Por  toda  a  somana  inteira 
Quando  hei  de  cavar  a  minha." 

So  he  says  that : 

"  O  pobre  do  zagalejo 
Nao  tem  onde  se  acolher 
Quando  se  quer  defender ; 
O  que  tem  mais  de  sobejo 
Nao-no  consente  viver. 
Se  alguem  justi9a  brada 

1  Their  masters  "live  on  their'labour  "  (vivem  dos  nossos  snores) 
and  eat  wheaten  bread  while  they  eat  oaten  : 

"  Comem  trigo  e  nos  d'avea, 
Elles  bebem,  homem  sua, 
Doi  Ihes  pouco  a  dor  alhea, 
Querem  que  nos  doa  a  sua." 

There  are  many  similar  passages. 

2  Anthony  alvvays  playing  choca  [perhaps  a  kind  of  rustic  hockey,  like 
the  Asturian  cachurra],  Martha  always  gossiping  in  the  market-place : 

"  Antao  nunca  sai  da  choca, 
Marta  nunca  sai  das  pragas. ' ' 


SA  DE  MIRANDA  95 

Que  Ihe  roubao  seu  rebanho 
Ou  Ih'o  levao  da  manada, 
Porque  seja  mor  o  dano 
Ninguem  Ihe  responde  nada." 

(The  poor  shepherd  has  no  refuge  when  he  wishes  to 
defend  himself ;  the  rich  do  not  allow  him  to  live,  and 
if  any  calls  out  for  justice  because  they  are  robbing 
him  of  his  flock,  to  add  to  the  evil  he  is  answered  by 
silence.) 

He  moreover  deplored  the  growing  concentration  of 
wealth  in  Lisbon  : 

**  Nao  me  temo  de  Castela 
Donde  guerra  inda  nao  soa, 
Mas  temo  me  de  Lisboa 
Que  6  cheiro  d'esta  canela 
O  reino  nos  despovoa." 

(I  do  not  fear  Castille,  whence  as  yet  comes  no  sound 
of  war ;  but  I  fear  Lisbon,  which  with  the  scent  of  its 
spices  is  unpeopling  the  land.) 

"I  fear  lest  we  should  be  again  slaves  to  riches."^ 
And  he  warns  the  nobles  that  they  are  leaving  the  land, 
their  mother,  for  Lisbon,  their  stepmother,^  while  the 
country  is  left  defenceless,  and  the  whole  ship  of  State 
is  like  to  sink : 

*'  Ao  reino  cumpre  em  todo  elle 
Ter  a  quem  o  seu  mal  doa, 
Nao  passar  tudo  a  Lisboa, 
Que  e  grande  o  peso,  e  com  elle 
Mete  o  barco  na  agua  a  proa." 

1  "  Medo  hei  de  novo  a  riqueza 

Que  nos  torne  a  cativar." 

2  "  Deixais  esta  madre  antiga 

Is  vos  apos  a  madrasta. ' ' 


96  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

Very  different  is  the  state  of  France,  where,  he  says, 
*'  they  Hve  in  less  modern  fashion,  and  the  peasant 
finds  shelter  in  the  small  towns,  where  he  has  a  name 
and  property,  and  lives  on  the  toil  of  his  hands.  The 
smith  lights  his  forge  fire  at  cock-crow,  the  cobbler 
bites  his  last,  and  shouts  to  his  sluggish  assistant  to 
come  from  beneath  his  blanket.  The  nobles  live 
securely  in  the  country,  and  hunt  the  daring  wolves 
in  the  wilds,  keeping  the  plains  all  round  their  dwell- 
ings safe  for  the  flocks,  and  freeing  them  from  the 
evildoers  who  work  in  darkness,  so  that  any  who  will 
may  go  singing  to  the  fair  after  nightfall,  or  doze  on  his 
mule  as  he  rides  along." 

{"  Inda  hoje  vemos  que  em  Franga 
Vivem  nisto  mais  a  antiga ; 
Na  villa  o  villao  se  abriga 
Onde  tem  nome  e  heranga, 
Vive  i  da  sua  fadiga. 
Acende  a  fragoa  o  ferreiro 
O  tempo  que  o  gallo  canta ; 
Morde  o  couro  o  9apateiro, 
Brada  ao  mogo  ronceiro 
Que  saia  de  baixo  da  manta. 

Vive  a  nobreza  por  fora 
Segura,  despovoados 
Corre  cos  lobos  ousados, 
Por  d'arredor  donde  mora 
Mantem  livre  o  campo  aos  gados, 
Da  ma  gente  aventureira 
Que  as  escuras  traz  seu  trato. 
Que  possa  livre  quem  queira 
Cantando  ir  de  noite  a  feira, 
Ou  dormindo  no  mulato.") 

Sa  de  Miranda,  however,  was  by  no  means  relegated 


SA  DE  MIRANDA  97 

to  the  society  of  peasants.  His  melancholy  disposition 
did  not  prevent  him  from  rehshing  the  "  divine  suppers"^ 
at  the  house  of  his  friends  Antonio  and  Nunalvarez 
Pereira  at  Cabeceiras  de  Basto,^  after  a  whole  day 
spent  in  the  chase,  nor  from  attending  with  pleasure 
the  splendid  entertainments  given  at  the  ancestral 
house  of  Crasto  (Castro),  a  half-hour's  walk  from  his 
own  Quinta  da  Tapada.  The  Lord  of  Crasto,  Sa  de 
Miranda's  old  friend  Manoel  Machado  de  Azevedo,^ 
belonged  to  the  principal  nobility  of  Portugal,  and  at  one 
of  these  entertainments  the  Infantes  Luiz  and  Henrique 
were  present.  Sa  de  Miranda  had  married  his  sister  Brio- 
lanja  in  1536.  King  Joao  III.  is  said  to  have  made  the 
formal  demand  for  her  hand  on  behalf  of  the  poet. 
She  had,  apparently,  neither  good  looks  nor  great 
possessions,  but  "  Love,"  says  Sa  de  Miranda,  **  made 
his  presence  clearly  known  :  I  heard  the  sound  of  his 
quiver  and  arrows";**  and  they  had  a  happy  married 
life  of  nearly  twenty  years.  Sa  de  Miranda  himself 
gladly  entertained  his  friends  at  the  Quinta  da  Tapada 

1  "  Oh  ceas  do  paraiso 

Que  nunca  o  tempo  vos  veii9a  !" 

2  Cabeceiras  is  a  small  Minhoto  village  near  Traz-os- Monies  which, 
with  its  convent  and  circle  of  houses  round  a  tree-planted  common, 
can  have  changed  but  little  since  the  sixteenth  century.  To  these 
brothers  Pereira  several  eclogues  and  letters  of  Sa  de  Miranda  are 
directed,  including  the  famous  eclogue  Basto  (  =  Cabeceiras  de  Basto), 
dedicated  to  Nunalvarez. 

3  His  life  was  written  in  the  seventeenth  century  by  his  descendant, 
Felix  Machado  da  Silva  Castro  e  Vasconcellos,  Marquez  de  Monte- 
bello. 

*  '•  Amor  deu 
Claro  sinal  que  era  all  ; 
Eu  o  som  do  coldre,  eu 
O  som  das  setas  ouvi." 

7 


gS  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

with  a  certain  lavishness.     The  poet  Diogo  Bernardes, 
among  others,  would  leave  his  beloved    Lima  (some 
twenty  miles  north  of  Braga)   in  order  to  visit  him. 
Sa   de    Miranda,  says   the   1614   biography,   was  "  so 
devoted  to  music  that,  although  he  was  not  very  rich, 
he  kept  at  his  house  expensive  masters  of  music  to 
teach  his  son  Hieronymo  de  Sa,  who  is  said  to  have 
excelled  in  that  art,  and  Diogo  Bernardes  (whom  we 
follow  in  much  of  what  is  here  stated)  said  that  when 
he  lived  at  Ponte  do   Lima,  his  birthplace,  and  went 
over  to  see  him,  Sa  de  Miranda  would  bid  his  son  play 
upon  various  instruments,  and  sometimes  correct  him 
if  he  made  a  mistake.      He   was   sober   and   austere 
towards  himself,  and  generous  even  to  excess  towards 
his  guests,  whom  he  entertained  freely,  with  excellent 
taste,  being  wont  to  say  that  conversation  with  them 
freed   him  from   himself."      Moreover,  his   fame   had 
spread    far   and   wide,   and   all    the   foremost   of    the 
younger  poets  of  Portugal  hailed  him  as  their  guide 
and  master,  sent  him  their  works  to  be  corrected,  or 
corresponded   with   him   in   verse.      Diogo    Bernardes 
hails    him    as    "  Light    of    the    Muses,   brighter    than 
the   sun,"  and   confesses   that  he  imitates  his  "  doce 
estilo."^     Dom  Manoel  de  Portugal  (1520-1605),  prob- 
ably his  first  follower,  calls  him  "  Rarissimo  Francisco 
excellente."     Jorge  de   Montemayor,  in  a  long  letter, 
seeks  his  ''protection  and  favour."     Antonio  Ferreira 
addresses  him  as  "  Master  of  the  Muses."     To  Pedro 
Andrade   de  Caminha   he   is   a  **  rarissimo    ingenho." 
The  Infante  Joao,  heir  to  the  throne,  sought  his  advice 

1    "  O  doce  estilo  teu  tomo  por  guia," 


SA  DE  MIRANDA  99 

in  literary  and  other  matters.^  Writing  to  Joao 
Rodrigues  de  Sa  de  Menezes,  Andrade  de  Caminha 
says  that  the  great  Sa  de  Miranda  showed  clearly,  by 
the  marvels  he  wrote,  that  he  did  not  find  his  retreat 
tedious,  that  he  had  won  high  fame,  and  that,  while  at 
the  Court  he  could  not  have  been  happy  for  a  month, 
in  Minho  he  lived  in  contentment  all  the  year.^  Diogo 
Bernardes  similarly  says  that  the  whole  world  wondered 
at  Sa  de  Miranda's  song,^  and  after  his  death  all 
Portugal,  at  least,  mourned  him.  Diogo  Bernardes 
came  to  lament  his  friend  by  the  banks  of  the  Neiva,* 

1  "  Pois  teus  raros  conselhos  o  guiavara."  (Elegy  by  P.  Andrade 
de  Caminha,  addressed  to  Sa  de  Miranda  on  the  death  of  the  Prince 

— Na  Morte  do  Principe  que  Deos  tem.) 

2  "  O  grande  Sa  de  Miranda 
Bern  entendeu  a  verdade 
D'este  mal  que  entre  nos  anda  ; 
Lan^ouse  la  d'essa  banda, 
Seguro  que  nom  se  enfade. 
Bern  se  ve  que  nom  se  enfada 
Nas  maravilhas  que  escreve, 
Que  alta  fama  tem  ganhada. 

*  *  *  * 

Nom  fora  ca  ledo  um  mes, 
E  la  todo  anno  contente." 

3  "  Espanto 
Recebe  o  mundo  tudo  do  que  cantas." 

*  In  the  fine  sonnet  beginning  : 

"  E  este  o  Neiva  do  nosso  Sa  Miranda 
Inda  que  tam  pequeno,  tarn  cantado  ? 
E  este  o  monte  que  foi  as  Musas  dado 
Em  quanto  nelle  andou  quem  nos  ceos  anda  ?" 

(Is  this  the  Neiva  of  our  Sa  de  Miranda,  a  stream  so  small  and  yet 
so  famous  ?  Is  this  the  hill  devoted  to  the  Muses  when  he  who  is  now 
in  heaven  sojourned  here  ?) 


100  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

Ferreira   wrote    an   elegy,   Andrade   de   Caminha   his 
epitaph.^ 

The  biographer  of  1614  more  than  once  insists  on 
Sa  de  Miranda's  deep  melancholy,  and  in  spite  of  his 
joy  in  the  chase  and  his  love  of  Nature,  he  often  sings 
in  sadness,  and,  like  Heraclitus,^  is  said  to  have  been 
frequently  in  tears : 

"  Ves  que  pressa  os  dias 
Levao  sem  cansar, 
Nunca  hao  de  tornar." 

(See  how  swift  the  days 
Pass  in  endless  chain, 
Never  to  come  again.) 

So  the  song  of  birds  is  to  him  half  lamentation : 

**  Sube  una  avezilla, 
No  s6  ni  si  es  cantar,  no  se  si  es  llanto"  ; 

and  one  of  his  vilancetes  (in  Spanish)  is  a  frail  crystal 
mist  of  tears  : 

"  Los  mis  tristes  ojos. 
Tan  tristes,  tan  tristes, 
Vistes  mis  enojos, 
Un  plazer  no  vistes. 

*  Ending  with  the  lines  : 

•'  A  morte  desfaz  tudo,  mas  Miranda 
Vivo  e  no  ceo  e  vivo  na  terra  anda." 
(All  yields  to  death,  but  Miranda  lives  in  the  sky  and  lives  upon 
the  earth.) 

2  Of  whom  Sa  de  Miranda  himself  writes  : 
"  Como  de  casa  saia 
Sempre  dos  seus  olhos  agua 
A  Heraclito  corria 
Polo  que  ouvia  e  que  via, 
De  que  tudo  tinha  magoa. ' ' 


SA  DE  MIRANDA  loi 

"  Vistes  anadida 
A  mi  pena  pena, 
I  en  tan  luenga  vida 
Nunca  una  ora  buena  ; 

"  Si  a  la  suerte  mia 
Pluguiese,  pluguiese 
Que  viese  ora  el  dia 
Con  que  mas  no  viese  !' 

(Eyes  sad  beyond  relief, 
Alas  !  sad  eyes  mine, 
You  have  seen  all  my  grief. 
But  ne'er  saw  joy  shine. 

You  have  seen  woe  to  woe 
Added  at  leisure, 
Ne'er  in  the  long  years'  flow 
One  hour  of  pleasure  ; 

O  that  'twere  given  me 
— Vain  my  endeavour — 
Now  my  last  day  to  see 
Close  you  for  ever !) 

Senhora  Michaelis  de  Vasconcellos,  in  her  edition  of 
Sa  de  Miranda's  poems,  gives  a  variant  of  this  poem  in 
five  verses. 

Towards  the  close  of  his  life  sorrows  fell  thick  upon 
him.  In  1553  his  eldest  son,  Gon9alo  Mendes  de  Sa, 
was  killed  at  the  age  of  sixteen  in  Africa,  with  many 
others  of  the  Portuguese  nobility  (at  Ceuta).  Had 
Sa  de  Miranda  read  the  works  of  Gil  Vicente  with 
sympathy,  he  would  have  derived  greater  consolation 
from  the  last  lines  of  one  of  his  autos^  than  from  all  the 
long  letter  in  verse  addressed  to  him  on  this  occasion 
by  Antonio  Ferreira.     His  deep  grief  is  shown  plainly 

1  See  p.  76. 


102  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

in  his  answering  letter.-^  In  the  following  year  the 
heir  to  the  throne,  Prince  Joao  (1537-1554)  died  at  the 
same  age,  a  few  days  before  the  birth  of  his  son,  the 
future  King  Sebastian.  This  was  a  heavy  blow  to  Sa 
de  Miranda.  Although  he  might  at  times  look  back  with 
regret  to  the  "masks  and  balls  begun  at  midnight"'  of 
King  ManoeFs  splendour-loving  age,  the  promise  of  the 
coming  reign  had  hitherto  been  a  full  recompense. 
The  Prince  had  even  in  extreme  youth  shown  himself 
an  enlightened  patron  of  letters.  At  his  request  Sa  de 
Miranda  himself  had  thrice  sent  him  a  collection  of  his 
works,  each  with  a  dedicatory  sonnet,  and  he  had  en- 
couraged other  poets  of  the  new  style.^  These  expecta- 
tions were  now  shattered,  and  there  remained  little 
chance  of  protection  for  the  younger  poets  of  Sa  de 
Miranda's  school.  Of  one  of  the  youngest  of  them, 
Camoes,  he  apparently  never  heard. 

When  Sa   de    Miranda  died   the   hopes   of    a   long 

1  "  When  I  sent  my  son  at  such  an  age  to  die  for  the  faith,  if  it 
must  be  ' ' 

(Quando  mandei  meu  filho  em  tal  idade 
A  morrer  pola  fe,  se  assi  cumprisse.) 

"  It  is  I  who  should  have  died,"  he  cries — 

Eu  sou  que  devera  ir  !  quem  nos  trocou  ? — 

and  thinks   Don    Rodrigo  Manrique  happy,  whose  son   survived  to 
sing  his  praises  (in  the  famous  Coplas). 

2  "  Os  momos,  os  seroes  de  Portugal 

Tam  fallados  no  mundo  onde  sac  idos  ? 
E  as  gra9as  temperadas  de  seu  sal  ?" 

3  Andrade  de  Caminha,  in  his  elegy  on  Prince  Joao,  says  : 
"  Devemse  a  ti  engenhos  excellentes 
Porque  com  teu  favor  os  levantaste, 
Largo  Mecenas  eras  aos  prudentes." 


SA  DE  MIRANDA  103 

Manueline  age  of  greatness  had  passed  away  like  a 
splendid  dream.  Gil  Vicente  had  deplored  the  destruc- 
tion of  simpler  tastes ;  now  the  vanity  and  hollowness 
of  the  pomp  that  succeeded  them  were  becoming  more 
and  more  apparent.  The  gold  of  the  colonies  had  been 
spent  on  luxuries  for  the  capital,  while  the  provinces 
became  even  more  depopulated  and  poverty-stricken, 
and  Vicente's  poor  esmdeirOy  or  his  fidalgo,  maintaining 
great  estate  on  a  small  income,  abounded  in  the  land. 
It  had  been  vain  for  King  Manoel  to  pass  sumptuary 
laws  while  his  own  love  of  show  and  magnificence 
encouraged  reckless  expenditure,  and  the  price  of  bread 
rose.-^  Now  Portugal  was  left  to  look  abroad  with 
eternal  saudade  to  her  crumbling  empire,  while  at  home 
misery  and  distress  deepened.  Sa  de  Miranda  pro- 
tested continually  against  the  ''mimos  indianos"^  and 
luxury  of  Lisbon,  with  its  gambling,  its  many  slaves 
to  riches,^  its  delicate  viands,  perfumed  lamps  •  and 
beds  and  tables. 

Two  years  after  the  death  of  his  eldest  son   Sa  de 

1  Damiao  de  Goes.  Chronica  do  felicissimo  Rey  Dam  Emanuel  {Lisbon, 
1619)  :  "  In  order  to  prevent  the  great  expense  made  in  his  kingdom 
both  by  the  nobles  and  those  of  the  people  in  cloth  and  dresses  of 
silk,  he  prohibited  them,  reserving  to  the  nobility  the  privilege  to 
wear  silk  caps,  shoes,  belts,  and  ornaments  of  their  swords,  mules 
and  horses." 

2  "  Estes  mimos  indianos 

Hei  gram  medo  a  Portugal 

Que  venhao  fazer  os  danos 

Que  Capua  fez  a  Anibal, 

Vencedor  de  tantos  anos. ' ' 

(I  fear  greatly  lest  this  Indian  luxury  should  come  fraught  with  as 
much  injury  for  Portugal  as  Capua  did  to  Hannibal  after  his  many 
years  of  victory.) 

3  "  Escravos  mais  que  os  escravos. " 


I04  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

Miranda's  wife  died  (1555),  and  from  this  loss  he  never 
recovered,  so  that  in  his  private  grief  and  his  sorrow^ 
for  the  misfortunes  of  Portugal  the  death  of  King 
Joao  III.  and  the  departure  of  his  brother,  to  whom  he 
w^as  devoted,  for  Brazil  (as  Governor)  in  1557  seem  to 
have  passed  all  but  unnoticed.  **  After  his  wife's  death," 
says  his  earliest  biographer,  "  he  too  began  to  die  to 
all  the  things  pertaining  to  his  pleasure  and  former 
pursuits."^  He  only  wrote  one  poem,  a  sonnet,  on  the 
death  of  his  wife,  beginning  : 

**  Aquelle  spirito  ja  tam  bem  pagado," 

and  is  said  never  to  have  left  his  house  except  to  attend 
the  services  of  the  Church.^  "  Especially  he  was  pious ^ 
and  a  Catholic  Christian,  very  devoted  to  the  Virgin," 
in  whose  honour  he  wrote  more  than  one  cantiga.  He 
died  in  the  year  1558,  and  was  buried  in  the  church  of 
the  little  village  Sao  Martinho  de  Carrazedo,  where  a 
Latin  inscription  marks  his  tomb. 

Sa  de  Miranda  occupies  one  of  the  most  important 
places  in  Portuguese  literature,  partly  owing  to  the 
intrinsic   merits    of    his    poetry,   partly   because,   like 

1  "A  magoa  do  que  Ihe  reuelaua  o  spirito  dos  infortunios  da  sua 
terra. ' ' 

2  "  Com  o  4  elle  come90u  a  morrer  logo  tambem  pera  todas  as  cousas 
de  seu  gosto  &  antigos  exercicios." 

3  "  Senao  pera  ouuir  os  Officios  Diuinos. " 

*  In  one  passage,  however  (in  his  famous  letter  to  King  Joao  III.), 
he  speaks  of  the  village  priests  in  the  vein  of  Vicente,  as  fat  and 
prosperous  and  absolved  of  all  their  sins  : 

"  Mas  eu  vejo  ca  na  aldea 
Nos  enterros  abastados 
Quanto  padre  que  passea, 
Emfim  ventre  e  bolsa  chea 
E  asoltos  de  sens  pecados." 


SA  DE  MIRANDA  105 

Boscan  in  Spain,  he  introduced  the  new  metres  from 
Italy/  and  thus  paved  the  way  for  the  greater  poetry 
of  CamSes.^  Had  his  innovations  merely  stood  for 
the  decay  of  the  national  poetry,  the  poetry  of  Gil 
Vicente,  there  would  be  reason  to  doubt  whether 
Portugal  owes  him  any  great  debt  of  gratitude ;  but  his 
real  influence  was  very  different.  The  national  poetry 
had  already  received  its  death-blow  from  the  pomp  and 
luxury  introduced  into  Portugal  after  the  discovery  of 
India,  and  it  was  not  against  the  development  of  the 
national  poetry  but  against  the  tendency  of  the  age  to 
become  wholly  materialistic^  that  Sa  de  Miranda  strove. 

1  I.e.,  versos  de  arte  maior,  or  da  medida  nova  (hendecasyllabics,  the 
sonnet,  Petrarcan  canzoni,  the  terza  rima,  copied  from  Dante,  the  octava 
rima,  copied  from  Ariosto). 

2  Between  Sa  de  Miranda  and  Boscan  (?  1490-1542)  there  are  some 
striking  similarities,  although  the  former  is  without  doubt  the  greater 
poet.  They  were  born  perhaps  in  the  same  year.  They  both  visited 
Italy.  Boscan  began  writing  in  Italian  hendecasyllabics  in  1526,  prob- 
ably  the  very  year  in  which  Sa  de  Miranda  introduced  the  new  style 
into  Portugal  on  his  return  from  Italy.  Both  employed  Spanish, 
an  alien  tongue  (for  Boscan  was  a  Catalan),  and  both  wrote  in  their 
borrowed  metres  with  an  awkwardness  and  harshness  which  con- 
trasted with  the  infinitely  more  melodious  verse  of  their  younger 
contemporaries,  Garcilaso  de  la  Vega  and  Camoes. 

3  He  speaks  of  the  rich  parvenus  : 

"  Podem  cheirar  ao  alho 
Ricoshomens  e  infan9ois  ; ' ' 

of  the  old  nobility  yielding  to  the  new  wealth  : 

"Dinheiro,  oficios,  privangas 
A  nobreza  nos  desterra  ;" 

of  the  general  greed  for  gold  spoiling  and  degrading  thousands  and 

thousands  of  minds : 

"  Lan90u  nos  a  perder  engenhos  mil 
E  mil  este  interesse  que  haja  mal 
Que  ludo  o  mais  fez  vil,  sendo  elle  vil ;" 


io6  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

In  a  passage  of  the  Fahula  do  Mondego,^  written  when 
both  poets  were  still  at  Court,  Sa  de  Miranda  appears 
to  refer  slightingly  to  the  work  of  Vicente ;  but  another 
passage  lamenting  the  decay  of  poetry  was  written  at 
a  time  when  Vicente's  w^ork  was  nearing  its  end.^ 
Sa  de  Miranda  and  Vicente  retired  from  Lisbon  within 
a  few  years  of  one  another,  leaving  to  the  Court  poets 
their  narrow  outlook  and  trivial  themes.  The  Can- 
cioneiro  of  the  poet  Garcia  de  Resende  is  a  typical 
collection  of  such  poems ;  its  dreariness  has  been  often 
noticed,^  and  it  is  supposed  to  have  disgusted  Sa  de 
Miranda  with  the  Portuguese  poetry  of  his  age.  A 
poem  to  a  sea-sick  baron,  or  the  complaint  of  a  courtier 
in  the  country  that  he  finds  only  cheap  grapes  and  no 

of  full  coffers  and  poor  hearts  : 

"  Que  OS  cora96is  hao  de  ser 
Ricos,  que  os  cofres  nao, " 

Cf.  Antonio  Ferreira  : 

*•  Ouro,  despois  virtude  :  ouro  honra  da." 
1  "  I  viendo  que  bajais  vuestros  oidos 
Por  esa  tan  humana  mansidumbre 
Al  canto  pastoril  ia  hecho  osado, 
Quiza  movere  mas  hazia  la  cumbre 
De  aquel  alto  Parnaso,  por  olvido 
I  malos  tiempos  ia  medio  olvidado." 

2  In  the  eclogue  Celia  : 

"  Como  se  perdieron 
Entre  nos  el  cantar,  como  el  taner 
Que  tanto  nombre  a  los  pasados  dieron  ?" 

3  By  Wolf  [Stndien,  1859):  "  Gleichformigkeit  bis  zur  Monotonie, 
Aiisserlichkeit  bis  zur  Flachheit,  Beobachtung  des  Herkommlichen  bis 
zur  Banalitat";  by  Menendez  y  Pelayo  {Antologia,  tom.  7,  1898): 
"  Nunca  se  vio  tan  esteril  abundancia  de  versificadores  y  tanta  penuria 
de  poesia.  El  lector  de  buen  gusto  camina  por  aquel  interminable 
arenal  sin  encontrar  apenas  un  hilo  de  agua  con  que  mitigar  la  sed." 


SA  DE  MIRANDA  107 

gloves^ — these,  it  must  be  confessed,  are  not  very 
inspiring  subjects.  And  there  is  also  a  vulgarity  and 
coarseness  never  found  in  Sa  de  Miranda.  But  the 
collection  contains  some  noble  poetry,  as  the  verses  by 
Luis  Anriquez  on  the  death  of  Prince  Affonso,  and  the 
Trovas  d  morte  de  Dona  Ines  de  Castro,'^  by  Garcia  de 

1  ' '  Val  rredea  duuas 
A  5ynco  na  pra9a 
Mas  nam  ha  hy  luuas 
Nem  que  volas  fa9a." 

For  Sa  de  Miranda  this  would  not  have  even  the  slight  interest 
which  time  has  given  it.  He  himself,  however,  wrote  a  very  similar 
esparsa  to  Pero  Carvalho,  with  a  present  of  gloves : 

"  Mandar  por  tais  calmas  luuas 
Servi^o  era  elle  escusado  ! 
Outra  cousa  forao  uvas 
Outra  vinagre  rosado !" 

Some  of  his  slighter  poems  are  not  without  charm — e.g.,  the  follow- 
ing esparsa  in  the  Cancioneiro  de  Resende  : 

"  Cerra  a  serpente  os  ouvidos 
A  voz  do  encantador  ; 
Eu  nao,  e  agora  com  dor 
Quero  perder  mens  sentidos. 
Os  que  mais  sabem  do  mar 
Fogem  d'ouvir  as  sereas ; 
Eu  nao  me  soube  guardar  : 
Fui  vos  ouvir  nomear, 
Fiz  minha  alma  e  vida  alheas." 
(To  charmer's  voice  is  deaf 
The  adder  :  not  so  I, 
And  now  alas  I  lie 
Half-senseless  in  my  grief. 
'Tis  the  skilled  mariner's  part 
To  shun  the  Sirens'  song, 
But  I  had  not  this  art  : 
Your  name  heard,  life  and  heart 
No  more  to  me  belong.) 

2  Trouas  q  gargia  de  rresende  fez  a  morte  d  doa  ynes  de  castro  que  el  rrey  do 


io8  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

Resende,  which  are  on  a  level  with  some  of  the  best 
poetry  of  Sa  de  Miranda,  and  are  full  of  individuality 
and  charm.  Sa  de  Miranda's  efforts  to  introduce  the 
new  style  ^  were  apparently  not  very  successful  at  first, 
but  gradually  won  universal  recognition.  Opposition 
is  implied  in  a  passage  of  his  letter  to  Antonio 
Ferreira : 

"  Um  vilancete  brando,  ou  seja  um  chiste, 
Letras  as  inven96is,  motes  as  damas, 
Ua  pregunta  escura,  esparsa  triste  ! 
Tudo  bom  !  quem  o  nega  ?  Mas  porque, 
Se  alguem  descobre  mais,  se  Ihe  resiste  ?" 

He  hails  Dom  Manoel  de  Portugal  as  his  follower 
with  evident  delight :  "  I  thought  Portugal  was  only 
bent  on  gold  and  silver,  and  you  have  sought  me  out  in 
my  retreat " : 

"  Cuidei  que  so  buscava  prata  e  ouro ! 
Buscastesme  no  meu  escondedouro  !" 

The  dates  of  Sa  de  Miranda's  works  are  fully  dis- 
cussed by  Senhora  Michaelis  de  Vasconcellos  in  the 
notes  to  her  edition.     Probably  in  1527  he  wrote  his 

Afonso  0  quarto  d  Portugal  matou  e  Coimbra  por  0  prin<^ipe  seu  filho  a  ter 
como  mulher  &  polo  q  Ihe  queria  nam  queria  casar. 

1  Although  some  doubts  have  been  cast  on  his  originality  in  this 
respect,  it  seems  certain  that  the  16 14  biographer  is  right  :  Foy  0 
primeiro  que  compos  versos  grandes  neste  Reyno  ;  and  that  Sa  de  Miranda's 
claim  is  justified  : 

"  Ja  que  fiz 
Aberta  aos  bons  can  tares  peregrinos  " 
(to  Dom  Manoel  de  Portugal)  ; 
"  Estas  nuestras  zamponas,  las  primeras 
Que  por  aqui  cantaran,  bien  o  mal 
Como  pudieran,  rimas  estranjeras" 
(letter  to  Antonio  Pereira) ;    unless  we  are  to  regard  the  thirteenth- 
century  poets,  writing  in  the  Proven(;al  manner,  as  his  precursors. 


SA  DE  MIRANDA  109 

first  prose  comedia,  Os  Estrangeiros  (the  first  in  Portugal),^ 
and  then,  in  rivalry  with  Vicente,  the  Fahula  do 
Mondego,  in  Petrarcan  stanzas  (1528  or  1529),  and, 
two  or  three  years  after  this,  his  first  eclogue,  Aleixo, 
and  a  cangdo  to  the  Virgin.  Most  of  his  other  w^orks, 
eclogues,  letters,  elegies,  sonnets,  w^ere  written  in  the 
leisure  of  green  and  rainy  Minho.  About  the  year  1535 
(in  the  eclogue  Celia)  he  writes : 

'*  Poco  aca,  mas  com  fe,  mas  com  poca  arte, 
Cantan  pastores  al  modo  estranjero. 
Corren  lagrimas  justas  sin  parar 
Mientras  Neiva  tambien  corre  a  la  mar," 

and  calls  on  "  ciertos  zagales  del  Estremadura  " 
{i.e.,  Lisbon  poets)  to  sing  in  honour  of  the  new 
**  blandas  musas  de  Parnaso."  Although  he  was 
apparently  no  friend  of  Gil  Vicente,  he  certainly  did 
not  despise  his  poetry  for  being  simple  and  national. 
He  himself  strove  persistently  to  give  his  imported 
metres  a  Portuguese  dress,^  although  difficulty  of 
adapting  them  and  his  love  of  Garcilaso  drove  him  to 
write  frequently  in  Spanish.^  To  Garcilaso  he  acknow- 
ledges his  debt,  and  the  pleasure  derived  from  a  copy 
of  his  poems  (in  manuscript)  sent  to  him  by  his  friend 
Antonio  Pereira : 

1  The  second,  Os  Vilhaipandos,  in  1538.  Both  are  conventional  in 
subject  and  manner. 

2  To  Antonio  Ferreira,  who  had  written  to  him  in  Spanish  (an 
eclogue  in  the  new  style,  de  versos  estrangeiros  variada),  he  answers 
with  a  letter  in  Portuguese. 

3  With  a  Portuguese  word  or  idiom  here  and  there.  The  Portuguese 
infinitive  appears  more  than  once— ^.^.  ; 

' '  Sin  seren  de  tempestad  inturbiados. ' ' 


no   STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

**  Enviaste  me  el  buen  Laso, 
lr6  pascando  asi  mi  paso  a  paso. 
Al  qual  gran  don  io  quanto 
Devo,  sabreis."  ^ 

But,  curiously,  Sa  de  Miranda's  best  and  most 
famous  poetry^  is  written  in  the  old  national  octo- 
syllabic metre, ^  and  while  in  the  new  style  he  is  only  a 
forerunner — often  a  rough  and  halting  forerunner — of 
Diogo  Bernardes  and  Camoes,  in  his  satirical  letters 
and  in  the  eclogues  written  in  the  old  Portuguese 
metre  he  may  almost  be  called  a  great  poet.  He  has 
been  described  as  the  Chaucer  of  Portugal,  but  a  fairer 
description  would  be  to  say  that  he  is  a  Portuguese 
combination  of  Horace  and  La  Fontaine.  He  has, 
indeed,  little  of  the  latter's  clearness  of  expression,  but 
how  enchantingly  he  tells  the  story  of  Psyche  and 
Eros,^  or  the  fable  of  the  rat  de  ville  and  the  rat  des 
champs,^  and  with  what  spontaneous  delight  he  sings 
the  praises  of  earth  and  sky,  at  times  recalling  the 
simple  charm  of  Vicente : 

1  Preface  to  the  eclogue  Nemoroso,  written  (with  great  artifice  of 
rhyme  and  metre)  for  the  first  anniversary  of  Garcilaso's  tragic  death 
at  Frejus. 

2  Few,  probably,  will  agree  with  O.  Crawfurd  {Portugal  Old  and 
New)  that  Miranda's  Portuguese  writings  are  "  singularly  inferior  to 
his  Spanish  writings,  upon  which  his  fame  chiefly  rests."  His  Portu- 
guese writings  may  be  often  crabbed  and  difficult,  but  they  are  full  of 
life  and  character.  Cf.  Garrett's  verdict  that  *'  the  purity,  correction, 
naturalness,  and  sublime  simplicity  of  the  redondilhas  in  his  letters  are 
now  his  greatest,  almost  his  only,  title  to  fame."  Garrett  calls  him 
"  the  true  father  of  our  poetry." 

3  I.e.,  versos  de  arte  tnenor,  da  medida  velha^  redondilhas  written  in  verses 
of  five,  six,  seven,  eight,  nine,  or  ten  lines. 

■*  Eclogue  Encantamento,  11.  336-503. 

•*  Letter  IV.,  to  his  brother,  Mem  de  Sa,  11.  191-300. 


SA  DE  MIRANDA  iii 

**  Deixa-me  ver  este  ceo 
E  o  sol  em  que  vai  tal  lume 
Que  a  vista  nunca  sofreu 
Aquilo  e  uso  e  costume, 
Que  tantos  tempos  correu  ! 
Que  claridade  tamanha 
Que  fogo  nelle  aparece ! 
Quanto  raio  o  acompanha ! 
Dize  se  que  o  mar  d'Espanha 
Ferve  quando  neile  dece. 

**  Des  i  cobre  se  d'estrellas 
Tudo  quanto  arriba  vemos, 
Poem  se  d'ellas,  nacem  d'ellas, 
Te  que  d'outra  parte  as  vemos, 
E  a  lua  fermosa  entre  ellas 
Que  se  renova  e  reveza, 
Ora  um  fio,  ora  crecente, 
Ora  em  sua  redondeza, 
Cada  mes  com  que  certeza  ! 
Semelha  a  da  nossa  gente." 

(But  let  me  look  upon 
This  sky  and  light  of  the  sun, 
Such  that  no  mortal  sight 
May  suffer  it,  the  light 
Of  many  an  age  bygone. 
What  wondrous  brilliancy, 
What  fires  with  it  begin, 
What  rays  accompany  ! 
'Tis  said  the  Spanish  sea 
Boils  when  it  sinks  therein. 

It  sinks  and  then  we  see 
Stars  throng  heaven's  canopy, 
Some  of  them  set,  some  rise, 
We  see  them  cross  the  skies, 


112  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

And  in  their  company 

The  moon  returning  fair 

Grows  from  mere  thread  in  the  sky 

To  a  crescent,  till  she  wear 

Her  full  beauty  every \\'here, 

Each  month  unerringly.) 

This  whole  eclogue  (Basto)  is  written  in  a  homely 
style,  concise  and  pungent,  with  many  a  dry,  rustic 
phrase  and  proverb,  and  delights  by  its  flavour  of  the 
soil,  a  flavour  as  it  were  of  popular  chacotas  or  solaos} 
He  writes  with  sententious  brevit}^  often  a  little 
clumsily  or  obscurely,  and  his  Portuguese  is  so  idio- 
matic that  it  is  sometimes  far  more  difficult  to  under- 
stand than  the  verses  of  King  Diniz,  two  centuries 
earlier.  One  or  two  vivid  lines  often  throw  a  scene 
into  clear  relief,  till  the  peasants  and  the  country  live 
for  us. 

Sa  de  Miranda  persevered  corn  fe,  if  sometimes  com 
poca  arte,  hammering  at  his  verse,  and  imprinting  it 
with  his  character.  Of  the  eclogue  Basto  Senhora 
Michaelis  de  Vasconcellos  says  that  no  less  than  four- 
teen versions  exist  (a  proof  that  he  realized  its  worth), 
and  he  himself,  in  one  of  his  dedicatory  sonnets  to 
Prince  Joao,  writes  that  he  goes  on  erasing  year  after 
year,  in  battle  with  his  papers : 

"  Eu  risco  e  risco,  vou  me  de  anno  em  anno  " 
"  Ando  cos  meus  papeis  em  differen9as !" 

Before  Prince  Joao  requested  him  to  send  him  his 
works,  they  were,  he  says,  given  over  to  dust  and 
spiders'  webs  in  his  village : 

1  Solao  has  been  variously  explained  as  a  song  of  solitude,  sunshine, 
solace;  but  its  derivation  remains  uncertain. 


SA  DE  MIRANDA  113 

"  Era  ja  tudo  como  encomendado 
A  tra^a  e  p6  da  aldea  e  sua  baixeza, 
Entre  teas  de  aranhas  encantado." 

After  his  first  early  appearance  in  print  in  15 16  he 
seems  to  have  been  in  no  hurry  to  pubhsh  his  poems.^ 
He  was  content  that  they  should  go,  like  Garcilaso  de 
la  Vega's,  in  manuscript  from  hand  to  hand. 

No  doubt  in  the  quality  of  his  poetry  Sa  de  Miranda 
cannot  be  compared  with  Camoes ;  yet  there  is  some- 
thing so  delightfully  fresh  and  individual  about  a  great 
part  of  what  he  wrote  that  one  may  wonder  that  he  is 
not  more  often  read.  It  is  worth  while  to  read  him,  if 
only  to  make  acquaintance  with  his  character  and  his 
life  in  Minho.  But  indeed  his  work,  sometimes  crude, 
never  insipid,  is  crowded  with  beautiful  passages,  and 
his  roughnesses  of  diction  in  themselves  not  infre- 
quently have  a  certain  fascination. 

1  The  first  edition  only  appeared  in  1595. 


CHAPTER  V 

CAMOES 

Camoes  was  born  about  a  quarter  of  a  century  before 
the  death  of  Si  de  Miranda,  yet  at  least  a  century 
seems  to  separate  the  poetry  of  the  gran^  Miranda  from 
that  of  the  divino'^  Camoes.  While  with  the  former 
the  new  doce  estilo  runs  rough  and  uneven  like  the 
turbulent  Spanish  Tajo  between  rocks,  in  Camoes  it 
flows  with  the  smooth  majesty  of  the  Tejo  suave  e 
brando.      Of  Camoes'  life^  the  contemporary  records 

1  Lope  de  Vega,  Laurel  de  Apolo.  Cervantes  speaks  of  him  in  Don 
Quixote  as  "el  excelentisimo  Camoes." 

2  The  earliest  authorities  are — (i)  The  commentary  of  Manoel 
Correa  on  the  Lusiads,  written  towards  the  end  of  the  sixteenth 
century  and  printed  in  the  1613  edition :  Os  Lvsiadas  do  Grande  Lvis 
de  Camoens,  Principe  da  poesia  heroica.  Commentados  pelo  Licenciado 
Manoel  Correa.  Em  Lishoa.  For  Pedro  Crasheeck.  Anno  1613. 
Correa  says  in  a  prefatory  note  :  "  Fiz  ha  muytos  annos  estas  anno- 
tagoes."  (2)  The  short  life  by  Pedro  de  Mariz,  contained  in  this 
1613  edition  of  the  Lusiads  :  Ao  estudioso  da  li^do  poetica.  P.  M. 
(signed  Pedro  de  Mariz).  It  is  reprinted,  with  slight  variations,  in 
Rimas  de  Lvis  de  Camoes.  Segunda  parte.  Em  Lishoa.  Na  ojjlcina 
de  Pedro  Crasheeck,  1616:  Ao  estudioso  da  licam  poetica.  Feita  por  o 
Licenciado  Pedro  de  Maris,  Sacerdote  Canonista,  em  que  conta  a 
vida  de  Luis  de  Camoes.  The  epitaph  ascribed  to  Coutinho  is  here 
omitted  (the  words  "  with  this  epitaph  "  being  replaced  by  "with  an 
epitaph  ")  and  is  printed  separately  after  the  life.  (3)  The  life  by 
Manoel  Severim  de  Faria  (d.  1655),  which  appeared  in  Discursos  de 
varios  politicos,  Evora,  1624,  and  is  reprinted  in  Obras  do  Grande  Luis  de 

114 


CAMOES  115 

are  extremely  scanty ,  and  over  each  shred  of  evidence 
has  been  waged  a  battle-royal  of  the  critics.  The  exact 
date  of  his  birth  is  unknown,  the  year  assigned  having 
varied  from  1509  to  1525  ;  but  the  year  1524  is  noW' 
generally  accepted.     It  is  beyond  all  doubt  that  he  was 

Camdes,  Principe  dos  poetas  heroycos  S'  lyricos  de  Hespanha,  novamente 
dadas  a  luz  com  os  seus  Lusiadas  commentados  pelo  Lecenciado 
Manoel  Correa  .  .  .  e  agora  nesta  ultima  impressao  correcta  & 
accrescentada  com  a  sua  vida  escrita  por  Manoel  de  Faria  Severim. 
Lisboa  Occidental :  na  officina  de  Josepho  Lopes  Ferreira,  1720.  Severim 
de  Faria  remarks  upon  the  slightness  of  the  information  concerning 
Camoes  :  0  que  delle  anda  impresso  he  tao  pouco  &>  diminuto.  He  himself 
quotes  copiously  from  Aristotle,  Statins,  and  other  classical  writers, 
but  tells  us  comparatively  little  of  Camoes'  life.  (4)  Two  lives  by 
Manoel  Faria  e  Sousa  (1590-1649),  many  of  whose  statements  are  open 
to  gravest  suspicion.  (5)  Notes  in  the  1584  edition  :  Os  Lusiadas  de 
Luis  de  Camoes.  Agora  de  novo  impressos  com  algumas  annotagoes  de 
varies  autores.  Lisboa,  1684  ;  the  brief  preface  in  the  1626  edition,  etc. 
The  chief  recent  authorities  on  Camoes'  life  and  works  are — 
(a)  Starch  {W.)  :  Luis  de  Camoens  Leben.  Nebst  geschichtlicher  Ein- 
leitung,  von  Wilhelm  Storck.  Paderborn,  1890.  This  is  the  most 
rigorously  critical  life  of  Camoes.  (/S)  The  same  work  in  the  transla- 
tion and  with  the  notes  of  C.  Michaelis  de  Vasconcellos :  Wilhelm 
Storck.  Vida  e  Obras  de  Luis  de  Camdes.  Primeira  parte.  Versao  do 
original  allemao,  annotada  por  Carolina  Michaelis  de  Vasconcellos. 
Lisboa,  1898.  (The  title-page  bears  the  date  1897,  the  cover  1898,  and 
a  note  inserted  at  the  end  of  the  volume  is  dated  Porto,  30  March, 
1898.)  (7)  Storck  {W.):  Luis'  de  Camoens  Sdmtntliche  Gedichte.  Zum 
ersten  Male  deutsch  von  Wilhelm  Storck.  6  Bde.  Paderborn,  1880-1885. 
(5)  Michaelis  de  Vasconcellos  (C.)  .•  Luis  de  Camdes.  [Grimdriss  der  ram. 
Phil.,  Bd.  2,  Abtg.  2,  pp.  313-328.)  (e)  Michaelis  de  Vasconcellos  (C); 
Review  of  Storck's  translation,  and  other  important  articles  in  the 
Zeitschrift  jur  roynanische  Philologie.  Also  her  introduction  to  the 
edition  of  the  Lusiads  in  the  Bibliotheca  Romanica,  vol.  x.,  pp.  5-24. 
(^)  Braga  {T.) :  Camdes.  Epoca  e  Vida.  Por  Theophilo  Braga.  Pp.850. 
Porto,  1907.  {Hist,  da  litt.  port.,  vol.  xii.)  (77)  Braga  (T.)  :  Camoes. 
A  Obra  lyrica  e  epica.  Por  Theophilo  Braga.  (Bibliographia  Camoniana.) 
Pp.  878.  Porto,  1911.  {Hist,  da  litt.  port.,  vol.  xiii.)  {&)  Oliveira 
Martins :  Camoes,  os  Lusiadas  e  a  Renasceti^a  em  Portugal.  Por  J.  P. 
Oliveira  Martins.     Porto,  1891. 


ii6  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

born  about  the  year  1525 — he  was  a  ''  youth  "  (mancebo) 
in  1553^ — but  efforts  to  fix  the  precise  date  have  been 
fruitless,  unless  the  statement  of  Faria  e  Sousa 
(1590-1649)  be  true.  This  writer  was  so  given  to 
mystifications  and  inventions  that  no  implicit  trust 
can  be  placed  in  any  of  his  statements  ;  and  this 
particular  statement  is  rejected  by  Storck  as  a  gross 
fabrication.  In  his  second  life  of  the  poet,  Faria  e 
Sousa  declares  that  in  1643  a  list  of  the  India  House 
of  Lisbon  came  into  his  hands,  containing  the  names 
of  all  the  principal  persons  who  had  served  in  India 
from  1500  to  his  own  time,  and  under  the  year  1550 
he  found  this  entry :  *'  Luis  de  Camoens,  son  of  Simon 
Vaz  and  Anna  de  Sa,  dwellers  at  Lisbon,  in  the 
Mouraria,  esquire,  twenty-five  years  old,  with  light- 
coloured  ^  beard ;  he  brought  his  father  as  surety ;  he 
goes  in  the  ship  San  Pedro  de  los  Burgaleses.''^  Against 
this  Dr.  Storck  objects  that  a  list  of  the  persons  (not 
the  principal  persons,  since  in  a  second  quotation, 
showing  that  Camoes  actually  sailed  in  1553,  Faria 
e  Sousa  gives  the  name  of  a  common  soldier)  going  to 
serve  in  India  during  a  century  and  a  half  would  fill 
many  volumes;  that  Cam5es  was  called  at  this  time 

1  The  King's  letter  of  pardon,  March  7,  1553  :  Elle  sopricante  he 
hum  mancebo. 

2  Barbirubio  is  not,  as  it  has  been  translated,  "red  beard,"  but 
'*  light-coloured  " — in  fact,  almost  any  colour  except  black. 

3  "  El  ano  1643  vino  a  mis  manos  un  Registro  de  la  Casa  de  la 
India  de  Lisboa  de  todas  las  personas  mas  principales  que  pasaron 
a  servir  en  la  India  desde  el  ano  1500  hasta  estes  nuestros  anos,  y  en 
la  lista  de  el  de  1500  halle  este  assiento  :  '  Luis  de  Camoens,  hijo  de 
Simon  Vaz  y  Ana  de  Sa,  moradores  en  Lisboa,  a  la  Moraria,  Escudero, 
de  vintecinco  anos,  barbirubio  ;  truxo  por  fiador  a  su  padre  :  va  en  la 
Nave  de  Saw  Pedro  de  los  Burgaleses.'  " 


CAMOES  117 

Luis  de  Vaaz  or  Vaz,  not  Luis  de  Camoes  or  Camoens ; 
that  his  mother's  name  was  Anna  de  Macedo ;  that 
his  father,  as  Pedro  de  Mariz  relates,  was  shipwrecked 
near  Goa,  and  died  there  before  the  poet  w^ent  to  India  ; 
that  after  his  father's  death  his  correct  title  would  be, 
not  EscudeirOf  but  Cavalleiro  fidalgo?-  The  use  of  the 
form  Luis  de  Camoens,  at  least,  seems  to  show  that 
even  if  Faria  e  Sousa  had  seen  some  document  to 
support  his  statement  concerning  Camoes'  intended 
sailing  in  1550,  he  gave  a  far  from  trustworthy  account 
of  it.  Severim  de  Faria,  on  the  authority  of  Correa, 
gave  the  date  of  Camoes'  birth  as  15 17,  but  in  the  same 
notice  says  that  he  died  in  1579  at  an  age  not  exceed- 
ing fifty-five.  The  attempt,  often  made,  to  extract  a 
precise  date  from  Camoes'  own  statement  in  the 
Lusiads  ^  is  obviously  futile,  although  his  age  there 
implied  fully  confirms  the  approximate  date — 1525. 

Camoes'  birthplace  is  equally  uncertain.  Alemquer, 
Santarem  (his  mother's  birthplace),  Coimbra,  and 
Lisbon  have  all  claimed  the  honour.  Here  again  the 
principal  authorities  are  divided.  Manoel  Correa  (of 
Lisbon)  says  that  he  was  "  born  and  brought  up  in 
the  city  of  Lisbon  "  and  not  at  Coimbra,  as  some  had 
thought,  from  the  fact  that  his  ancestors  lived  there. 
Some  years  earlier  the  bookseller  Domingos  Fernandes 
(of  Coimbra)  declared  (in  the  dedication  of  the  Rimas  : 
Lisboa :  Pedro  Crasbeeck,  1607)  that  he  was  born  in  the 
city   of   Coimbra.      His    family   had   long   resided   at 

1  As,  perhaps,  in  the  1553  carta  de  perddo. 

2  Lus.,  X.  9 : 

"  Vao  OS  annos  descendo,  e  ja  do  estio 
Ha  pouco  que  passar  ate  o  outono." 


ii8  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

Coimbra,  and  while  it  may  be  argued  that  Lisbon  was 
now  more  than  ever  drawing  a  large  number  of  in- 
habitants from  the  provinces,  among  whom  may  have 
been  Camoes'  parents,  on  the  other  hand  it  is  more 
likely  that  his  birth  should  have  been  wrongly  placed 
in  Lisbon  the  greater  than  in  Coimbra  the  less.  Among 
modern  writers  Senhor  Braga  supports  the  Lisbon 
attribution,  while  Dr.  Storck  makes  ou.t  a  strong  case 
for  Coimbra. 

"  He  was  of  very  noble  family,"  says  Mariz,  "  both 
on  the  side  of  his  mother  and  mother's  father  and 
grandfather,  as  we  have  said,  and  on  the  father's  side 
from  the  Camoes  of  Evora;"^  and  again:  "He  was 
illustrious  in  nobility  of  intellect  and  was  also  of  the 
bluest  blood  of  Portugal.  For  he  was  the  son  of  Simao 
Vaz  de  Camoes,  born  in  this  city  [i.e.,  Coimbra  ?],^  who 
on  a  voyage  to  India  as  captain  of  a  ship  was  wrecked 
on  the  coast  in  sight  of  Goa,  and  escaped  on  a  plank 
and  there  died  [i.e.,  at  Goa],  and  of  Anna  de  Macedo, 
of  Santarem,  of  noble  birth.  And  he  was  the  grand- 
son of  Antao  Vaz  de  Camoes  and  of  his  wife,  Guiomar 
Vaz  de  Gama,  likewise  belonging  to  the  noble  family 
of  the  Gamas  of  Algarve.  And  he  was  the  great-grand- 
son of  Jo2o  Vaz  de  Camoes,  inhabitant  of  Coimbra."^ 

^  ' '  Era  composto  de  sangue  nobilissimo  assi  por  parte  de  sua  May, 
Auoo  &  Vizauoo,  como  agora  dissemos  :  como  tambem  pela  parte 
patronimica  dos  Camoes  de  Euora, " 

2  Since  the  book  in  which  Mariz'  life  is  printe^d  was  published  at 
Lisbon,  it  is  perhaps  more  likely  that  "  esta  cidade  "  refers  to  Lisbon. 

3  "  Ese  o  nosso  Camoes  foy  tao  illustre  em  nobreza  de  entendi- 
mento  :  tambem  foy  acompanhado  do  melhor  sangue  que  Portugal  pro- 
duzio.  Porq  foy  filho  de  Simao  Vaz  de  Camoes,  natural  desta  cidade, 
o  qual  indo  para  a  India  por  Capitao  de  hua  nao  a  vista  de  Goa  deu 
a  costa  &  se  saluou  em  hua  taboa   &  laa  morreo.      E  de  Anna  de 


CAMOES  119 

Manoel  Correa  also  speaks  of  his  noble  birth.^  One  of 
his  ancestors,  Vasco  Pires  (or  Peres)  de  Camoes,  who 
came  to  Portugal  from  Galicia  in  1470,  figures  as  a 
poet  in  the  Cancionero  de  Baena  {circa  1445),  and  is 
mentioned  by  the  Marques  de  Santillana  in  his  letter 
to  the  Constable  of  Portugal  and  by  Manoel  de  Aze- 
vedo  in  a  poem  addressed  to  his  brother-in-law,  Sa  de 
Miranda.  In  the  magnificent  cangdo^  Vinde  ca  (attri- 
buted to  the  year  1554),  Camoes  refers  to  his  birth  and 
first  3^ears  : 

"  Quando  vim  da  materna  sepultura 

De  novo  ao  mundo,  logo  me  fizeram 

Estrellas  infelices  obrigado."  ^ 

Dr.  Storck  holds  that  the  only  possible  meaning  of 
the  words,  "  materna  sepultura  "  is  that  Camoes* 
mother  died  at  his  birth  ;  but  it  is  at  least  equally 
probable  that  they  are  a  mere  figure  of  speech  ^  of  no 
more  literal  import  than  "  as  hour  as  sepultadas  "  of  the 
ode  A  quern  dardo.  An  official  document  shows  that "  Ana 
de  Sa,  mother  of  Luis  de  Camois,"  was  alive,  "very 
old  and  poor,"  in  1582  (and  in  1585)  ;  but  according 
to  Mariz  the  name  of  Camoes'  mother  was  Anna  de 
Macedo.  Was  her  name  Anna  de  Sa  de  Macedo  or  Anna 
de  Macedo  de  Sa,  and  was  she — of  the  noble  family  of 

Macedo,  molher  nobre  de  Santarem.  E  foy  neto  de  Antao  Vaz  de 
Camoes  &  de  sua  molher  Guiomar  Vaz  de  Gama,  tambem  dos  nobres 
Gamas  do  Algarue.  E  bisneto  de  Joao  Vaz  de  Camoes,  morador  em 
Coimbra." 

^  "  de  pais  nobres  e  conhecidos." 
2  Cf.  his  Voltas : 

"  Naciendo  mesquino 
Dolor  fue  mi  cama,"  etc. 
3  Senhor  Braga  goes  so  far  as  to  make  the  figure  of  speech  refer  to 
Camoes'  country  ;  but  it  was,  in  any  case,  too  early  in  1524  or  1525  to 
call  Portugal  a  sepultura. 


I20  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

Santarem — living  in  extreme  old  age  and  in  extreme 
poverty  after  the  poet's  death  ?  or,  as  Dr.  Storck  is  con- 
vinced, was  Anna  de  Macedo  his  mother,  who  died  at 
his  birth,  and  Anna  de  Sa  his  stepmother,  who  allowed 
herself  to  figure  in  official  documents  as  his  mother 
either  from  being  habitually  so  called  or  in  order  to 
obtain  the  pension  ?  It  is  impossible  to  decide  with 
certainty  ;  Senhor  Braga  accepts  Anna  de  Sa  as 
CamDes'  mother,  and  it  is  indeed  not  a  little  daring 
to  create  a  stepmother  out  of  a  vague  phrase  {materna 
sepultiira)  and  a  diversity  of  names  which  may  con- 
ceivably have  belonged  to  the  same  person,  in  face  of 
the  decrees  of  1582  and  1585,  in  which  Anna  de  Sa  is 
called  the  mother  of  Luis  de  Camoes. 

Camoes  in  all  probability  studied  at  the  University 
of  Coimbra,  although  here  again  we  have  no  definite 
knowledge.  The  wide  acquaintance  with  the  classics 
shown  in  his  work — *'  a  most  masterly  accuracy  in 
every  branch  of  ancient  literature  " -"^ — as  well  as  the 
fact  that  his  uncle,  Bento  de  Camoes  (1500-1547), 
was  Chancellor  of  the  University  from  1539  to  1542,^ 
renders  it  probable.  It  would  seem  that  he  spent  at 
Coimbra,  in  the  lovely  valley  of  the  Mondego,  the 
happiest  years  of  his  life.     One  of  his  cangoes  begins : 

"  Vao  as  Serenas  aguas 
Do  Mondego  descendo 
E  mansamente  at^  o  mar  nao  param." 

(The  serene  waters  of  the  Mondego  flow  down  gently 
without  stopping  till  they  reach  the  sea.) 

1  W.J.  Mickle. 

2  The   University  had   been  transferred  from  Lisbon   to  Coimbra 
in  1537. 


CAMOES  121 

And  later  in  the  same  cangdo  he  says : 

*'  N'esta  florida  terra, 
Leda,  fresca  e  serena, 
Ledo  e  contente  para  mi  vivia." 

(In  this  flowered  land,  joyful,  fresh  and  serene, 
joyful  and  content  unto  myself  I  lived.) 

Camoes  came  ^  to  Lisbon  in  the  early  forties — prob- 
ably in  1543.^  Lisbon,  and  especially  the  Court,  had 
changed  since  the  time  when  King  Manoel  was  wont 
to  be  rowed  to  the  sound  of  music  in  a  boat  gay  with 
silken  banners  on  the  Tagus,  and  to  entertain  the 
Portuguese  nobility  and  many  foreigners  at  brilliant 
seroes  in  his  Lisbon  or  Cintra  palaces,  and,  in  emula- 
tion of  Haroun-al-Raschid,  sent  an  elephant  and  other 
gifts  of  Oriental  splendour  to  the  Pope.  But  it  re- 
mained the  metropolis  of  a  vast  new  empire.  Each 
year  came  and  went  the  fleet  to  the  Indies — went 
with  adventurers  and  soldiers  of  the  King,^  draining 
the  country  of  its  best  men,^  returned  laden  with 
spices  and  gold  and  precious  stones  from  the  East.^ 
No  doubt  the  newly  discovered  lands  still,  as  at  the 
end  of  the  preceding  century,  drew  to  Lisbon  many 
foreigners  of  learned  and  inquiring  mind,®  while  from 

1  Or  returned. 

2  According  to  Juromenha  and  Braga,  in  1542  ;  according  to  others, 
in  1544. 

3  During  the  twenty-six  years  of  King  Manoel's  reign  thirty-three 
fleets  set  sail  from  Lisbon  for  India. 

^  Cf.  Lusiads,  iv.  95-104. 
5  Ltis.,  ii.  4  : 

"  Canella,  cravo,  ardente  especiaria  .  .  . 
O  rubi  fine,  o  rigido  diamante." 
^  Muytos  homes  letrados  &  curiosos.     (Chronica  do  pyincipe  Dom  loam, 
Rei  que  foi  destes  reynos,  segundo  do  nome,  em  que  svmmariamente 


122  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

the  provinces  came  a  steady  flow  of  men  desirous  of 
making  fortune.  The  Hfe  of  the  city  (Lisboa  ingente^ 
was  in  constant  change,  and  yearly  it  received  men 
scarred  and  ruined  after  years  of  service  beyond  the 
seas,  and  others  returning  with  riches  unscrupulously 
amassed  during  their  Eastern  command  (though  Joao 
de  Castro  was  still  to  show  that  there  were  officials 
whose  thoughts  were  above  gold)  or  won  in  a  few  years 
of  successful  trading.  The  wealth  from  the  Indies  had 
created  a  brand-new  "  aristocracy."  "  Kings  now  go 
where  money  guides  ^ — money,  the  subtle  casuist, 
maker  and  unmaker  of  laws,"^  says  Camoes,  echoing 
the  complaint  of  Falcao  de  Resende  at  the  end  of 
the  fifteenth  century : 

"  Agora  engenho  tern  quem  tem  mais  ouro." 

(But  he  now  genius  has  who  has  most  gold.) 

The  gilt  youth  of  the  capital  sauntered  idly  in  the 
Rocio,^  careful  to  maintain  an  affected  sadness  and 
gentility  in  their  conversation,  and  setting   Garcilaso 

se  trattam  has  cousas  sustan9iaes  que  nelles  aconte9erao.     Composta 
de  nouo  per  Damiam  de  Goes.     Lisboa,  1547.) 
^  Liis.,  viii.  5. 

2  "  La  vao  reis  onde  querem — cruzados." 
^  Lus.,  viii.  99 : 

"  Este  interpreta  mais  que  subtilmente 
Os  textos  ;  este  faz  e  desfaz  leis. " 

*  Mello  later  (in  1641),  in  a  letter  to  a  friend,  says  that  he  wastes 
his  "  days  watching  those  who  come  and  those  who  go,  as  a  mean  man 
peers  at  a  bull-fight  through  the  cracks  of  the  hoarding,  and  I  see  the 
courtiers  passing  and  walking  up  and  down  this  square  [the  Rocio]  " — 
"Todo  o  santo  dia  se  me  vay  notando  os  que  vem  e  os  que  vao,  como 
homem  mesquinho  que  espreita  os  touros  pela  greta  do  palanque. 
De  aqui  vejo  os  Cortesaos  que  passao  e  que  passeao  essa  pra9a." 


CAMOES  123 

above  Boscao  without  reading  either,^  while  those  who 
had  fallen  upon  evil  days  would  brawl  in  taverns  or 
fill  the  streets  with  riot.  To  all,  fortunate  or  miserable, 
absence  from  the  city  was  banishment — an  aspero  de- 
gredo.  At  the  Court  hopes  of  a  new  Manueline  age, 
and  especially  of  an  era  of  literary  patronage,  centred 
in  the  promise  of  the  young  Prince  Joao,  whose  death 
in  1554  was  so  serious  a  blov/  to  Portugal.  Camoes 
was  possibly  received  at  Court ;  certainly  he  found  a 
welcome  in  many  houses  of  the  nobility.  Dr.  Storck 
thinks  that  he  himself  lived  in  one  of  these  houses  as 
tutor  to  the  son  of  Francisco  de  Noronha,  Conde  de 
Linhares,  the  Antonio  de  Noronha  to  whom  Camoes 
addressed  some  of  his  most  splendid  poems,  and  whose 
early  death  in  Africa  (in  1553)  he  mourned  in  the 
eclogue  Que  grande  variedade,  of  which  he  wrote  at  the 
time,  *'  Me  parece  melhor  que  quantas  fiz."  ^ 

Camoes  at  this  time — "  qiiertdo  &  estimado  &  cheo  de 
muytos  fauores  " — wrote  a  large  number  of  his  lyrics, 
six  eclogues,  and  his  three  comedies^  (Auto  de  Filodeino, 
Auto  dos  Amphitrides,  SindAtcto  d'El-Rei  Seletico,  the  last 
probably  in  1549).  During  these  years — probably  in 
the  spring  of  1544 — he  fell  in  love  with  a  lady-in- 
waiting  of  the  Queen,^  Caterina  de  Athaide,  daughter 
of  Dom  Antonio  de  Lima,  the  Natcrcia  of  one  of  his 
eclogues  (De  quanto  alento  e  gosto)  and  several  sonnets.^ 
His  love  w^as  apparently  returned,  but  difficulties  arose, 

1  Camoes,  Auto  de  Filodemo,  Act  II.,  Scene  2. 

2  "  I  think  it  is  the  best  of  those  I  have  written."  It,  in  fact,  ranks 
with  the  three  eclogues  of  Garcilaso  de  la  Vega. 

3  Evidently  written  under  the  influence  of  the  Spanish  CeUstina. 
*  "  hus  amores  no  pa90  da  rainha,"  says  Mariz. 

5  She  was  born  circa  1530,  and  "  morreu  no  pa?o  mo(;a  "  (in  1556). 


124  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

and  for  reasons  variously  given  by  his  biographers, 
Camoes  was  banished  from  Lisbon,  probably  in  the 
beginning  of  the  year  1549.  The  subject  of  the  Auto 
d'El-Rei  SeleucOy  with  its  reflections  on  the  conduct 
of  the  late  King  Manoel,  may  have  contributed  to  his 
disgrace.  He  recognizes  that  he  was  in  part  to  blame, 
in  the  sonnet  beginning : 

"  Erros  meus,  ma  fortuna,  amor  ardente 
Em  minha  perdi9ao  se  conjuraram."  ^ 

After  spending  six  months  in  the  Ribatejo,  probably 
at  Santarem,  he  went  to  serve  in  North  Africa.  It  was 
customary  for  young  men  of  noble  family  to  serve  in 
Africa,  either  as  a  preliminary  to  receiving  some 
royal  benefice  {commenda)^  or  as  commutation  for  some 
penalty  incurred.  The  service  was  a  harassing  one, 
owing  to  the  desultory  attacks  of  the  Moors  and  owing 
to  the  fact  that  the  supplies  for  the  Portuguese  troops 
arrived  irregularly  or  not  at  all.^  It  was  during  this 
period  that  Camoes  lost  his  right  eye,  probably  in  a 
skirmish.  In  a  letter  written  (in  prose  and  verse)  from 
Africa^  he  shows  himself  full  of  sadness  at  his  exile, 
and  trying  in  vain  to  cast  off  his  gloom,  "  so  as  not  to 
appear  as  an  owl  among  sparrows — por  ndo  parecer 
coruja  eittre  par  dues. ''  The  poems  written  at  this  time 
include  the  outavas  addressed  to  Antonio  de  Noronha — 

1  Cf.  the  sonnet : 

"  Em  prisoes  baixas  fui  urn  tempo  atado, 
Vergonhoso  castigo  de  meus  erros." 

2  Two  letters  in  verse  by  Manoel  Pereira  de  Ocem,  formerly  ascribed 
to  Camoes,  and  still  printed  among  his  works,  describe  the  African 
service  as  one  of  hardship  and  hunger. 

^  Esta  vae  com  a  candeia  na  mdo. 


CAMOES  125 

*'  sobre  0  desconcerto  do  mundo  " — of  which  Dr.  Storck 
speaks  as  "  magnificent  stanzas,  unrivalled  in  Portu- 
guese lyrical  poetry,  unless  parallels  may  be  found  in 
Camoes'  own  poems."  Returning  to  Lisbon  in  the 
autumn  of  155 1,  he  spent  the  next  months  there,  no 
longer  "  cheo  de  fauores,''  but  apparently  in  a  kind  of 
open  rebellion  against  society,  with  poor  and  boisterous 
companions. 

On  the  day  of  Corpus  Christi,  June  16,  1552,  when 
all  the  business  of  the  city  was  suspended  in  order  to 
celebrate  the  solemn  procession,  Gongalo  Borges,  a 
Court  official,  crossing  the  Rocio  on  horseback,  was 
treated  with  scant  respect  by  two  masked  men. 
Camoes,  recognizing  the  two  men  as  his  friends,  in 
the  quarrel  that  ensued  drew  his  sword  and  wounded 
the  Court  official.  For  this  he  was  arrested  and 
thrown  into  prison,  where  he  lay  for  close  upon  nine 
months.  His  troubles  had  now  begun  in  earnest. 
Imprisonment  at  that  time — "  no  tronquo  desta  cidade  " 
— must  have  been  in  itself  a  terrible  ordeal,  and  he 
only  left  it  for  exile.  Gon9alo  Borges  having  recovered 
from  his  wound  and  agreeing  not  to  prosecute,  Camoes 
sent  a  petition  ^  to  the  King,  and  received  a  letter  of 
pardon,  dated  March  7,  1553.  The  letter  speaks  of 
him  as  being  ''  young  and  poor,"  and  says  that  ''  he  is 
going  to  serve  me  this  year  in  India."  ^    If  Dr.  Storck's 

1  "  Fa^o  uos  saber,"  says  the  letter,  "que  Luis  Vaaz  de  Camoes, 
filho  de  Symao  Vaz,  Cavalro  fidalguo  de  minha  casa,  morador  em 
esta  cidade  de  lixboa  me  enviou  dizer  per  sua  piti9am.  ..."  Does 
Cavalleiro  fidalguo,  etc.,  apply  to  Luis  or  to  his  father  Symao,  still 
alive  ?  Dr.  Storck  is  of  opinion  that  it  must  apply  to  the  son,  now 
an  orphan,  and  other  similar  entries  support  this  view. 

2  ' '  EUe  sopricante  he  hum  mancebo  e  pobre  e  me  vay  este  anno 
seruir  a  India." 


126  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

chronology  is  adopted,  Camoes  could  not  have  designed 
to  go  to  India  earlier,  in  1550,  being  then  in  Africa. 
If  he  went  to  Africa  and  returned  at  an  earlier  date, 
he  may  well  have  resolved  to  prove  his  fortune  across 
the  seas,  and  have  been  temporarily  moved  from  his 
purpose  by  the  hope  of  obtaining  the  patronage  of 
Prince  Joao,  who  was  greatly  given  to  encouraging  men 
of  letters.  Mariz  says  that  he  embarked  owing  to  his 
poverty  after  the  death  of  his  father,^  although  he  also 
notices  the  report  of  his  banishment.  The  disappoint- 
ment shown  in  his  first  letter  from  India  perhaps 
proves  that  he  had  not  been  without  expectations,^ 
although  at  the  moment  of  leaving  Lisbon  he  had 
death  in  his  heart.  Little  over  a  fortnight  elapsed 
between  his  release  from  prison  and  his  sailing  with 
the  fleet  for  India  in  the  ship  Sdo  Bento  (March  26, 
1553)-  According  to  Faria  e  Sousa,  he  took  the  place 
of  a  common  soldier,  receiving,  the  ordinary  wage.^ 
He  left  Portugal  "  as  one  leaving  this  world  for  the 
next,"  and  bade  good-bye  to  all  his  hopes.  His  last 
words  to  his  country  were  those  of  Scipio  Africanus : 
"  Ingrata  patria,  non  possidebis  mea  ossa."^     Though 

1  "  E  como  o  nosso  Poeta  ficou  sem  pay  &  tao  pobre  .  .  .  vendose 
neste  desamparo  se  embarcou  para  a  India." 

2  He  says  that  his  "  news  will  be  good  for  certain  adventurers  who 
think  that  there  is  nothing  but  marjoram  in  the  wilderness — cuidam 
que  todo  0  matto  6  ouregaos."  To  Camoes,  too,  the  world  had  seemed 
gracioso  e  galante  and  life  many-coloured,  like  a  ma?ita  of  Alemtejo 
{Auto  de  Filodemo). 

3  The  quotation  on  which  this  rests  is  from  the  phantom  register, 
under  the  year  1553:  "Fernando  Casado,  hijo  de  Manuel  Casado  y 
de  Blanca  Queymada,  moradores  en  Lisboa,  Escudero.  Fue  en  su 
lugar  Luis  de  Camoens,  hijo  de  Simon  Vaz  y  Ana  de  Sa,  Escudero, 
y  recibio  2,400  reis  como  los  demas," 

*  Letter  from  India  :  Deseiei  tanto  uma  vossa. 


CAMOES  127 

his  faults,  he  says,  did  not  deserve  three  days  of  Pur- 
gatory, he  had  spent  three  thousand  days  ^  of  "  evil 
tongues,  worse  designs,  and  malicious  intentions,  born 
of  pure  envy."^  He  was  now  to  be  absent  from  his 
country  for  more  than  twice  three  thousand  days : 

"  Ja  a  vista  pouco  a  pouco  se  desterra 
Daquelles  patrios  montes  que  ficavam ; 
Ficava  o  caro  Tejo  e  a  fresca  serra 
De  Sintra  e  nella  os  olhos  se  alongavam ; 
Ficava-nos  tambem  na  amada  terra 
O  cora^ao,  que  as  magoas  la  deixavam  ; 
E  ja  despois  que  toda  se  escondeo 
Nao  vimos  mais  em  fim  que  mar  e  ceo." 

{Uis.,  V.  3.) 

(Gradually  now  our  country's  hills  from  sight 
Are  banished,  that  alone  remained  to  view, 
Tagus'  beloved  stream  and  the  cool  height 
Of  Cintra  that  still  thither  our  eyes  drew^ ; 
Nor  from  the  land  so  dear  our  hearts  take  flight 
Which  we  must  leave  in  quest  of  sufferings  new ; 
Till  now  at  last  all  fades,  and  to  our  eyes 
Nothing  appears  but  only  sea  and  skies.) 

In  the  elegy  O  poeta  Simonides  fallando  he  gives  an 
account  of  the  journey  and  of  the  arrival  in  India  after 
a  severe  storm  in  rounding  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 
He  w^as  impassive,  unmoved  by  any  external  events  in 
calm  or  storm,  gazing  down  at  the  water  and  remem- 
bering his  past  happiness  : 

"  Eu,  trazendo  lembrancas  por  antolhos, 
Trazia  os  olhos  n'agua  socegada, 
E  a  agua  sem  socego  nos  meus  olhos. 

1  But  these  three  thousand  days  cannot  be  taken  literally  to  imply 
that  he  had  spent  exactly  eight  years  and  eighty  days  at  Lisbon. 

2  Letter  from  India :  Desejei  tanto  uma  vossa. 


128  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

**  A  bem  aventuran9a  ja  passada 
Diante  de  mi  tenha  tao  presente 
Como  se  nao  mudasse  o  tempo  nada. 

"  E  com  o  gesto  immoto  e  descontente, 
Co'  um  suspiro  profundo  e  mal  ouvido, 
Por  nao  mostrar  meu  mal  a  toda  a  gente  .  .  ." 

f  Nearly  fifty-six  years  before  Camoes,  Vasco  da  Gama 
/  had  set  sail  on  this  same  voyage  with  the  three  ships 
I  iS.  Gabriel,  S.  Raphael,  and  5.  Miguel,  and  170  men  (July  8, 
\  1497).  He  had  arrived  off  the  coast  of  Natal  on 
January  10,  1498  ;  at  the  mouth  of  the  Zambeze  on 
January  13 ;  at  Mozambique  in  March.  Hence  he 
reached  Momba9a  on  April  7 ;  Melinde  on  Easter 
Sunday,  April  15;  and  Calecut  on  May  20.  In  the 
autumn  of  the  same  year  he  started  on  the  return 
voyage,  and  finally  reached  Belem  in  the  late  summer 
of  1499,  with  but  fifty-five  out  of  his  170  companions. 
Senhor  Braga  considered  that  the  resolve  to  celebrate 
Vasco  da  Gama's  voyage  was  formed  in  Camoes'  mind 
during  his  imprisonment  at  Lisbon  after  reading  the 
Decadas  of  Joao  de  Barros,  but  it  is  more  likely  that 
the  plan  evolved  itself  on  the  voyage  as  he  came  per- 
sonally to  know  the  places  visited  by  Gama.  The  Sao 
Bento  reached  Goa,  since  1510  the  capital  of  Portuguese 
India,  in  September. 

**  Dest"*  arte  me  chegou  minha  ventura 
A  esta  desejada  e  longa  terra, 
De  todo  pobre  honrado  sepultura."  ^ 

It  was,  perhaps,  in  bitter  irony  that  he  wrote  from 
India :  "  I  am  here  held  in  more  honour  than  bulls  of 

^  Elegy  0  poeta  Simonides. 


CAMOES  129 

Merceana,  and  live  in  greater  quiet  than  in  the  cell  of 
a  preaching  friar "  ;  for  in  his  next  sentence  he  says 
that  the  land  is  ''  the  mother  of  villdes  ruins  and  step- 
mother of  honest  men."  1  Scarcely  had  he  disembarked 
when  it  became  necessary  for  him  to  serve  in  a  military 
expedition  against  the  King  of  Chembe.^ 

Camoes  lived  in  the  Portuguese  colonies  under  eight 
Governors,  six  of  whom  were  Viceroys.  In  the  winter 
of  1555  his  play  Filodemo  was  acted  in  honour  of  the 
new  Governor,  Francisco  Barreto.  If  we  may  believe 
Faria  e  Sousa,  he  also  wrote  satires  against  the  princi- 
pal Portuguese  in  Goa,  for  which  Barreto  was  obliged 
to  banish  him  to  China.  It  is  more  probable  that  his 
departure  from  Goa  was  rather  a  reward  than  a  punish- 
ment, whether  the  Governor  had,  as  Senhor  Braga 
holds,  granted  him  a  right  of  trading  to  the  Molucca 
Islands,  or,  as  Dr.  Storck  maintains,  had  given  him  the 
post  of  Provedor-jHor  dos  defuntos  e  aiisentes  (Chief 
Trustee  for  the  dead  and  absent)  at  Macao.^ 

Possibly  during  the  voyage  from  Goa  to  Malacca — 
occupying  between  forty  and  fifty  days — Camoes  may 
have  composed  his  celebrated  redondilhas,  Babel  e  Sido, 
Babel,  Babylonia  infernal,  is  Goa,  while  Sido  stands  for 


^  Letter,  Desejei  tanto  uma  vossa. 
^  Elegy,  0  poeta  Simonides : 

"  Foi  logo  necessano  termos  guerra,"  k.t.X. 

3  Senhor  Braga  rejects  this,  and  quotes  Francisco  Alexandre  Lobo : 
The  post  was  "  incompatible  with  Cam5es' nobility,  and  much  more  so 
with  his  martial  inclinations."  As  to  his  martial  inclinations,  Dr. 
Storck  is  a  little  sceptical,  and  he  certainly  describes  with  more 
pleasure  battles  long  ago,  such  as  Aljubarrota,  than  any  fighting  in 
which  he  took  part,  although  no  one  has  doubted  his  courage  and 
endurance. 

9 


I30  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

Lisbon.^  They  consist  of  seventy-three  verses  of  five 
lines — a  Hne  for  each  day  in  the  year ;  and  it  would 
seem,  indeed,  that  daily  during  these  years  of  exile 
Camoes  sighed  for  his  native  land.  The  verses  {quin- 
tilhas)  sound  like  sobs  of  grief : 

"  Sobolos  rios  que  vao 
Por  Babylonia  me  achei, 
Onde  sentado  chorei 
As  lembrangas  de  Siao, 
E  quanto  nella  passei. 


A  minha  lingua  se  apegue 
As  fauces,  pois  te  perdi, 
Se,  emquanto  viver  assi, 
Houver  tempo  em  que  te  negue 
Ou  que  me  esque^a  de  ti  !" 

Leaving  Goa  in  April,  1556,  he  arrived  in  about  the 
middle  of  May  at  Malacca,  in  the  beginning  of  the 
sixteenth  century  a  town  of  nearly  200,000  inhabitants.^ 
Thence  he  sailed  to  the  Molucca  Islands,  and  was, 
apparently,  dangerously  wounded  in  a  fight  at  sea.^  In 
1558  he  embarked  to  return  to  Malacca,  and  thence  to 
Macao.  The  months  spent  at  Macao  would  give  him 
leisure  to  bring  almost  to  their  conclusion  the  cantos 
of  the  Lusiadsj  some  six  of  which  were  probably  com- 
pleted when  he  left  India.     But  his  peace  was  of  no 

1  Cf.  his  sonnet,  Cd  ncsta  Babylonia. 

2  Cf.  Lus. ,  X.  44  : 

"  Opulenta  Malacca  nomeada. " 

3  Cf.  the  Catifao,  Com  forqa  desusada,  written  in  the  Island  of  Banda 
(Storck),  or  Ternate  (Braga). 


CAMOES  131 

long  duration.  Whether  he  was  enviously  accused  of 
some  irregularities  in  his  post  of  Provedor  at  Macao,^ 
or,  owing  to  some  dispute  as  to  rights  of  trading,  he 
was  arrested  on  the  authority  of  the  Captain  of  the 
"  Silver  and  Silk  Ship,"  which  sailed  annually  from 
Goa  for  China  and  Japan  (a  three  years'  voyage),  and 
obliged  to  embark  for  Goa,  probably  in  the  spring  of 
1560.  He  was,  however,  shipwrecked  off  Cambodia,  at 
the  mouth  of  the  river  Mekong,^  and  escaped,  like 
Caesar,  with  his  manuscript,  and  that  alone,  whatever 
w^ealth  he  may  have  won  ^  going  down  with  the  ship. 
He  now  had  to  wait  to  be  taken  to  Malacca  in  the  first 
passing  merchant  ship,  and  finally  reached  Goa  in  the 
autumn  of  1560.  Shortly  after  his  arrival  the  Viceroy, 
now  Dom  Constantino  de  Bragan9a,  was  replaced  by 
Dom  Francisco  de  Coutinho,  Conde  de  Redondo,  who 
had  known  Camoes  at  Lisbon.  If  there  was  any 
definite  charge  against  Camoes,  he  was  acquitted  and 

^  Some  incorrectness,  such  as  that  of  Cervantes  in  selling  corn 
without  official  authorization  in  Andalucia.  It  is  almost  impossible 
to  believe  that  Camoes,  any  more  than  Cervantes,  with  whose  life  his 
life  has  so  many  curious  coincidences,  was  guilty  of  dishonesty. 

2  Cf.  Ltis.,  X.  128: 

"  Este  [Mecom  rio]  recebera  placido  e  brando 
No  seu  rega90  o  Canto,  que  molhado 
Vem  do  naufragio  triste  e  miserando, 
Dos  procellosos  baixos  escapado, 
Das  fomes,  dos  perigos  grandes,  quando 
Sera  o  injusto  mando  executado 
Naquelle  cuja  lyra  sonorosa 
Sera  mais  afamada  que  ditosa. ' ' 

When  in  error,  Camoes  confessed  his  erros.  Here  he  protests  against 
his  unjust  arrest  (0  injusto  mando). 

3  Mariz  speaks  of  "a  enchente  dos  bens  que  laa  [i.e,,  in  China] 
grangeou." 


132  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

released,  but  he  was  subsequently  arrested  for  debt,  and 
from  the  ''infernal  cadeia,''  as  he — no  doubt  very  properly 
— calls  the  prison,  he  wrote  a  poem  to  the  Viceroy,  then 
about  to  embark  on  an  expedition,  begging  that  before 
he  went  on  board  his  ship,  he,  the  poet,  might  be  freed 
from  the  hardship  of  prison  : 

"  Que  antes  que  seja  embarcado 
Eu  desembargado  seja." 

In  1563  appeared  the  first  printed  poem  of  Camoes, 
an  ode  addressed  to  his  friend,  the  Conde  de  Redondo, 
Viceroy  of  India,  in  praise  of  Garcia  da  Orta,  printed  in 
the  latter's  Colloguios  dos  simples  e  dro^as  e  cousas  niedi^ina is 
da  India  (1563).  The  j^ears  in  CamSes'  life  from  the 
death  of  the  Conde  de  Redondo  (February,  1564)  to 
the  poefs  arrival  in  Mozambique  in  the  autumn  of 
1567  remain  a  blank.  The  reason  for  his  acceptance 
of  the  offer  to  accompany  Pedro  Barreto,  who  was 
going  in  1567  as  Governor  to  Mozambique,  was  ap- 
parently that,  being  now  in  extreme  poverty,  and 
desirous  of  returning  to  Portugal,  he  would  thus 
accomplish  part  of  the  expensive  journey.  It  is  not 
known  whether  he  was  appointed  to  be  an  adminis- 
trator at  Chaul — when  the  post  should  become  vacant  ^ 
— by  a  Viceroy  before  leaving  India,  or,  as  Dr.  Storck, 
following  Camillo  Castello  Branco,  considers,  directly 
by  King  Sebastian,  after  Camoes'  return  to  Portugal 
and  the  publication  of  the  Lusiads. 

1  Such  was  the  demand  for  office  that  a  post  would  sometimes  be 
filled  four  or  five  times  over — i.e.,  the  successor  of  the  successor  of 
the  successor  of  an  official  would  be  already  appointed.  In  this 
instance  Camoes  never  occupied  the  post  for  which  he  had  been 
nominated. 


CAMOES  133 

In  the  unhealthy  island  of  Mozambique  Camoes 
spent  about  two  years.  Several  friends,  sailing  with 
the  homeward-bound  fleet  from  Goa,  found  him  there 
in  the  winter  of  1569.  "  In  Mozambique,"  says  Diogo 
de  Couto  [born  at  Lisbon  1542,  died  at  Goa  1616], 
we  found  that  prince  of  the  poets  of  his  time,  my  ship- 
mate and  friend  Luis  de  Camoes,  so  poor  that  he  was 
obliged  to  live  on  his  friends.  And  that  he  might  be 
able  to  embark  for  Portugal,  we  his  friends  furnished 
him  with  all  the  clothes  he  needed,  and  one  of  us 
would  supply  him  with  food.  And  that  winter  in 
Mozambique  he  set  the  finishing  touches  to  his  Lusiads 
with  a  view  to  printing  them,  and  was  writing  much 
in  a  book  which  he  was  making,  and  which  he  entitled 
The  Parnassus  of  Luis  de  Camoes ^  a  book  of  much 
science,  learning,  and  philosophy,  which  was  stolen 
from  him.  And  I  was  never  able  to  hear  of  it  in 
Portugal,  in  spite  of  my  many  inquiries.  And  it  was 
a  notable  theft.  And  this  excellent  poet  died  in 
Portugal  in  sheer  destitution."  ^ 

At  length,  on  April  7,  1570,  the  Santa  Clara,  with 
Camoes  on  board,  arrived  at  Cascaes,  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Tagus.     He  reached  the  Peninsula  in  the  very 

1  Decada  Oytava  da  Asia  (published  after  the  author's  death,  in  1673), 
cap.  26:  "  Em  Mo9ambique  achamos  aquelle  Principe  dos  Poetas  de 
seu  tempo,  meu  matalote  e  amigo  Luiz  de  Camoens.  tao  pobre  que 
comia  de  amigos,  e  pera  se  erabarcar  pera  o  Reino  Ihe  ajuntamcs  os 
amigos  toda  a  roupa  que  houve  mister  e  nao  faltou  quern  Ihe  desse  de 
comer,  e  aquelle  inverno  que  esteve  em  Mo9ambique,  acabou  de 
aperfei9oar  as  suas  Luziadas  pera  as  imprimir  e  foy  escrevendo 
muito  em  hum  livro  que  hia  fazendo,  que  intitulava  Parnaso  de  Luiz 
de  Camoens,  livro  de  muita  erudifao,  doutrina,  e  Filosofia,  o  qua!  Ihe 
furtarao,  e  nunca  pode  saber  no  Reino  delle,  por  muito  que  o  inqueri, 
e  foy  furto  notavel,  e  em  Portugal  morreo  este  excellente  Poeta  em 
pura  pobreza." 


134  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

year  in  which  his  greater  contemporary,  Cervantes,  was 
starting  on  his  odyssey  of  similar  perils  and  misad- 
ventures by  land  and  sea.^  For  seventeen  years 
Camoes  had  been  able  to  repeat  daily  the  lines  from 
his  Cangdo,  Vinde  ca  : 

"  Agora,  peregrino,  vago  errante 
Vendo  na9oes,  linguagens  e  costumes, 
Ceos  varios,  qualidades  differentes, 
So  por  seguir  com  passos  diligentes 
A  ti,  Fortuna  injusta,  que  consumes 
As  idades,  levando-lhes  diante 
Uma  esperan^a  em  vista  de  diamante : 
Mas  quando  das  maos,  cae  se  conhece 
Que  e  fragil  vidro  aquillo  que  apparece." 

(An  exile  now  and  wanderer  I  stray, 
Customs  and  languages  and  nations  see, 
And  new  conditions  under  alien  skies ; 
To  follow  thee  is  my  sole  enterprise, 
Fortune  unjust, — since  evermore  through  thee 
The  generations  perish,  and  thy  ray 
Of  hope,  as  diamond  bright,  illumes  their  way. 
Till  now  from  out  their  hands  it  falls,  and  lo, 
Brittle  as  glass  is  all  its  empty  show.) 

"  Das  ist  die  Welt, 
Sie  steigt  und  fallt, 
Und  rollt  bestandig ; 
Sie  klingt  wie  Glas, 
Wie  bald  bricht  das  ! 
Ist  hohl  inwendig." 

During  these  years  he  had  shown  the  same  spirit 
that  caused  him  to  write  in  a  letter  from  Africa  :  "  He 

^  "  O  longo  mar,  que  amea9ando 
Tantas  vezes  m'  esteve  a  vida  cara." 

(Catifdo,  Vinde  cd.) 


CAMOES  135 

only  has  good  fortune  in  the  world  who  considers  his 
fortune  good."^  His  long  pilgrimage  had  taught  him 
to  value  above  all  things  peace  and  quietness,  and, 
perhaps,  more  than  ever,  the  country  life  so  pleasantly 
described  by  him  earlier  in  the  Outavas  to  Antonio  de 
Noronha : 

"  Mas  se  o  sereno  ceo  me  concedera 
Qualquer  quieto,  humilde  e  doce  estado, 
Onde  com  minhas  Musas  so  vivera, 
Sem  ver-me  em  terra  alheia  degredado  ; 
E  alii  outrem  ninguem  me  conhecera 
Nem  eu  conhecera  outro  mais  honrado 
Senao  a  v6s,  tambem  como  eu  contente : 
Que  bem  sei  que  o  serieis  facilmente ; 

**  E  ao  longe  d'uma  clara  e  pura  fonte, 
Qu'em  borbulhas  nascendo  convidasse 
Ao  doce  passarinho  que  nos  conte 
Quem  da  cara  consorte  o  apartasse  ; 
Despois,  cobrindo  a  neve  o  verde  monte, 
Ao  gasalhado  o  frio  nos  levasse, 
Avivando  o  juizo  ao  doce  estudo, 
Mais  certo  manjar  d'alma,  emfim,  que  tudo." 

(But   would   the   tranquil   heavens   to    me   might 

give 
Some  pleasant,  unmolested,  lowly  state, 
In  which,  no  more  an  exile,  I  might  live. 
And  to  the  Muses  my  life  consecrate ; 
Then  would  I,  from  all  men  a  fugitive, 
With  none  of  high  degree  associate  : 
With  you  alone — to  whom,  I  know,  content 
Would    come    as    lightly  —  should    my    life    be 

spent. 

1  "  No  mundo  nao  tern  boa  sorte  senao  quem  tern  por  boa  a  que 
tern." 


136  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

Then  would  we  lie  by  the  pure  crystal  flow 
Of  spring  that,  welling  forth,  should  still  invite 
Sweet  nightingale  to  tell  us  of  her  woe 
And  parting  from  her  mate  in  love's  despite ; 
Or  seek  the  shelter  of  the  hearth,  when  snow 
The    hills    in    winter    changed    from    green    to 

white, 
And  unto  pleasant  study  turn  our  mind 
In   which    the   spirit    still    its    surest    food    must 

find.) 

His  real  love  of  nature  is  shown  in  passage  after 
passage  of  his  works,  as  in  the  sonnet  which  Bocage 
considered  to  be  worth  half  the  Lusiads  : 

**  A  formosura  d'esta  fresca  serra, 
E  a  sombra  dos  verdes  castanheiros, 
O  manso  caminhar  d'estes  ribeiros, 
Donde  toda  a  tristeza  se  desterra ; 
O  rouco  som  do  mar,  a  estranha  terra, 
O  esconder  do  sol  pelos  outeiros, 
O  recolher  dos  gados  derradeiros. 
Das  nuvens  pelo  ar  a  branda  guerra : 
Em  fim,  tudo  o  que  a  rara  natureza 
Com  tanta  variedade  nos  offrece 
M'esta,  se  nao  te  vejo,  magoando. 
Sem  ti  tudo  me  enoja  e  me  aborrece  ; 
Sem  ti  perpetuamente  estou  passando 
Nas  mores  alegrias  mor  tristeza." 

(These  cool  hills'  beauty  and  the  [pleasant]  shade 

Of  the  green  chestnut-trees,  the  gentle  flow 

Of  these   [fair]  streams  whence  every  [thought  of] 

woe 
Is  banished  [and  all  grief  must  swiftly  fade] ; 
The  sea's  dull  roar,  earth  curious[ly  inlaid 
With  beauty],  o'er  the  hills  the  sunset['s  glow,] 
And  the  last  herds  that  [slowly]  homeward  go, 
The  quiet  war  by  clouds  in  heaven  [made] : 


CAMOES  137 

All  that  fair  nature  offers  us  [most  fair] 

In  such  variety,  all  unto  me, 

If  thee  I  may  not  see,  brings  no  relief. 

Without  thee  all  is  sorrow  and  despair ; 

Without  thee  I  must  find  perpetually 

In  that  which  gives  most  pleasure  greatest  grief.)  ^ 

But  Camoes  arrived  in  Portugal  with  no  means  to 
make  a  choice  of  lot  possible.  The  manuscript  of  the 
Lusiads  and  other  poems  was  his  sole  wealth,  and  most 
of  his  friends  were  dead  or  absent.  He  had  seen  many 
of  them  die  in  India,  and  from  Portugal  had  come  news 

^  Whereas  the  old  redondilhas  are  often  closely  packed,  in  translating 
poems  of  the  new  style  into  the  same  metre  additions  (in  this  sonnet 
enclosed  in  brackets)  are  frequently  neccessary.  The  following  is 
Adamson's  version  of  the  sonnet  (the  second  and  eighth  lines  are 
mistranslated)  : 

The  mountain  cool,  the  chestnut's  verdant  shade, 

The  loit'ring  walk  along  the  river  side, 

Where  never  [woe  her  sad  abode  hath  made,] 

[Nor]  sorrow  linger'd  [on  the  silvery  tide] — 

The  sea's  hoarse  sound— the  earth  [with  verdure  gay] — 

[The  gilded  pomp  of]  Phoebus'  parting  rays — 

The  flocks  that  tread  at  eve  their  homeward  way — 

The  soft  mist  yielding  to  the  sunny  blaze — 

Not  all  the  varied  charms  and  beauties  rare 

That  nature  boasts,  when  thou,  [my  sole  delight,] 

Art  absent  from  from  me,  to  my  aching  sight 

Can  comfort  give,  but  as  a  prospect  drear 

And  cold  before  me  stand — [I  onward  go] 

And  as  the  joys  increase,  increase  my  woe. 

{Memoirs  of  the  Life  and  Writings  of  Litis  de  Camoens.  By  John 
Adamson.  2  vols.  London:  Longman,  Hnrst  and  Co.,  1820.  There 
is  a  freer  translation  of  this  sonnet  in  Poems,  from  the  Portuguese  of  Luis 
de  Camoens  :  with  remarks  on  his  life  and  writings.  .  .  .  By  Lord 
Viscount  Strangford.  London  :  J.  Carpenter,  1803  [1804,  1805,  1807, 
1808,  1810,  1824].) 


138  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

of  the  death  of  Antonio  de  Noronha  (1553),  Prince 
Joao  (1554),  Caterina  de  Athaide  (1556),  and  others 
dear  to  him.  He  found  his  country  given  up  to  greed 
and  mean-spirited  gloom  : 

"  O  favor  com  que  mais  se  accende  o  engenho 
Nao  o  da  a  patria,  nao,  que  esta  mettida 
No  gosto  da  cubiga  e  na  rudeza 
D'uma  austera,  apagada  evil  tristeza."^ 

The  coinage  had  been  debased,  and  in  the  preceding 
summer  (1569)  a  plague  of  unusual  violence  had 
ravaged  the  city  of  Lisbon,  five  and  six  and  seven 
hundred  persons  perishing  daily,  and  had  not  even 
now  wholly  subsided,  so  that  the  passengers  of  the 
Santa  Clara  were  not  allowed  to  disembark  immedi- 
ately. A  solemn  procession  was  held  after  the  plague, 
on  April  20,  1570,  probably  a  few  days  after  Camoes 
had  landed.  He  may  have  taken  part  in  it,  and  had 
full  opportunity  to  contrast  the  present  desolation 
with  the  gay  scenes  of  the  Corpus  Christi  procession, 
eighteen  years  before.  His  object  now  was  to  publish 
the  Lusiadsy  and  through  the  influence  of  Dom  Manoel 
de  Portugal,^  the  poet  and  friend  of  Sa  de  Miranda, 
,he  was  able  to  obtain  the  necessary  permission.  The 
royal  privilege  is  dated  September  23,  1571.  It  speaks 
of  the  poem  as  **  a  work  in  octava  rima  called  the 
Lusiadas,  which  contains  ten  complete  Cantos,  in  which 
are  set  forth  poetically  in  verse  the  principal  deeds  of 
the  Portuguese  in  India  since  the  discovery  made  by 

*  Lus.,  X.  145. 

'^  Dr.  Storck  thinks  that  the  ode  A  quern  dardo  was  addressed  by 
Camoes  to  Dom  Manoel  de  Portugal  not  before,  but  immediately  after, 
the  publication  of  the  Lusiads, 


CAMOES  139 

order  of  the  late  King  Manoel,  my  great-grandfather,"  ^ 
and  says  that  "  if  the  said  Luis  de  Camoes  shall  add 
other  Cantos  these  shall  also  be  printed,  with  the  per- 
mission of  the  Holy  Office."  ^  The  censura  allowed  the 
poem  to  pass,  making  no  excision  even  of  the  pagan 
deities — esta  fabula  dos  D eases  na  obra — "  since  it  is  a 
poem  and  fiction,  and  the  author  as  a  poet  only  wishes 
to  adorn  thereby  his  poetic  style  ;"^  provided  that  it 
be  "  recognized  as  a  fable  and  without  detriment  to 
the  truth  of  our  holy  faith,  since  all  the  Gods  of  the 
Gentiles  are  Demons."^  The  censor  adds  that  *' the 
author  shows  in  the  poem  much  skill  and  much 
learning  in  the  human  sciences."  ^  The  Lusiads 
appeared  in  1572.®     A  few  weeks  after  its  publication 

^  "  hua  obra  em  Octaua  rima  chamada  Os  Lusiadas  que  contem  dez 
cantos  perfeitos  na  qual  por  ordem  poetica  em  versos  se  declarao  os 
principaes  feitos  dos  Portugueses  nas  partes  da  India  depois  que  se 
descobrio  a  nauegacao  para  ellas  por  madado  del  Rey  dom  Manoel 
meu  visauo,  que  sancta  gloria  aja." 

2  "e  se  o  dito  Luis  de  Cam5es  tiuer  acrescentados  mais  algus  Cantos 
tambem  se  imprimerao  auendo  pera  isso  licenca  do  sancto  ofifiicio." 

3  "  Como  isto  he  Poesia  &  fingimento  &  o  Autor  como  poeta  nao 
pertenda  mais  que  ornar  o  estilo  Poetico  nao  tiuemos  por  inconue- 
niente.  .  .  ." 

*  "  conhecendoa  por  tal,  &  ficando  salua  a  verdade  de  nossa  sancta 
fe,  que  todos  os  Deoses  dos  Getios  sam  Demonios." 

5  "o  Autor  mostra  nelle  muito  engenho  &  muita  erudicao  das 
sciencias  humanas." 

6  OS 
LVSIADAS 
de  Luis  de  Ca- 
moes. 
Com  privilegio 
real. 
Impresses  em  Lisboa,  com  licenca  da 
sancta  Inquisi9ao  &  do  Ordina- 
rio  :  em  casa  de  Antonio 
Go^aluez  Impressor 
1572. 


I40  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

the  poet  received  from  the  King  a  pension  of  15,000 
reis  a  year  for  three  years.  The  decree  (alvard)  is 
dated  July  28,  1572,  and  runs :  "  I  the  King  .  .  .  having 
regard  to  the  service  which  Luis  de  Camoes,  knight  of 
my  household,  has  rendered  me  in  India  during  many 
years,  and  to  that  which  I  hope  he  will  render  me  in 
the  future,  and  to  the  knowledge  I  have  of  his  gifts 
and  ability  and  to  the  sufficiency  which  he  showed  in 
the  book  written  by  him  concerning  the  things  of 
India,  am  pleased  to  grant  him  a  pension  of  15,000 
reis}  In  1575  (alvard  of  August  2)  and  1578  (alvard 
of  June  2)  the  pension  was  renewed  for  three  more 
years  in  each  case,  and  in  1582  (alvard  of  May  31) 
King  Philip  II.  granted  to  '^  Ana  de  Sd,  Mai  de  Luis  de 

{ff.  186).  It  contains  nothing  but  the  privilegio,  censura,  and  text.  A 
second  edition  (/.  186),  bearing  the  same  date  (1572),  has  numerous 
variants  of  print  and  spelling.  The  edition  in  which  the  pelican  on 
the  title-page  turns  its  head  to  its  left  is  probably  the  editio  princcps. 
That  in  which  the  pelican  turns  its  head  to  its  right  is  in  all  proba- 
bility a  later  edition,  made,  perhaps,  before  [582  (when  the  original 
privilege  of  ten  years  would  expire),  or  even  later,  to  avoid  the  necessity 
of  submitting  the  edition  to  the  Inquisition,  perhaps  when  the  examiner 
of  books  for  the  press  was  some  priest  less  liberal  than  the  Frey  Ber- 
tholameu  Ferreira,  who  signed  the  original  censura.  (He,  however, 
remained  in  this  office  till  1603.)  If  the  object  was  to  pass  off  the 
new  edition  as  the  editio  princeps,  it  was  an  extraordinarily  clumsy 
imitation.  Mariz  writes  in  1613  that  "  the  poem  has  been  held  in 
such  honour  that,  contrary  to  the  propensity  of  the  Portuguese  to 
esteem  foreign  things  more  than  their  own,  over  12,000  copies  of  it 
have  been  printed  in  Portugal." 

^  "  Eu  ElRey  .  .  .  avendo  respeito  ao  serui^o  que  Luis  de  Camoes 
caualleiro  fidalgo  de  minha  casa  me  tem  feyto  nas  partes  da  India 
por  muitos  annos  e  ao  que  espero  que  ao  diante  me  fara  e  a  informa- 
cam  que  tenho  de  seu  engenho  e  habilidade  e  a  suficiencia  [tniiita 
sciencia  would  be  a  better  description]  que  mostrou  no  livro  que  fez 
das  cousas  da  India  ey  por  bem  e  me  praz  de  Ihe  fazer  merce  de  quinze 
mil  reis  de  tenca  em  cada  hum  anno." 


CAMOES  141 

Camoes,'"  "  considering  the  services  which  he  rendered 
in  India  and  in  Portugal,  and  that  she,  Anna  de  Sa,  is 
very  old  and  poor,  and  that  he  left  no  other  heir,"  ^ 
6,000  of  the  15,000  reis,  which  was  later  (alvard  of  Feb- 
ruary 5, 1585)  increased  to  the  full  15,000.  At  the  present 
day  15  milreis  is  worth  about  £3,  but  at  that  time  many 
officials  had  salaries  of  even  less  than  that  sum.^  It  is 
clear,  however,  that  even  had  it  been  regularly  paid,  it 
would  but  enable  him  barely  to  live.  Mariz  agrees 
with  Couto  as  regards  his  extreme  poverty,  and  Severim 
de  Faria  says  that  this  pension  of  15,000  rets  was  so 
small  that,  ''considering  whom  it  was  for,  we  may 
justly  call  it  no  favour  at  all."  ^  Mariz,  perhaps,  even 
exaggerates  this  poverty.  After  Camoes'  arrival  at 
Lisbon,  he  says,  "  he  finished  composing  and  perfect- 
ing the  Cantos  which  he  had  brought  already  wTitten 
from  India,  and  had  saved  with  great  difficulty,  as  he 
says  in  the  stanza  mentioned  above  [Ltis.y  x.  128], 
And  in  the  year  1572  he  printed  them,  and  was  obliged 
to  remain  at  the  Court  ^  in  order  to  receive  the  small 
pension  which  the  King  had  granted  him,  but  always 
in  such  poverty  that,  when  Ruy  Diaz  da  Camara,  a 
well-known  fidalgo,  asked  him  to  make  a  verse  trans- 

1  "  auendo  respeito  aos  services  que  elle  fez  na  India  e  no  reino, 
e  a  ella  Ana  de  Sa  ser  muyto  velha  e  pobre  e  dalle  nao  ficar  outro 
erdeiro." 

2  Among  those  given  by  Dr.  btorck  is  that  of  Caterina  de  Athaide 
as  lady-in-waiting  :  ten  milreis  a  year.  Cf.  the  prices  in  Gil  Vicente's 
Auto  de  Mofina  Mendes  (1534)  and  Auto  da  Barca  do  Pi(rga:orio  (1518). 

3  "  a  merce  que  Ihe  fez  el  Rey  D.  Sebastiao  d'uma  pequena 
tenca  e  tal  que  em  sua  comparacao  justamente  Ihe  podemos  chamar 
nenhuma." 

*  From  this  one  might  gather  that  Camoes  had  wished  to  leave 
Lisbon,  possibly  to  live  at  Coimbra. 


142  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

lation  of  the  Penitential  Psalms,  and  the  poet  for  all 
his  urging  did  not  make  the  translation,  the  nobleman 
went  to  him  and,  complaining,  asked  him  why  he  did 
not  carry  out  his  promise,  made  so  long  ago,  seeing 
that  he  was  so  great  a  poet  and  had  composed  so  cele- 
brated a  poem ;  but  the  poet  answered,  that  when  he 
wrote  those  Cantos  he  was  young  and  in  love,  living 
in  plenty,  loved  and  honoured,  and  loaded  with  many 
gifts  and  favours  from  friends  and  ladies,  which  excited 
his  poetic  ardour,  but  that  now  he  had  not  heart  or 
content  for  anything,  for  here  was  his  Jao  asking  him 
for  a  few  pence  to  buy  coal,  and  he  had  no  money  to  give 
him."  ^  And  Mariz  insists  that  he  found  no  favour  with 
King  Sebastian  {ndo  teiie  gra^a  coin  esse  Rey),  and  lived 
in  such  poverty  that  Jao,  the  slave  he  had  brought  with 
him  from  Africa,  begged  for  his  master  in  the  streets  at 
night ;  a  statement  probably  entirely  unfounded.^  A 
story  of  these  years,  which  has  a  greater  air  of  truth, 
relates  that  Camoes  threatened   to   ask   the  King   to 

1  "  Depois  disto  acabou  de  compor  &  limar  estes  seus  Cantos  q  da 
India  trazia  copostos  :  &  no  sen  naufragio  saluara  com  grande  trabalho 
como  elle  diz  na  octava  acima  referida.  E  logo  no  anno  de  setenta 
&  dous  OS  imprimio  &  ficou  residindo  em  Corte  por  obrigacao  da 
tensinha  que  el  Rey  Ihe  dera.  Mas  tam  pobre  sempre  q  pedindolhe 
Ruy  Diaz  da  Camara,  fidalgo  bem  conhecido,  Ihe  traduzisse  em  verso 
OS  Psalmos  Penitenciaes  :  &  nao  acabando  de  o  fazer,  por  mais  que 
para  isso  o  estimulaua,  se  foy  a  elle  o  fidalgo  &  perguntandolhe  quey- 
xoso  porque  Ihe  nao  acabaua  de  fazer  o  que  Ihe  prometera  hauia  tanto 
tempo,  sendo  tam  grande  Poeta  &  que  tinha  composto  tam  famoso 
Poema  :  elle  Ihe  respondeo  q  quando  fezera  aquelles  Cantos  era 
mancebo,  farto  &  namorado,  querido  &  estimado,  &  cheo  de  muytos 
fauores  &  merces  de  amigos  &  de  damas  com  que  o  calor  Poetico  se 
augmentaua :  E  que  agora  nao  tinha  espiritu  nem  contentamento 
para  nada :  Porque  aly  estaua  o  seu  lao,  que  Ihe  pedia  duas  moedas 
para  caruao  &  elle  as  nao  tinha  para  Ihas  dar." 
2  "  De  noyte  pedia  esmola  para  o  ajudar  a  sustentar." 


CAMOES  143 

change  the  reis  into  lashes  for  the  officials  whose  duty 
it  was  to  pay  the  pension.-^ 

When  King  Sebastian  set  out  on  the  ill-fated  African 
expedition  on  June  25,  1578,  the  poet  Diogo  Bernardes, 
not  Camoes,  accompanied  him.  When  the  news  came 
of  the  disastrous  battle  of  Alcacer-Kebir,  in  which  the 
King  and  over  a  hundred  of  the  principal  Portuguese 
nobility  perished  (August  4, 1578),  Camoes  was  probably 
already  ill,  and  the  plague  was  again  raging  at  Lisbon, 
some  80,000  persons  dying  in  the  years  1579  and  1580. 
The  Cardinal  Henrique  (1512-1580),  son  of  King 
Manoel,  and  heir  to  the  throne,  died  on  January  31, 
making  the  way  plain  for  King  Philip  II.  Probably 
the  last  words  written  by  Camoes  were  those  addressed 
in  a  letter  to  Dom  Francisco  de  Almeida,  Captain- 
General  of  the  district  of  Lamego  :  "  And  thus  my  life 
ends,  and  all  will  see  that  I  loved  my  country  so  well 
that  I  was  not  only  content  to  die  in  it,  but  to  die  with 
it."  2  He  died  probably  in  hospital — morreu  quasi  no 
desamparoy  says  Correa — and  may  have  been  buried  in 
a  common  grave  with  others  who  died  of  plague. 
Mariz,  evidently  from  hearsay,  states  that  he  was  buried 

1  This  anecdote  was  first  printed  in  the  1626  edition  of  the  Lusiads : 
Os  Lusiadas  de  Luys  de  Camoes.  Em  Lishoa.  Por  Pedro  Crasbeeck,  Impressor 
del  Rey,  An.  1626.  The  brief  preface  is  signed  by  Lourenco  Crasbeeck, 
who  speaks  of  the  smallness  of  Camoes'  pension,  and  says  that  "  such 
was  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  payment  that  the  author  often  said 
he  would  ask  the  King  to  order  that  the  10,000  [sic]  rets  should  be 
turned  into  10,000  lashes  for  the  officials — tao  estreita  merce  &  tao 
trabalhosa  na  arrecadacao  q  dizia  muitas  vezes  o  Autor  que  hauia 
de  pedir  a  elRey  q  Ihe  madasse  comutar  aquelles  dez  mil  reis  de  teca 
em  dez  mil  acoutes  nos  Almoxarifes." 

2  "  E  assi  acabarei  a  vida,  e  verao  todos  que  fui  tao  afiei9oado  a 
minha  patria  que  nao  so  me  contentei  de  morrer  nella  mas  com 
ella." 


144  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

in  the  Church  of  Santa  Anna,^  and  gives  this  epitaph : 
^'Aqui  jaz  Luis  de  Camdes,  Principe  dos  Poetas  de  seu 
tempo.  Viveo  pobre  &  miserauelmente  &  assi  morreo. 
Anno  de  1579.  Esta  campa  Ihe  mandou  aqui  por  Dom 
Gon9allo  Coutinho.  Na  qual  senao  enterrara  persoa 
algua."  But  the  real  date  of  his  death  was  June  10, 
1580.2  He  probably  had  not  heard  of  the  two  Spanish 
translations^  of  the  Lusiads,  the  imprimatur  of  the  first 
of  which  is  dated  March  27,  1580,  nor  of  the  sonnet  in 
which  Tasso  (1544-1595)  refers  to  him  as  the  ''  colto  e 
hiion  Luigi."  When  Philip  II.  entered  Lisbon,  a  year 
after  Camoes'  death,  his  first  inquiry  is  said  to  have 
been  for  the  great  Portuguese  poet. 

It  is  necessary  to  dwell  at  length  on  Camoes'  life, 
since  his  life  to  a  greater  degree  than  that  of  any  other 
poet  is  intimately  connected  with  his  poetry,  and  without 
knowledge  of  the  ^' peregrinacoes  &  successes  varios  ""*  of 
his  life,  many  passages  in  his  works  become  meaning- 
less. His  poems  had  been  his  constant  companion,  and 
had  probably  saved  his  life,  so  that  it  was  but  fair  that 
he  should  save  his  poems  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mekong. 
Thus  his  most  famous  Can-do  begins  : 

1  Perhaps  from  a  confusion  with  the  Hospital  de  Santa  Anna.  What 
were  presumed  to  be  his  remains  were  removed  in  the  nineteenth 
century  to  Belem,  and  now  lie  in  a  tomb  in  a  small  side  chapel  of  the 
church,  with  the  tombs  of  Vasco  da  Gama  and  King  Sebastian. 

2  Decree  of  November  13,  1582,  granting  to  Anna  de  Sa  6,765  reis 
due  to  Luis  de  Camoes  "  from  i  January,  1580,  to  10  June  of  the  same 
year,  when  he  died — desde  Janeiro  do  anno  de  1880  ate  10  de  Junho  d'elle, 
em  que  fallecen.'' 

3  Los  Lusiadas  de  Luis  de  CamOes  traduzidos  en  octava  rima  castellana 
por  Benito  Caldera.  Alcala  de  Henares,  1580.  La  Lusiada  de  el  famoso 
poeta  Luys  de  Camdes,  traduzida  .  .  .  por  .  .  .  Luys  Gomes  de  Tapia. 
Salamanca,  1580. 

*  Severim  de  Faria. 


CAMOES  145 

"  Vinde  ca  meu  tao  certo  secretario 
Dos  queixumes  que  sempre  ando  fazendo, 
Papel,  com  quern  a  pena  desaffogo." 

(Come,  faithful  confidant  of  all  my  griefs,  paper  to 
whom  I  am  ever  telling  my  sorrow.) 

No  poet  gains  more  by  being  read  and  re-read ;  his 
poems  are  like  the  leaves  of  some  plant  which  require 
to  be  well  crushed  before  they  give  out  their  full  scent. 
And  his  work  must  be  read  in  its  entirety,  not  only  the 
Lusiads,  but  the  beautiful  sonnets,  the  magnificent 
cangoes,  all  gold  and  ivory  and  worthy  of  Petrarca,  the 
many  exquisite  redondilhas,  the  odes  and  elegies  and 
outavas,  the  splendid  eclogues.^  He  has  been  so  often 
called  the  author  of  the  Lusiads,^  the  prince  of  heroic 

1  The  more  recent  editions  of  Camoes  (complete  works)  are  : 

Obt-as  completas  de  Luis  de  Camoes,  correctas  e  emendadas  pelo  cuidado 
e  diligencia  de  J.  V.  Barreto  Feio  e  J.  G.  Monteiro.  3  vol.  Ham- 
burgo,  1834. 

Obms  de  Luiz  de  Camoes.  Precedidas  de  um  ensaio  biographico,  no 
qual  se  relatam  alguns  factos  nao  conhecidos  da  suavida,  augmentadas 
com  algumas  composicoes  ineditas  do  poeta.  Pelo  Visconde  de  Juro- 
menha.  6  vol.  Li sboa,  i86o-i86g.  (Vol.  i.  contains  life,  bibliography, 
and  documents.) 

Obras  completas  de  Luiz  de  Camoes.     7  vol.     Porto,  1873-74. 

Obras  completas  de  Luiz  de  Camoes.  Nova  [popular]  edicao.  3  vol. 
Lisboa,  191 2, 

Unfortunately  none  of  these  editions  distinguish  between  the  poems 
written  by  Camoes  and  those  (over  a  quarter  of  the  whole)  written 
by  other  poets,  and  many  splendid  poems  of  Diogo  Bernardes  (quite 
gratuitously  accused  of  having  stolen  Camoes'  Parnaso)  are,  for  in- 
stance, printed  among  Camoes'  works.  Storck  translated  the  whole, 
including  no  less  than  362  sonnets. 

2  The  Lusiads  have  been  translated  into  English  by  R.  Fanshaw 
{London,  1655).  W.  J.  Mickle  {Oxford,  1776;  Oxford,  1778;  Dublin^ 
1791  ;  London,  1798;  London,  1807;  London,  i8og ;  London,  1810 — in 
Johnson's  Poets ;  Boston,  1822 ;  London,  1877).  T.  M.  Musgrave 
{London:   Murray,   1826).      L.   Mitchell   {London,  1854).      R.    F.   Duff 

10 


146  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

poets,  that  it  is  apt  to  be  forgotten  that  he  is  essen- 
tially lyrical.-^  The  lyric  poet  appears  continually  even 
in  the  Lusiads.  As  a  writer  of  lyrics  no  less  than  as 
an  epic  poet  he  stands  supreme  in  Portuguese  poetry  : 

*'  Os  mais  sao  collinas 
EUe  e  a  montanha."^ 

Of  his  sonnets,  the  best  known  and  perhaps  the  most 
beautiful  is  that  on  the  death  of  Caterina  de  Athaide : 

"  Alma  minha  gentil  que  te  partiste 
Tam  cedo  d'esta  vida  descontente, 
Repousa  la  no  ceo  eternamente 
E  viva  eu  ca  na  terra  sempre  triste  ! 
Se  la  no  assento  ethereo  onde  subiste 
Memoria  d'esta  vida  se  consente, 

{Lisbon,  1880).  R.  Burton,  with  the  lyrics  {London :  Quaritch,  1880, 
1884).  J.  J.  Aubertin  {London,  1878  ;  London,  1884.  None  of  these 
translations  give  an  adequate  idea  of  the  original. 

^  His  lyrical  poems  were  not  published  till  fifteen  years  after  his 
death  :  Rythmas  de  Luis  de  Camoes.  Divididas  em  cinco  partes.  Lisb>a  : 
Manoel  de  Lyra,  1595.  Germany  is  the  only  country  that  possesses 
Camoes'  complete  works,  in  a  translation  by  Dr.  Storck,  of  unfailing 
excellence.     Take,  for  instance,  the  version  oi  Aquella  cativa : 

"  Jene  Sklavin,  ach, 
Deren  Sklav  Ich  bin 
Ganz  mit  Seel'  und  Sinn 
Stellt  mir  todtlich  nach  ; 
Ich  erblickte  nie 
Eine  Ros'  im  Kranz 
Die  an  Reiz  und  Glanz 
Reicher  war  als  sie. 
Schoner  strahlen  nicht 
Blumen  auf  dem  Feld 
Stern'  am  Himmelszelt 
Als  ihr  Angesicht,"  etc. 

2  Joao  de  Deus.  But  it  is  unfair  that  the  mountain  should  entirely 
overshadow  the  delightfully  scented  hills. 


CAMOES  147 

Nao  te  esquegas  de  aquelle  amor  ardente 
Que  ja  nos  olhos  meus  tarn  puro  viste ! 
E  se  vires  que  pode  merecer-te 
Alguma  cousa  a  dor  que  me  ficou 
Da  magoa,  sem  remedio,  de  perder-te, 
Roga  a  Deus,  que  teus  annos  encurtou, 
Que  tam  cedo  de  ca  me  leve  a  ver-te 
Quam  cedo  de  meus  olhos  te  levou  !" 

(Meek  spirit,  who  so  early  didst  depart, 

Thou  art  at  rest  in  Heaven  !     I  linger  here, 

And  feed  the  lonely  anguish  of  my  heart ; 

Thinking  of  all  that  made  existence  dear. 

All  lost !     If  in  this  happy  world  above 

Remembrance  of  this  mortal  life  endure 

Thou  wilt  not  then  forget  the  perfect  love 

Which  still  thou  see'st  in  me. — O  spirit  pure  ! 

And  if  the  irremediable  grief, 

The  woe  which  never  hopes  on  earth  relief, 

May  merit  aught  of  thee,  prefer  thy  prayer 

To  God,  who  took  thee  early  to  His  rest, 

That  it  may  please  Him  soon  amid  the  blest 

To  summon  me,  dear  maid !  to  meet  thee  there  !)^ 

Almost  equally  beautiful  is  that  which  tells  of  their 
parting  : 

"  Aquella  triste  e  leda  madrugada, 
Cheia  toda  de  magoa  e  piedade, 
Emquanto  houver  no  mundo  saudade 
Quero  que  seja  sempre  celebrada. 
Ella  so,  quando  amena  e  marchetada 
Saia,  dando  a  terra  claridade, 

^  The  version  is  Southey's,  printed  by  Adamson.  Needless  to  say, 
"  amid  the  blest  "  and  "  Dear  maid  !"  are  entirely  Southey's,  and  have 
no  equivalent  in  the  original.  Nor  is  **  meek  "  the  right  word  for  gentil 
(gracious,  fair,  pleasant). 


148  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

Viu  apartar-se  de  uma  outra  vontade 

Que  nunca  podera  ver-se  apartada  ; 

Ella  so  viu  as  lagrimas  em  fio 

Que,  de  uns  e  de  outros  olhos  derivadas, 

Juntando-se  formaram  largo  rio  ; 

Ella  ouviu  as  palavras  magoadas 

Que  poderao  tornar  o  fogo  frio 

E  dar  descanso  as  almas  condenadas." 

(That  dawn  which  sadly  rose  yet  joyfully, 

But  rose  all  fraught  with  sorrow  and  with  pain, 

While  in  the  world  regret  and  tears  remain 

I  trust  may  never  unremembered  be. 

For  it  alone,  as  in  clear  majesty 

It  came  and  to  the  earth  brought  light  again, 

Beheld  will  part  from  will  and  cleft  in  twain 

That  still  must  ever  live  in  unity. 

And  it  alone  saw  tears  unceasing  flow 

From  those  eyes  and  from  these,  sorrow-distressed, 

Forming  together  a  long  stream  of  woe  ; 

It  listened  to  the  words  in  grief  expressed 

That  shall  have  power  to  change  e'en  fire  to  snow 

And  unto  souls  in  agony  give  rest.) 

Camoes   shared   Sa   de    Miranda's    admiration    for 
Garcilaso  de  la  Vega  : 

*'  O  brando  e  doce  Lasso  castelhano  ;" 

and  some  of  his  earliest  poems  were  written  in  the  new 
style ;  but  he  also  delighted  in  the  older  popular  poetry 
of  legend  and  cantiga,  cantigas  muito  velhas  such  as 
those  sung  in  the  Auto  de  Filodemo.  What  could  be 
more  delightful  and  natural  than  his  voltas  to  the  lines  ; 

"  Menina  dos  olhos  verdes 
Porque  me  nao  vedes  ?" 

Or  to  :  *'  Saudade  minha 

Quando  vos  veria." 


CAMOES  149 

Or  :  "  Verdes  sao  os  campos 

De  cor  de  limao." 

Or  :  "  Nasce  estrella  d'alva, 

A  manha  se  vem  ; 
Despertae,  minha  alma, 
Nao  durmaes,  meu  bem." 

Or    the   redondilhas   to   the    fair    captive,    with    their 
reminiscence  of  Santillana's —   '"' 

"  Moza  tan  fermosa 
Non  vi  en  la  frontera": 

"  Aquella  cativa 
Que  me  tem  cativo, 
Porque  nella  vivo, 
Ja  nao  quer  que  viva. 
Eu  nunca  vi  rosa 
Em  suaves  molhos 
Que  para  mens  olhos 
Fosse  mais  formosa. 
Nem  no  campo  flores 
Nem  no  ceo  estrellas 
Me  parecem  bellas 
Como  OS  mens  amores." 

(She,  the  fair  captive, 
Steals  my  liberty. 
She,  the  life  of  me, 
Suffers  me  not  to  live. 
Never  in  my  sight 
Beauty  of  the  rose, 
That  so  sweetly  grows. 
Seemed  more  exquisite. 
Stars  in  heaven  above, 
Flowers  of  the  field. 
All  in  beauty  yield 
Unto  her  I  love.) 


150  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

Several  passages  in  his  lyrical  works  show  that  he 
early  had  the  desire  to  be  the  Portuguese  Virgil,  if  not 
to  outshadow  Horner.^  Many  other  Portuguese  poets 
had  entertained  the  same  ambition.  No  doubt  Cantos 
3  and  4  of  the  Lusiads^  were  written  before  Camoes 
left  Portugal  for  India  in  1553.  Canto  3  contains  the 
episode  of  the  love  and  death  of  In^s  de  Castro,  whom 
he  would  connect  with  Caterina  de  Athaide ;  Canto  4 
contains  the  spirited  description  of  the  Battle  of 
Aljubarrota  (stanzas  30-44) : 

*'  Muitos  tambem  do  vulgo  vil  sem  nome 
Vao,  e  tambem  dos  nobres,  ao  profundo, 
Onde  o  trifauce  cao  perpetua  fome 
Tem  das  almas  que  passam  deste  mundo ; 
E  porque  mais  aqui  se  amanse  e  dome 
A  soberba  do  inimigo  furibundo, 
A  sublim  e  bandeira  Castelhana 
Foi  derribada  aos  pes  da  Lusitana. 

Aqui  a  fera  batalha  se  encruece 
Com  mortes,  gritos,  sangue  e  cutiladas, 
A  multidao  da  gente  que  perece 
Tem  as  flores  da  propria  cor  mudadas, 
Ja  as  costas  dao  e  as  vidas,  ja  fallece 
O  furor  e  sobejam  as  lan^adas ; 
Ja  de  Castella  o  Rei  desbaratado 
Se  ve,  e  de  seu  proposito  mudado. 

O  campo  vae  deixando  ao  vencedor, 
Contente  de  Ihe  nao  deixar  a  vida ; 
Seguem-no  os  que  ficaram,  e  o  temor 

1  Cf.  the  lines  in  the  eclogue  Caniatuio  par  urn  valle  docemente : 

"  Podeis  fazer  que  cresca  d'hora  em  hora 
O  nome  Lusitano,  e  fa9a  inveja 
A  Esmirna,  que  d'Homero  s'engrandece." 

2  The  word   Lusiadas   (=:  Portuguese)    was,    apparently,   coined   by 
Andre  FalcSio  de  Resende  in  a  Latin  poem  in  the  year  1531. 


CAMOES  151 

Lhe  da  nao  pes  mas  asas  a  fugida. 

Encobrem  no  profundo  peito  a  dor 

Da  morte,  da  fazenda  despendida, 

Da  magoa,  da  deshonra  e  triste  nojo 

De  ver  outrem  triumphar  de  seu  despojo." 

(Stanzas  41-43.) 

(Here  of  the  common  crowd  without  a  name 
Sink  many,  and  of  the  nobiHty, 
To  depths  where  Cerberus  with  e'er  the  same 
Hunger  awaits  souls  that  from  this  world  flee ; 
And  furthermore  to  conquer  and  to  tame 
The  pride  and  fury  of  the  enemy, 
The  lofty  banner  of  Castilla  at  last 
To  the  foot  of  Lusitania's  flag  is  cast. 

But  here  the  battle  deepens,  with  many  a  death, 
Clamour,  and  shedding  of  blood,  and  furious  thrust, 
At  sight  of  thousands  yielding  their  last  breath 
Men  pale  and  flee,  but  still  they  bite  the  dust, 
For  now  they  fall  the  serried  spears  beneath 
Although  of  slaying  dies  their  frenzied  lust ; 
And  now  Castilla's  King,  of  victory  cheated, 
Sees  all  his  army  melt,  his  plans  defeated. 
Now  to  the  victor  must  he  leave  the  field. 
Glad  not  his  life  to  leave  away  he  hies ; 
His  few  surviving  followers  with  him  yield. 
Fear  to  his  flight  not  feet  but  wings  supplies. 
To  death  and  sorrow  now  their  hearts  are  steeled 
And  loss  of  all  their  friends  and  fortune's  prize, 
Disgrace  and  agony  and  cruel  woe. 
To  see  men  triumph  in  their  overthrow.) 

Both  Cantos  tell  of  the  deeds  of  the  Portuguese 
which  Camoes  wished  to  celebrate  carmine  perpetuo. 
But  unless,  like  the  old  Chronicles,  he  was  to  begin 
with  Adam  and  proceed  with  little  succinct  descriptions 
of  each  reign,  he  must  find  some  central  theme  in  which 
to  set  his  picture,  and  what  could   better   serve   his 


152  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

purpose  than  an  account  of  those  discoveries  which 
had  now  made  Portugal  in  some  sense  the  centre  of 
Europe  ?  The  earHer  history  was  worked  in  the 
narrative  of  Vasco  da  Gama  to  the  King  of  Mehnde, 
and  of  Paulo  da  Gama  to  the  Catual  of  Calecut ;  and  the 
later  history  in  the  prophecies  of  the  gods  who  figure 
so  prominently  in  the  work.  Thus  his  purpose  was 
now  clear : 

"  As  armas  e  os  baroes  assinalados 
Que  da  occidental  praia  lusitana 
Por  mares  nunca  de  antes  navegados 
Passaram  ainda  alem  da  Taprobana. 

"  E  tambem  as  memorias  gloriosas 
D'aquelles  reis  que  foram  dilatando 
A  f e  e  o  imperio.  .  .  ." 

{Lus.  i.  I,  2.) 

(Arms  and  the  men  I  sing  of  noble  fame 
Who  from  fair  Lusitania's  western  shore 
Even  further  than  Ceylon's  far  island  came, 
Traversing  seas  ne'er  traversed  before  .  .  . 

And  also  glorious  memories  of  those  Kings 
Who  empire  and  the  faith  extended  far.  .  .  .) 

But  it  may  be  said,  what  could  be  more  tedious 
than  a  heroic  poem  without  a  hero,  with  a  whole  nation 
for  its  hero,  a  poem  dealing  with  an  enterprise  more 
remote  than  that  of  Godefroi  de  Bouillon  to  the  Holy 
Land,  which  provided  Tasso  with  the  subject  of  his 
Gerusalemme  Liherata  ?  Add  to  this  the  introduction  of 
the  marvellous,  the  cloying  use  ^  of  classical  mythology, 
the  title^of  the  poem,  often  misconstrued  as  a  feminine 

1  In   six   lines  of  the  eclogue  Cantando   occur   Helicon,  Pegasus, 
Calliope,  Thalia,  Mars,  Minerva,  the  Parnassus,  the  Pierides. 

2  In  the  poem  itself  the  Portuguese  are  not  called  Os  Lusiadas,  but 
A  gejite  lusitana,  Os  dc  Luso,  Lusiianos,  Gente  de  Luso,  Portugueses. 


CAMOES  153 

abstract  term,  as  in  one  of  the  Spanish  versions  of  1580, 
and  there  is  no  cause  for  wonder  that  those  who  have 
not  read  the  Lusiads  have  found  it  extraordinarily 
dull.  Those  who  read  it  soon  change  their  opinion. 
What  has  struck  all  the  critics  is  the  great  sense  of 
reality^  in  this  poem,  by  which  it  excels  the  poems 
of  Tasso^  and  Ariosto.  Alexander  von  Humboldt  ^ 
called  Camoes  a  great  painter  of  the  sea,  and 
sweet  indeed  were  the  uses  of  the  adversity  which 
drove  Camoes  to  portray  from  direct  observation  the 
scenes  of  Vasco  da  Gama's  voyage.  Whether  he  is 
describing  the  arrival  of  the  ships  with  purple  banners 
flying  (ii.  y^),  or  the  first  land  appearing  like  clouds  on 
the  horizon  (v.  25),  or  the  frightened  natives  leaping 
from  their  canoes  into  the  water  "  like  frogs  "  (ii.  26,  27), 
or  a  tromba  and  the  sun  sucking  up  the  water  (v.  18-22), 
or  the  sea  becalmed  and  windless  : 

"  O  vento  dorme,  o  mar  e  as  ondas  jazem  "  (ii.  no) ; 

"  Um  subito  silencio  enfreia  os  ventos 
E  faz  ir  docemente  murmurando 
As  aguas  "  (x.  6) ; 

or   "  the  coral  growing  beneath  the  water  "  (ii.  yy) 

— everywhere   there   is   the   same   vivid   realism.     As/ 
CamOes  knew  well,  ''mere  knowledge  and  actual  ex- 1 
perience  are  as  different  as  are  consoling  and   being  \ 
consoled."^     The  following  description  of  the  storm 

1  Camoes  felt  himself  {Lus.  i.  11  and  v.  23  and  89)  that  the  subject 
of  his  poem  needed  no  fantastic  embellishments. 

2  Os  Lusiadas  has  1,102  stanzas,  8,816  lines,  about  half  the  length  of 
La  Gerusalemme  Liberata. 

3  Letter  from  Africa,  Esta  vae.  Gar9ao,  a  Portuguese  poet  quoted 
by  Senhor  Braga,  says  :  "  Lusiads  are  not  written  in  the  lap  of  luxury 
— em  toalhas  de  Flandres. ' ' 


154  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

off  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  in  the  elegy  O  poeta 
Simonides,  deserves  to  be  set  side  by  side  with  that  of 
Adamastor  (Lus.  v.  37-60)  or  the  storm  in  Lus.  vi. 
70-91  : 

*'  Eis  a  noite  com  nuvens  s'  escurece, 

Do  ar  subitamente  foge  o  dia ; 

E  todo  o  largo  Oceano  s'embravece. 

"  A  machina  do  mundo  parecia 
Qu'em  tormentas  se  vinha  desfazendo  ; 
Em  serras  todo  o  mar  se  convertia. 

"  Luctando  o  Boreas  fero  e  Noto  horrendo 
Sonoras  tempestades  levantavam, 
Das  naos  as  velas  concavas  rompendo. 

**  As  cordas  co'o  ruido  assoviavam  ; 
Os  marinheiros,  ja  desesperados, 
Com  gritos  para  o  ceo  o  ar  coalhavam. 

"  Os  raios  por  Vulcano  fabricados 
Vibrava  o  fero  e  aspero  Tonante, 
Tremendo  os  Polos  ambos  de  assombrados." 

(But  lo,  the  night  looms  dark  with  many  a  cloud 

As  suddenly  in  blackness  day  is  furled, 

And  the  whole  Ocean  wide  grows  fierce  and  proud. 

It  seems  that  the  foundations  of  the  world 
Are  being  loosed  and  torn  in  hurricane, 
And  all  the  sea  in  surging  mountains  hurled. 

The  wild  North  wind  and  fell  South  strive  amain 
And  draw  the  loud-voiced  tempest  from  its  lair, 
Till  the  sails  swell  and  crack  beneath  the  strain. 

The  rigging  whistles  shrill,  and  in  despair 
The  sailors  now  to  Heaven  raise  their  cries 
And  all  dismayed  with  loud  shouts  fill  the  air. 

While  Vulcan's  lightning-flashes  in  the  skies 
Are  swiftly  by  the  dreadful  Thunderer  whirled, 
And  either  Pole  in  wonder  tremblmg  lies.) 


CAMOES  155 

When  the  poem  entitled  Os  Lusiadas  begins,  with  a 
brief  invocation  to  the  nymphs  of  the  Tagus  and  a 
dedication  to  King  Sebastian,  Vasco  da  Gama  is  seen 
to  be  already  on  the  high  seas  (i.  19).  The  sails  were 
set,  and  fair  the  light  winds  blew  : 

**  Ja  no  largo  Oceano  navegavam, 
As  inquietas  ondas  apartando  ; 
Os  ventos  brandamente  respiravam 
Das  naos  as  velas  concavas  inchando  ; 
Da  branca  escuma  os  mares  se  mostravam 
Cobertos,  onde  as  proas  vao  cortando 
As  maritimas  aguas  consagradas, 
Que  do  gado  de  Proteo  sao  cortadas." 

And  while  the  Portuguese  sail  on  through  seas 
nunca  de  antes  navegados  the  gods  sit  in  council, 
Venus  and  Mars  being  favourable,  Bacchus  bitterly, 
treacherously  hostile,  to  the  Portuguese ;  as  is  proved 
when  Gama  arrives  at  Mozambique.  After  the  treachery 
of  the  natives  of  Momba9a  the  Portuguese  meet  with  a 
friendly  reception  from  the  King  of  Melinde  (Canto  2), 
to  whom  Vasco  da  Gama  relates  his  voyage  (Canto  5) 
and  the  history  of  Portugal  (Cantos  3  and  4),  from 
Count  Henrique,  ''son  of  a  King  of  Hungary,"^  Ega 
Moniz  (the  Portuguese  Regulus),  Affonso  Henriques 
and  the  battle  of  Ourique,  to  the  Constable  Nuno 
Alvares  Pereira  and  Aljubarrota  (August  14,  1385),  and 
so  on  to  the  reigns  of  Joao  I.,  Duarte,  Affonso  V., 
Joao  II.,  and  Manoel.  Canto  3  (stanzas  118-135)  tells 
of  the  death  of  In^s  "  nos  saudosos  campos  do  Mondego  '* 
(January  7,  1355)  ' 

1  Cf."  Nos  Hungaro  o  fazeraos,  porem  nado 

Crem  ser  em  Lotharingja  os  estranjeiros." 

{Lus.  viii.  9). 


156  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

*'  Assim  como  a  bonina  que  cortada 

Antes  do  tempo  foi,  Candida  e  bella, 
Sendo  das  maos  lascivas  maltratada 

Da  menina  que  a  trouxe  na  capella 
O  cheiro  traz  perdido  e  a  cor  murchada : 

Tal  esta  morta  a  pallida  donzella, 
Seccas  do  rosto  as  rosas  e  perdida 

A  branca  e  viva  cor  co'a  doce  vida.'^ 

"  As  filhas  do  Mondego  a  morte  escura 
Largo  tempo  chorando  memoraram, 
E  por  memoria  eterna  em  fonte  pura 

As  lagrimas  choradas  transf  ormaram  ; 
O  nome  Ihe  puzeram,  que  inda  dura, 

Dos  amores  de  Ines  que  alii  passaram  : 
Vede  que  fresca  fonte  rega  as  flores, 
Que  lagrimas  sao  a  agua  e  o  nome  amores." 

(Stanzas  134,  135.) 

(As  in  girl's  thoughtless  fingers  withered 

A  fair  white  flower,  culled  before  its  time 
To  lie  crushed  idly  upon  breast  or  head, 

Loses  the  scent  and  colour  of  its  prime. 
So  now  the  pale  young  maiden  lieth  dead, 

The  roses  from  her  face  a  cruel  crime 
Has  banished,  and  the  living  hue  is  gone 

With  ebbing  life  that  once  there  clearly  shone. 

The  daughters  of  Mondego  long  with  tears 
Of  her  dark  death  kept  fresh  the  memory. 

And,  that  remembrance  might  outlive  the  years. 
Of  tears  thus  shed  a  crystal  spring  supply ; 

^  Cf.  the  lines  of  the  sonnet  0%  olhos  onde,  referring  no  doubt  to 
Caterina  de  Athaide  (who,  however,  died  in  1556,  and  therefore  prob- 
ably after  the  Ines  episode  was  written) : 

**  Perfeita  formosura  em  tenra  edade 
Qual  flor  que  antecipada  foi  colhida 
Murchada  esta  da  mao  da  morte  dura, 
Como  nao  morre  Amor  de  piedade  ?" 


CAMOES  157 

The  name  they  gave  it  then  even  now  it  bears, 

The  love  of  Ines  there  to  signify; 
How  clear  a  spring  the  flowers  from  above 
Waters — in  tears  it  flows,  its  name  is  love.) 

At  the  end  of  Canto  5  Camoes  laments  that  poetry  is 
held  in  small  esteem  in  Portugal,  and  in  Canto  6  Vasco 
da  Gama  leaves  Melinde,  but  Velloso  is  interrupted  in 
his  tale  of  Magrigo  e  os  Doze  de  Inglaterra'^  by  a  storm 
brewed  by  Neptune  at  Bacchus'  request.  At  the 
beginning  of  Canto  7  the  ships  arrive  safely  at  Calecut, 
and  Vasco  da  Gama  disembarks.  The  Catual  visits 
the  captain's  ship,  which  is  decked  with  silken  banners 
representing  the  history  and  illustrious  men  of  Portugal. 
This  gives  occasion  for  a  second  historical  narrative, 
and  Paulo  da  Gama,  Vasco's  brother,  tells  of  the  Portu- 
guese heroes — a  goodly  company,  from  Luso  and 
Ulysses  to  those  of  the  fifteenth  century.  But  now  the 
Portuguese  set  sail  for  home  (Canto  9) — 

"  Da  parte  Oriental  para  Lisboa  " 

— and  Venus  prepares  for  them  an  island  of  delight 
(perhaps  one  of  the  Azores).  There  grow  the  orange 
and  apple  and  lemon,  the  cherry  and  the  grape,  pome- 
granate, pear  and  mulberry.  Elms,  bays,  myrtles, 
pines,  and  cypresses  give  shade  to  this  land  of  roses 
and  of  lilies,  red  and  white.  In  Canto  10  Tethys  in 
the  island  tells  of  the  subsequent  deeds  of  the  Portu- 
guese in  India,  of  Pacheco,  Affonso  d' Albuquerque 
(1453-1515),   and   Joao   de    Castro    (1500-1548)  ;    and 

1  Stanzas  42-69 — the  story  of  twelve  Portuguese  knights  who  went, 
eleven  by  sea,  Magrigo  by  land,  to  uphold  the  honour  of  twelve  ladies 
at  the  English  Court  against  twelve  knights  of  England. 


158  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

Gama  at  length  reaches  Lisbon,  the  poem  ending 
(stanzas  146-156)  with  an  invocation  to  King  Sebas- 
tian. With  plain  signs  of  discouragement  in  the  last 
three  Cantos,  through  illness,  shipwreck,  and  poverty, 
Camoes  thus  carried  his  achievement  triumphantly  to 
its  conclusion.  '*  No  more,  my  Muse,  no  more,"  he 
cries  in  stanza  145  : 

"  Nao  mais,  Musa,  nao  mais  que  a  lyra  tenho 
Destemperada  e  a  voz  enrouquecida, 
E  nao  do  canto,  mas  de  ver  que  venho 
Cantar  a  gente  surda  e  endurecida." 

(No  more,  my  Muse,  no  more,  my  voice  is  hoarse. 
And  out  of  tune  are  all  my  lyre's  strings. 
And  not  from  singing,  rather  from  remorse 
To  sing  for  those  still  deaf  to  him  who  sings.) 

In  stanza  146,  as  one  utterly  unknown  to  the  King, 
he  is  fain  humbly  to  sing  his  own  praises,  and  offers 
the  King — 

"  Para  servir-vos,  bra90  as  armas  feito ; 
Para  cantar- vos,  mente  as  Musas  dada." 

(To  serve  you,  hands  that  oft  in  war  have  striven, 
To  sing  you,  thoughts  still  to  the  Muses  given.) 

Camoes'  keen  sense  of  reality  saved  him  alike  from 
pedantries  and  excessive  suavity  in  his  numeroso  canto 
e  melodia  and  torn  suave  e  hrando.  His  unfailing 
naturalness  and  the  clear  transparency^  of  his  style — 

1  E.g.,  "  O  prado  as  flores  brancas  e  vermelhas 
Esta  suavemente  presentando  ; 
As  doces  e  solicitas  abelhas 
Com  susurro  agradavel  vao  voando  ; 


CAMOES  159 

his  estillo  deleytoso  ^ — impart  movement  and  life,  so  that 
occasional  defects  and  uglinesses^  are  carried  away, 
like  sticks  in  a  river,  by  the  smooth  flow  of  his  verse. 
He  did  not  always  maintain  the  same  high  level,  but 
the  number  of  poems  of  great  beauty  and  excellence 
written  by  him  in  the  most  varied  kinds  is  extra- 
ordinarily large. 

When  Camoes  lay  dying  it  is  said  that  he  gave  his 
last  and  only  possession — a  copy  of  Os  Lusiadas — to 
the  priest  who  had  attended  him,  and  that  after  his 
death  the  priest  wrote  in  it  the  following  words  in 
Spanish :  "  How  grievous  a  thing  to  see  so  great  a 
genius  brought  so  low  !  I  saw  him  die  in  a  hospital 
at  Lisbon,  without  so  much  as  a  sheet  to  cover  him, 
after  having  been  victorious  in  the  East  Indies,  and 
after    having    sailed    5500   leagues   by  sea.      What   a 

As  Candidas,  pacificas  ovelhas 
Das  hervas  esquecidas,  inclinando 
As  cabegas  estao  ao  som  divino 
Que  faz,  passando,  o  Tejo  crystallino." 

(The  meadow  now  with  flowers  red  and  white 
Decks  itself  in  fresh  splendour,  softly  fair ; 
And  the  sweet  active  bees'  unceasing  flight 
With  a  deep  pleasant  murmur  fill  the  air ; 
The  white  and  peaceful  sheep,  forgetful  quite 
Now  of  their  pasture,  have  no  other  care 
But  only  listening  their  heads  t'  incline 
To  the  sound  of  crystal  Tagus'  flow  divine.) 

1  Severim  de  Faria. 

2  E.g.,  "  Um  freio  Ihe  esta  pondo  e  lei  terribil 
Que  OS  limites  nao  passe  do  possibil." 

'•  Mas  quao  conformes  sao  na  quantidade 
Tao  differentes  sao  na  qualidade." 

(In  the  eclogue  Que  grande  variedade.) 


i6o  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

warning  to  those  who  by  night  and  day  wear  them- 
selves away  in  profitless  efforts  to  spin  webs  like  spiders 
in  order  to  catch  flies !"  ^ 

"  Ihr  durchstudiert  die  gross'  und  kleine  Welt 
Um  es  am  Ende  gehen  zu  lassen 
Wie's  Gott  gefallt." 

But  could  Camoes  have  known  how  important  was 
to  become  his  bequest  to  his  country,  he  would  have 
received  in  his  last  moments  the  comfort  which  this 
priest  was  apparently  unable  to  give.  It  remained  for 
him  after  a  life  of  misfortune  to  reap  a  long  harvest  of 
posthumous  fame : 

"  Mas  se  Ihe  foy  fortuna  escasa  em  vida 
Nao  Ihe  pode  tirar  depois  da  morte 
Hum  rico  emparo  de  sua  fama  e  gloria."  ^ 

In  the  first  place,  he  fixed  the  Portuguese  language  so 
that  scarcely  a  word  has  altered^;  and,  secondly,  he 
became  (especially  in   1640)  the  watchword  of  Portu- 

1  "  Que  cosa  mas  lastimosa  que  ver  un  tan  grande  ingenio  tan  mallo- 
grado.  Yo  lo  bi  morir  en  un  hospital  en  Ivisboa  sin  tener  una  sabana 
con  que  cobrirse,  despues  de  aver  triunfado  en  la  India  Oriental,  de 
aver  navegado  5500  leguas  por  mar !  Que  aviso  tan  grande  para  los 
que  de  noche  y  dia  se  cansan  estudiando  sin  provecho,  como  las 
aranas  en  urdir  telas  para  cazar  moscas."  It  must  be  confessed 
that  the  description  does  not  suit  Camoes  well,  since  he  had  not 
"  triumphed  "  in  India,  and  had  sailed  much  more  than  5500  leagues. 

2  From  the  sonnet  by  Diogo  Bernardes  in  praise  of  Camoes,  as 
quoted  by  Severim  de  Faria,  who  says  of  Bernardes  :  '*  In  the  pastoral 
style  he  is  unexcelled." 

3  Cf.  Joao  de  Deus : 

"  Os  Lusiadas  estao  como  na  hora  ! 
Tres  seculos  e  nada, 
Nem  uma  lettra  unica  apagada  ! ' ' 


CAMOES  i6i 

guese  liberty  and  independence.  Oliveira  Martins  ^ 
says  that  "  the  Lusiads,  written  in  letters  of  gold  on  a 
whiteness  of  marble,  are  the  epitaph  of  Portugal  and 
the  testament  of  a  people."  Rather,  the  Lusiads  and 
the  lyrics  of  Camoes  are  the  passport  of  the  Portu- 
guese people,  its  right  and  encouragement  to  live 
and  prosper.  The  Lusiads  not  only  embraces  the 
whole  of  Portuguese  history  from  Luso  to  Joao  de 
Castro,  but  binds  together  the  vast  and  scattered 
empire  of  Portugal,  since  there  is  scarcely  a  Portuguese 
colony  unmentioned  in  its  pages.  In  order  to  appre- 
ciate it  fully,  the  reader  must  be  acquainted  with  the 
history  of  Portugal  and  her  colonies;  he  must  have 
lived  in  Portugal ;  he  must  have  watched  the  tranquil 
flow  of  the  Tagus,  the  transparent  green  waters  of  the 
Mondego,  which  mansamente  ate  o  mar  ndo  paranif 
and  from  "  cool  Cintra's  height "  have  seen  the  ships 
arriving  in  the  distance ;  and  he  must  be  familiar  with 
the  marvels  that  are  Belem  and  Alcobaga,  Thomar  and 
Batalha.  If  Camoes  is  thus  in  some  sense  a  local  poet, 
this  should  intensify,  if  it  does  not  extend,  his  fame. 
His  poetry  must  live  or  die  with  his  country.  He 
would  not  have  had  it  otherwise. 

1  Camoes,  Os  Lusiadas  e  a  Renascenga  em  Portugal  (Lisboa,  1891), 


CHAPTER  VI 

ALMEIDA- GARRETT 

Poet,  dramatist,  critic,  orator,  diplomatist,  politiciao*^ 
Almeida- Garrett  (1799-1854)  waSj  during  the  first  half 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  a  great  vivifying  influence 
in  Portuguese  literature.  He  dispersed  his  talents 
over  too  broad  a  field,  and  with  a  Portuguese  tendency 
to  be  vaguely  prolix  he  had  little  power  of  concen- 
tration. When  he  did  concentrate,  the  result  was 
admirable,  as  in  his  tragedy,  Frei  Luiz  de  Sousa,  or 
his  slender  volume  of  lyrics,  Folhas  cahidas.  "  Uma 
pe^a  inteiramente  da  nossa  terra,"  wrote  the  poet 
Antonio  Feliciano  de  Castilho  (1800-1875)  of  another 
of  Garrett's  plays,  0  Alfageme  de  Santarem,  and  the 
same  might  be  said  of  all  his  works.  It  is  one  of  his 
chief  claims  to  greatness  that,  although  he  came  under 
the  immediate  influence  of  the  literatures  of  England, 
France,  and  Germany,  he  remained  in  his  choice  of 
themes,  their  treatment,  and  his  style,  essentially 
Portuguese. 

Joao  Baptista  da  Silva  Leitao  Almeida -Garrett, 
son  of  Antonio  Bernardo  da  Silva  Garrett  and  Anna 
Augusta  d'Almeida  Leitao,  was  born  at  Oporto  in 
February,  1799,  but  his  true  home  was  in  the  Azores 
(Ilha  Terceira),  where  his  father,  who  held  a  high  post 

162 


ALMEIDA-GARRETT  163 

in  the  Alfandega  (Customs)  at  Oporto,  owned  property. 
tte  was  one  of  a  family  of  five — four  sons  and  one 
daughter.^  The  character  of  the  times  is  brought 
vividly  before  us  by  the  anecdote,  related  in  Viagens  na 
minha  terra,  that  as  a  small  boy  he  was  punished  by  his 
father  for  buying  a  portrait  of  Napoleon  at  an  Oporto 
fair.  When  the  French  invaded  Portugal  in  i8og  his 
father  retired  to  the  island  of  Terceira,  and  Garrett's 
early  education  was  superintended  by  his  uncle,  a 
colonial  bishop,  subsequently  (1812)  Bishop  of  Angra. 
In  1 816  he  w^ent  to  the  University  of  Coimbra,  and 
took  his  degree  there  in  Law  in  182 1.  He  had  already 
written  a  play,  Corcunda  por  Amor,  in  1819,  and  pub- 
lished a  Hymno  patriotico  in  1820.  In  182 1  appeared 
his  poem  0  Retrato  de  Venus,  which  led  to  proceedings 
against  him  for  abusing  the  liberty  of  the  Press.  The 
principal  accusation  seems  to  have  been  that  he  had 
assigned  the  creation  of  the  world  to  Venus,  not  to 
Jupiter.  He  defended  his  case  in  person  and  was 
acquitted.  In  August,  182 1,  his  play  Catdo  was  acted 
at  Lisbon.  In  the  following  year  he  married  Luiza 
Candida  Midosi,  aged  fifteen  (November,  1822). 

Ga^rrett's.  impetuous  Liberalism  rendered  him  suspect 
to  the  authorities.  In  June,  1823,  he  left  Portugal  for 
England,  but  returning  in  August,  he  was  arrested  on 

1  Details  of  his  life  are  to  be  found  in  his  letters  and  autobiography, 
and  in  Theophilo  Braga,  Garrett  e  0  Romantismo  {Porto,  1903),  and 
Theophilo  Braga,  Garrett  e  os  Dramas  Romanticos  {Porto,  1905).  See 
also  the  preface  in  the  translation  of  Frei  Luiz  de  Sousa,  by  Edgar 
Prestage  (1909),  and,  in  The  Oxford  and  Cambridge  Review,  No.  13  (191 1), 
The  Visconde  de  Almeida-Garrett  and  the  Revival  of  the  Portuguese  Drama, 
by  Edgar  Prestage  ;  and  Fidelino  de  Figueiredo,  Historia  da  Litteratura 
Vomatitica porUcguesa,  1913,  Chap.  I.,  Garrett,  pp.  27-74. 


i64  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

his  arrival  at  Lisbon  and  exiled.  He  went  to  England 
for  the  second  time,  and  lived  for  over  a  year  in  the 
family  of  Thomas  Hadley,  near  Edgbaston.  He  here 
composed  a  long  poem,  O  Magri^o  e  os  Doze  de  Ingla- 
terra,  and  studied  English  literature.  Unable  to  find 
employment  in  London,  he  accepted  a  post  in  a 
commercial  house  at  Havre.  In  France  he  wrote  an 
elegiac  poem  in  ten  cantos,  Cambes  (published  in 
1825),  and,  as  a  lighter  theme,  Dona  Branca  (1826). 
He  was,  he  says,  ''  all  in  love  with  melancholy  and 
romanticism."  After  the  amnesty  granted  by  King 
Joao  VI.  (June,  1824)  Garrett  wrote  (February,  1825) 
for  permission  to  return  to  Portugal,  but  this  was 
refused  owing  to  his  "  enterprising  and  revolutionary 
character"  and  "unquiet  spirit."  When  he  returned 
after  the  death  of  Joao  VI.  (1826)  he  was  still  kept 
under  police  supervision.  He  founded  (October,  1826) 
the  newspaper  O  Portuguez,  which  was  suspended  a 
few  months  later.  Garrett  himself  was  imprisoned, 
and  spent  three  months  in  the  Limoeiro.  The  year 
1826  was  eventful,  for  it  saw  the  abdication  of  Dom 
Pedro  in  favour  of  his  daughter  Maria  (who  w^as  to 
marry  Dom  Migoel)  and  the  granting  of  the  famous 
Carta.  Despite  the  Carta,  however,  Dom  Migoel  was 
declared  absolute  King  in  1828.^  For  Garrett  this 
resulted  in  a  third  visit  to  England,  where,  living  in 
London,  he  published  in  quick  succession  Adozinda 
(1828),  a  collection  of  his  early  lyrics  entitled  A  Lyra 

1  So  it  was  sung  : 

"  El-rei  chegou,  el-rei  chegou, 
Em  Belem  desembarcou, 
O  papel  nao  assignou." 


ALMEIDA-GARRETT  165 

de  Jodo  Minimo  (1829),  the  first  volume  of  Da  Educa(;do 
(November,  1829),  the  second  edition  of  Catdo  (1830), 
and  Portugal  na  halanga  da  Europa  (1830). 

In  June,  1831,  King  Pedro  arrived  at  Cherbourg  from 
Brazil  to  fight  for  the  rights  of  his  daughter,  Maria 
da  Gloria,  against  Miguelist  absolutism.  Garrett  left 
England  in  December,  and  in  January,  1832,  joined 
as  a  private  soldier  a  regiment  of  Chasseurs  which 
included  Herculano  and  other  writers,  supporters  of 
King  Pedro.  He  disembarked  in  the  Azores  and  spent 
some  months  with  his  family,  working  hard  at  collect- 
ing popular  poetry  for  his  Romanceiro  and  helping  to 
draw  up  codes  for  his  party.  Finally,  on  July  8,  1832, 
the  exiles  landed  at  Mindello,  and  entered  Oporto 
7,500  strong.  All  Garrett's  papers,  comprising  O 
Magrigo  and  the  second  volume  of  Da  Educagdo,  were 
subsequently  lost  in  the  Amelia,  sunk  by  the  Miguelists 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Douro.  From  the  fragments  of 
0  Magrtgo  that  remain  and  from  the  fact  that  the 
poem  was  still  incomplete,  although  it  had  attained  its 
twenty-second  canto,  one  cannot  help  feeling  grateful 
towards  the  Miguelists,  but  to  a  writer  even  so  prolific 
as  Garrett  the  loss  must  have  been  discouraging. 

After  the  final  defeat  of  the  Miguelists,  Garrett  was 
charged  with  the  general  reform  of  education  in 
Portugal.  In  June,  1834,  he  went  to  Brussels  as 
Portuguese  charge  d'affaires^  but  after  many  annoyances 
(his  salary  remaining  habitually  unpaid)  he  returned 
to  Portugal  in  1836.^  During  these  years  of  dis- 
couragement he  wrote  little,  but  after  the  revolution 

1  He  had  been  somewhat  summarily  replaced  at  Brussels  at  the 
end  of  1835,  and  was  first  offered  the  post  of  Minister  at  Copenhagen, 
then  that  of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  which  he  refused. 


i66  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

of  September  (1836)  he  had  the  ear  of  the  Govern- 
ment, and  was  able  to  carry  out  some  of  his  favourite 
ideas,  such  as  the  foundation  of  a  Pantheo7t  nacional 
(at  Belem,  where  his  coffin  now  lies)  and  the  inaugura- 
tion of  a  national  theatre.  He  was  appointed  General 
Inspector  of  Theatres  in  November,  1836.^  Without 
ceasing  to  take  an  active  part  in  politics,  Garrett 
rapidly  wrote  his  masterpieces,  Um  A  uto  de  Gil  Vicente 
(1838),  Dona  Philippa  de  Vilhena  (1840),  0  Alfageme 
de  Santarem  (1841),  Frei  Luiz  de  Sousa  (1844),  A  Sob- 
rinha  do  Marquez  (1848),  in  order  to  provide  a  repertoire 
for  the  theatre  which  he  had  had  great  difficulty  in 
founding.  At  the  end  of  1836  it  had  been  proposed  to 
transform  the  old  building  belonging  to  the  Inquisition 
in  the  Rocio  into  a  theatre,  but  it  was  not  till  July, 
1842,  that  the  work  was  finally  begun. 

In  1842  Garrett  was  in  opposition  to  the  Govern- 
ment of  Costa  Cabral  (first  Conde  de  Thomar).  In 
that  year  an  infantry  major  accused  him  of  having 
insulted  the  army,  and  a  duel  was  fought,  which  con- 
sisted in  both  Garrett  and  the  major  firing  into  the 
air.  In  1843  a  visit  to  Santarem  resulted  in  Viagens  na 
minha  terra,  one  of  his  most  delightful  and  spontaneous 
works.^ 

In  the  same  year  he  wrote  an  autobiography,  a 
curious  work,  with  many  self-laudatory  epithets,^  and 

1  He  was  also  appointed  to  the  ancient  office  of  Chronista  M6r. 

2  Written  when  he  was  living  in  the  Rua  do  Alecrim  :  "  Eu  muitas 
vezes  n'estas  suffocadas  noites  d'estio  viajo  ate  a  minha  janella  para 
ver  uma  nesguita  de  Tejo  que  esta  no  fim  da  rua,  e  me  enganar  com 
uns  verdes  de  arvores  que  alii  vegetam  sua  laboriosa  infancia  nos 
entulhos  do  Caes  do  Sodre." 

3  In  this  autobiography  he  misdates  his  birth  (February  4,  1802, 
instead  of  1799). 


ALMEIDA-GARRETT  167 

also  published  the  first  volume  of  his  Romanceiro.    Two 
years  later  appeared  his  volume  of  poems,  Flores  sent 
fructo,  and  the  first  volume  of  0  Arco  de  Santa  Anna 
(the  second  volume  in  185 1).     Folhas  cahidas,  written 
between  1846  and  1851,  was  sent  to  press  in  the  latter 
year,  but  not  published  until  1853.      After  Garrett  had 
during  many  years  performed  great  services,  scantily 
acknowledged,  in  drawing  up  constitutions  and  reforms 
for  various  Governments,   he   was,  in   January,  1852, 
created  a   peer  of   the   realm,   and  was    Minister   for 
Foreign  Affairs  from  March  to  August  of  the  same  year. 
-Jn   June,    1851,   he  had   been  created  Visconde  de 
Almeida-Garrett.^      During    part    of    the   summer   of 
1853  and  spring  of  1854  ^e  was  engaged  upon  a  con- 
temporary novel  called   Helena,  which    remained  un- 
finished at  his  death   in    December,   1854.      His  life, 
like  his  writing,  was  dissipated  in  many  directions — a 
series  bt  broken  thread-ends.     The  marvel  is  that  he 
sliould   have   succeeded  m  writing   anything    of  per- 
manent  value.      Folhas   cahidas,  Frei   Luiz   de   Sousa, 
O  Alfageme  de  Santarem,  Viagens  na  minha  terra  will 
live  as  long  as^ Jhe  Portugiiese^liiiguager    =—=--'--*—* 
Garrett  was  vain,  weak,  versatile,  sometimes  ridicu- 
lous^ but  ingenuous  and  sincere,  a  poet  and  dreamer 
^  who  was  also  a  political  schemer  and  man  of  the  world ; 
^nd  his  real  devotion  to  Portugal  and  to  Portuguese 
literature  led  him  to  make  sacrifices  which  a  less  self- 
centred  man  than  Garrett  might  have  rejected.    He  was 

1  He  protests  in  his  will  (June  9,  1853)  that  he  had  accepted  the 
title  solely  for  the  sake  of  his  daughter,  and  had  "  very  instantly 
implored  "  that  the  first  life  of  it  should  go  to  her.  He  had,  however, 
always  shown  a  certain  fondness  for  titles. 


i68  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

never  at  pains  to  disguise  his  character,  and  if  many 
took  advantage  of  his  naivete  and  openness,  it  also 
v7on  for  him  a  host  of  real  friends.  He  was,  if  not 
a  great  man,  a  great  poet  who  loved  and  served  his 
country  well.  His  principal  service  to  Portuguese 
poetry  was  that  he  freed  it  from  the  artificial  style  of 
the  eighteenth  century  apparent  in  his  own  earlier 
poems.  In  his  attempt  to  revive  Portuguese  drama 
he  failed,  for  he  had  no  followers  worthy  of  the  name, 
and  his  war  against  foreign  imitations  was  also  only 
temporarily  successful.  But  his_  influence  on  the 
character  of  Portuguese  poetry  was  permanentT'^^e 
was  the  first  of  the  Portuguese  romantics,  through  the 
combined  influence  upon  him  of  Shakespeare  and  of 
the  French  romantics  —  he  was  in  France  when  the 
battle  between  the  classic  and  romantic  schools  was  at 
its  height.  But  his  own  influence  in  Portugal  did  not 
consist  merely  in  the  introduction  of  a  new  school  of 
poetry.  It  was  deeper  and  saner  than  that.  Already 
in  the  preface  to  Camoes  (February  22,  1825)  he  writes : 
"  I  am  neither  classic  nor  romantic  "  ;  and  later  (during 
his  stay  at  Brussels)  hejearnt  from  Goethe  to  bridge 
the  gulf  between  the  two.  But  hiT'love  of  simple, 
popular  poetry  worked  in  his  own  case,  and  generally 
in  subsequent  Portuguese  literature,  towards  a  revival 
of  a  poetry  more  natural  and  sincere,  more  spontaneous 
and  national.^  "  My  fixed  idea,"  he  writes,  **  in  matters 
of  art  and  literature  in  our  peninsula  are  popular 
ballads  and  romances,"  ^  and  in  Dona  Branca  he  writes 

^  He  was  also  influenced  by  the  publication  of  Gil  Vicente's  works 
in  1834. 

2  Viagens  na  minka  terra:  "A  minha  idea  fixa  em  coisas  de  arte  e 
litterarias  da  nossa  peninsula  sao  xacaras  e  romances  populares." 


ALMEIDA-GARRETT  169 

of  the  stories  told  by  the  lareira  to  the  sound  of 
crackHng  chestnuts.^ 

4Iis_  own  £oetry  is  unequal.  The  tendency  to 
digression,^  which  lends  a  charm  to  a  prose  work 
such  as  Viagens  na  minha  terraj  could  not  but  mar  his 
poetry.  Thus  in  Dona  Branca  the  date — June — leads 
to  a  hundred  lines  of  reflections  on  the  month  of 
St.  John  and  the  climates  of  England  and  Portugal. 
Often,  too,  his  poetry  is  but  prose  cut  into  artificial 
divisions,  as  in  the  following  lines  from  the  first  canto 
of  Camoes  : 

*'  Nesses  tempos 
Que  heroicos  chama  o  enthusiasta  ardente, 
Barbaros  o  philosopho,  e  que  ao  certo 
Foram  pasmosa  mescla  de  virtudes 
E  atrocidades." 

(In  those  times 
Which  the  ardent  enthusiast  calls  heroic 
And  the  philosopher  barbarous,  and  which  certainly 
Were  a  wonderful  mixture  of  virtues 
And  atrocities.) 

And  in  a  poem  of  Flores  sem  fructo  ^  he  even  introduces 
the  philosopher  Hobbes.  It  is  true  that  he  calls  him 
*'  o  rispido  britanno,"  but  this  is  scarcely  more  poetical. 
But  at  his  best  he  is  unexcelled  in  lightness  and  grace 

1  "  Oh  magas  illusoes  !  oh  contos  lindos 

Que  as  longas  noites  de  comprido  hynverno 
Nossos  avos  feUzes  intertinheis 
Aope  do  amigo  lar,  ao  crebro  estallo 
Da  saltante  castanha. " 

2  He  himself  says  (preface  to  Lyrica  de  Jodo  Minimo)  :  "  As  digressoes 
matam-me  (Digressions  are  the  death  of  me)," 

3  This  contains  early  Horatian  odes  and  translations  of  Horace, 
Sappho,  Alcseus,  Anacreon,  an  imitation  of  Ossian,  etc. 


lyo  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

and  naturalness.  His  best  poems,  and  those  which  he 
himself  preferred,^  are  contained  in  Folhas  cahidas. 
The  most  famous  of  them  are,  perhaps,  Os  Cinco 
Sentidos  and  Ndo  ds  tu  : 

*'  Sao  bellas,  bem  o  sei,  essas  estrellas 
Mil  cores  divinaes  teem  essas  flores ; 
Mas  eu  nao  tenho,  amor,  olhos  para  ellas  : 
Em  toda  a  natureza 
Nao  vejo  outra  belleza 
Senao  a  ti,  a  ti. 

"  Divina,  ai !  sim,  sera  a  voz  que  affina 
Saudosa  na  ramagem  densa,  umbrosa ; 
Serd,  mas  eu  do  rouxinol  que  trina 
Nao  oigo  a  melodia 
Nem  sinto  outra  harmonia 
Senao  a  ti,  a  ti,"  etc. 

(Fair  in  the  skies  I  know  stars  set  and  rise, 
Colours  divine  in  all  these  flowers  shine ; 
But  I  for  stars  and  flowers,  love,  have  no  eyes : 
In  Nature's  majesty 
No  beauty  may  I  see 
But  thine,  but  only  thine ! 

Divinely  frail  the  voice  that  in  soft  wail 

Sounds  from  between  dense  shade  and  beechen  green  ; 

But  I  hear  not  the  trill  of  nightingale, 

No  sound  of  melody 

Nor  other  harmony 

But  thee,  but  only  thee !) 

*'  Era  assim  ;  tinha  esse  olhar, 
A  mesma  gra^a,  o  mesmo  ar ; 
Corava  da  mesma  cor 

1  "I  do  not  know  whether  these  verses  are  good  or  bad  :  I  know 
that  I  like  them  better  than  any  others  that  I  have  written." — Preface 
to  Folhas  caliidus. 


ALMEIDA-GARRETT  171 

Aquella  visao  que  eu  vi 
Quando  eu  sonhava  de  amor, 
Quando  em  sonhos  me  perdi,"  etc.'^ 

(Even  thus  she  was  ;  those  very  eyes, 
That  very  look,  the  selfsame  grace ; 
The  same  hue  mantled  in  her  face ; 
Even  such  the  vision  fair  that  crossed 
My  fancy  when  I  dreamed  of  love, 
When  all  in  dreams  my  thought  was  lost.) 

Cascaes,  too — 

"  La  onde  se  acaba  a  terra  " 

— is  far  from  deserving  to  be  smothered  in  the  extrava- 
gant praise  that  '*  in  no  literature,  ancient  or  modern, 
is  there  anything  to  be  compared  with  it."^  Other 
beautiful  poems  in  Folhas  cahidas  are  Destino,  Voz  e 
Aroma,  and  Bella  Barca  : 

"  Pescador  da  barca  bella 
Onde  vas  pescar  com  ella 
Que  6  tam  bella 
Oh  pescador  ? 

**  Nao  ves  que  a  ultima  estrella 
No  ceo  nublado  se  vela  ? 
Colhe  a  vela 
Oh  pescador !"  etc. 

(Fisherman  of  the  boat  so  fair 

Where  wouldst  thou  fishing  go,  say  where. 

Fisherman  of  the  boat  so  fair  ? 

1  Cf.  in  the  same  volume  : 

"  Quando  eu  sonhava  era  assim 
Que  nos  meus  sonhos  a  via,"  etc. 

2  Garrett  e  os  Dramas  Romanticos.  Porto,  1905  :  "  Em  nenhuma 
litteratura,  moderna  ou  antiga,  podera  encontrar-se  composi9ao  que 
Ihe  seja  comparavel." 


172  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

See'st  thou  not  in  the  clouded  air 

How  the  last  star  is  hidden  ?     Oh  beware, 

And  furl  the  sail  in  thy  boat  so  fair !) 

His  first  important  long  poem  was  Camoes  (1825),  of 
which  a  French  translation  was  published  in  1880. 
It  is  a  poem  on  a  poem  (the  Lusiads).  "  I  know  that 
I  am  the  first  to  be  bold  enough  to  do  this,"  writes 
Garrett  in  a  letter  of  the  time.  It  was  indeed  an 
original  and  dangerous  experiment,  and  that  it  was  not 
wholly  unsuccessful  proves  the  lifelike  character  of 
Camoes'  work.  The  poem  opens  with  an  invocation  to 
SaudadCj  and  Canto  I  tells  of  the  arrival  of  Camoes  at 
Lisbon  from  the  Indies  with  an  empty  purse,  his  slave 
Jao  his  only  friend,  and  the  MS.  of  the  Lusiads : 

"  Meu  haver  unico, 
Todos  OS  mens  thesouros  sao  um  livro." 

In  Canto  2  he  enters  a  church,  and  meets  the 
funeral  procession  of  Natercia  (Caterina  de  Athayde). 
He  is  entertained  by  a  monk  in  his  cell  (Canto  3), 
and  tells  him  his  adventures,  paraphrasing  the  Lusiads 
(Canto  4).  He  reads  the  Lusiads  to  King  Sebastian  at 
Cintra,  whose  enthusiasm  it  kindles : 

"  Alma  tera  pequena  e  bem  mesquinha 
O  portuguez  que  nao  mover  tal  canto." 

Soon  afterwards  the  King  leaves  on  the  ill-fated 
African  expedition,  and  news  of  the  defeat  of  Alcacer 
Kebir  is  brought  to  Camoes  on  his  death-bed,  so  that 
his  last  words  are :  "  Country,  we  die  together — 

Patria,  ao  menos 
Juntos  morremos." 

The  finest  parts  of  the  poem,  so  far  as  concerns  the 


ALMEIDA-GARRETT  173 

execution,  are  the  elegy  on  Natercia  and  the  descrip- 
tion of  Cintra.  Equally  Portuguese  was  the  subject 
of  Dona  Branca,  based  on  old  chronicles  of  fighting 
between  Portuguese  and  Moors  in  Algarve.  The  first 
edition,  written  in  the  "  solitude,  sadness,  and  saudades 
of  exile,"  consisted  of  seven  cantos.  It  was  recast  in 
ten  cantos  (some  4,000  lines)  in  the  second  edition 
(1848).  It  was  his  wish,  he  had  said  earlier,  "  to  write 
Portuguese  verses  in  Portuguese  and  in  Portuguese 
fashion — fazer  versos  portiiguezes  em portuguez  e  porUiguez- 
menteZ  In  this  he  was  tboroughly  successful.  His 
longer  poems,  sometimes  wearisome,  continually  charm 
by  some  native  phrase  or  reference,  such  as  the  mention 
in  Dona  Branca  of 

"  Agoureiras  alcachofras, 
Oraculos  d'amor." 

In  1838,^  with  JJni  Auto  de  Gil  Vicente,  Garrett  began 
seriously  to  attempt  to  found  a  Portuguese  drama. 
Nearly  twenty  years  earlier,  in  the  preface  to  Catdo 
(1822),  a  play  imitated  in  parts  from  Addison's  Cato, 
he  wrote  that  he  had  gone  to  Rome  for  his  subject, 
but  had  returned  to  Portugal,  and  had  thought  as  a 
Portuguese  for  Portuguese.  He  now  chose  a  Portu- 
guese subject :  the  love,  since  proved  legendary,  of 
Bernardim  Ribeiro — 

^'  Bernardim  que  das  musas  lusitanas 
Primeiro  obteve  a  c'roa  d'alvas  rosas" 

— for  the  Infanta  Beatriz,  daughter  of  King  Manoel  I. 
The  play  was  to  be  "  a  stone  towards  the  building 
of  our  theatre — uma  pedra  langada   no  edificio  do  nosso 

1  Written  June-July,  1838  ;  acted  August  15,  1838. 


174  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

theatro."  *'  Gil  Vicente,"  he  said,  further,  in  the  preface, 
**  had  laid  the  foundation  of  a  national  school,"  but 
although  these  foundations  were  sure,  no  one  had  built 
upon  them.  Fifty  years  after  Garrett's  death  this  may 
still  be  said  of  the  drama  in  Portugal,  Gil  Vicente  and 
Garrett  remaining  the  only  two  outstanding  names. 
Um  Auto  de  Gil  Vicente  has  not  the  concentration  of 
interest  attained  in  Garrett's  subsequent  plays,  and 
the  last  scene,  in  which  Bernardim  Ribeiro  leaps  into 
the  Tagus,  is  a  little  strained ;  but  the  characters  of 
Gil  and  Paula  Vicente,  Ribeiro,  King  Manoel,  and  the 
Infanta  are  clearly  and  skilfully  drawn,  and  the  play 
has  caught  the  atmosphere  of  those  spacious  times  of 
Portugal's  greatness. 

In  1842  appeared  0  Alfageme  de  Santarem  (sketched 
in  1839;  written  at  Bemfica  in  1841).  The  play  is 
based  on  an  old  Portuguese  chronicle,  the  Coronica  do 
condestabre  de  purtugall  {Lisbon,  1526),  and  tells  of  the 
struggle  between  Portugal  and  Spain,  culminating  in 
the  Portuguese  victory  of  Aljubarrota  in  1385.  The 
principal  characters  are  Fernao  Vaz,  armourer  of 
Santarem,  who  gives  the  title  to  the  play ;  Alda ;  the 
Constable  Nun'  Alvares  Pereira;  the  traitor,  Mendo 
Paes;  his  sister,  Guiomar ;  the  jovial  old  priest,  Froilao 
Dias.  The  interest  never  flags,  from  the  time  when 
the  cutler  enters  with  the  song 

"  Quem  nao  deve,  nao  deve,  nao  teme 
Espadas  e  lan9as  faz  o  alfageme," 

to  the  last  chorus  singing  of  victory  after  the  battle  in 
which  Fernao  Vaz  has  taken  part : 

'*  Ja  foge  o  inimigo,  de  raiva  ja  treme, 
Que  ahi  vem  o  alfageme." 


ALMEIDA-GARRETT  175 

Two  years  ^  after  0  A  Ifageme  de  Santarem  was  written 
Fret  Luiz  ^^  _So«s^_  (1844)^  Ihe  most  dramatic  of 
Garrett's  plays.  The  actors  are  Manoel  de  Sousa 
(afterwards  Frei  Luiz)  ;  his  wafe,  Dona  Magdalena 
de  Vilhena;  his  brother,  Frei  Jorge  Coutinho;  his 
daughter,  Dona  Maria  de  Noronha;  a  Pilgrim  (the 
first  husband  of  Dona  Magdalena,  Dom  Joao  de 
Portugal,  who  had  disappeared  after  the  Battle  of 
Alcacer  Kebir,  and  now  returns  after  twenty-one  years 
of  captivity)  ;  and  the  old  servant,  Telmo  Paes,  who 
has  never  lost  faith  in  the  return  of  King  Sebastian 
and  his  master,  Joao  de  Portugal.  Again  the  theme  is 
intensely  national,  and  Manoel  de  Sousa  is  one  of  the 
^bitter  opponents  of  the  Spanish  rule  in  Portugal,  setting 
fire  to  his  house  rather  than  entertain  the  Spaniard. 
The  first  act  is  pervaded  by  a  Greek  horror  of  fore- 
boding, which  is  realized  in  the  second  act  when  the 
Pilgrim  appears  and  tells  his  story.  In  the  third  act 
Manoel  de  Sousa  and  Magdalena  both  enter  the  Order 
of  Dominicans,  while  their  daughter  Maria  dies,  the 
Pilgrim  attempting  too  late  to  remedy  the  mischief. 
The  most  dramatic  scene  is  that  of  the  second  act,  in 
which  the  Pilgrim  appears,  and  gradually,  with  a  kind 
of  devilish  slowness,  reveals  his  dreadful  secret  ^ : 

1  Difficulties  raised  by  the  censorship  delayed  the  acting  of  the 
play  till  1850. 

2  In  a  letter  of  March  7,  1849,  Garrett  wrote  :  "  Do  you  know  that 
Frei  Luiz  de  Sousa  has  been  translated  into  German  by  the  Count 
Luckner  and  into  English  by  the  celebrated  Mrs.  Norton  ?" 
This  English  translation  was  never  published ;  but  in  the  Dublin 
Review  of  January,  1900,  appeared  Brother  Luiz  de  Sousa,  a  study  with 
translated  extracts  by  Edgar  Prestage  ;  and  in  1909  The  "  Brother  Luiz 
de  Sousa"  of  the  Viscount  de  Almeida-Garrett,  done  into, English  by  Edgar 
Prestage.  London  :  Elkin  Mathews.  The  German  translation  was 
published  in  1847.  It  has  further  been  translated  into  Italian  (1852), 
Spanish  (8859),  and  French  (1904). 


176  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

Act  II.,  Scene  14. — Magdalena,  Jorge,  Romeiro. 

Jorge.  Sois  portuguez  ? 

Romeiro.  Como  os  melhores,  espero  em  Deus. 

y.  E  vindes  .  .  .  ? 

R.  Do  Sancto-Sepulcro  de  Jesu  Christo. 

J.  E  visitastes  todos  os  Sanctos-Logares  ? 

R.  Nao  OS  visitei ;  morei  la  vinte  annos  cumpridos. 

Magdalena.  Sancta  vida  levastes,  bom  romeiro. 

R.  Oxala  !  Padeci  muita  fome,  e  nao  soffri  com  paciencia : 
deram-me  muitos  trattos,  e  nem  sempre  os  level  com  os  olhos 
n'aquelle  que  alii  tinha  padecido  tanto  por  mim.  .  .  .  Queria 
rezar,  e  meditar  nos  mysterios  da  Sagrada  Paixao  que  alii  se 
obrou  .  .  .  e  as  paixoes  mundanas,  e  as  lembrangas  dos  que  se 
chamavam  meus  segundo  a  carne,  travavam-me  do  cora<jao  e  do 
espirito,  que  os  nao  deixavam  estar  com  Deus,  nem  n'aquella 
terra  que  e  toda  sua. — Oh  !  eu  nao  merecia  estar  onde  estive  : 
bem  vedes  que  nao  soube  morrer  la. 

J.  Pois  bem.     Deus  quiz  trazer-vos  a  terra  de  vossos  paes  ; 

Jorge.  Are  you  Portuguese  ? 

Pilgrim.  None  more  so,  I  devoutly  hope. 

J.  And  you  come  .  .  .  ? 

P.  From  the  Holy  Sepulchre  of  our  Lord. 

J.  And  did  you  visit  all  the  Holy  Places  ? 

P.  No,  I  did  not  visit  them.  I  lived  there  during  twenty  long 
years. 

Magdalena.  A  holy  life  was  yours,  good  pilgrim. 

P.  I  would  it  had  been  !  But  I  underwent  great  hunger  and 
suffered  it  not  with  patience  ;  sorely  they  ill-treated  me,  and  not 
always  did  I  bear  it  with  my  eyes  fixed  upon  Him  who  had  there 
suffered  so  much  for  me.  ...  I  sought  to  pray  and  to  meditate 
on  the  mysteries  of  the  Sacred  Passion  which  was  there  enacted 
.  .  .  and  worldly  passions  and  the  thought  of  those  who  called 
themselves  mine  after  the  flesh  beset  my  heart  and  spirit,  and 
would  not  suffer  them  to  be  with  God,  even  in  that  land  which  is 
all  His. — Oh  !  I  was  unworthy  to  be  where  I  was  :  you  see  I  had 
not  the  courage  to  die  there. 

J.  Well.     God  was  pleased  to  bring  you  to  the  land  of  your 


ALMEIDA-GARRETT  177 

e  quando  for  sua  vontade,  ireis  morrer  socegado  nos  bra(jos  de 
vossos  filhos. 

R.  Eu  nao  tenho  filhos,  padre. 

y.  No  seio  da  vossa  familia.  .  .  . 

R.  A  minha  familia.  ...     Ja  nao  tenho  familia. 

M.  Sempre  ha  parentes,  amigos  .  .  . 

R.  Parentes  !  .  .  .  Os  mais  chegados,  os  que  eu  me  impor- 
tava  achar  .  .  .  contaram  com  a  minha  morte,  fizeram  a  sua 
fehcidade  com  ella  ;  haode  jurar  que  me  nao  conhecem. 

M.  Havera  tarn  md  gente  .  .  .  e  tam  vil  que  tal  faga  ? 

R.  Necessidade  pode  muito. — Deus  Ih'o  perdoard,  se  poder  ! 

M.  Nao  faqais  juizos  temerarios,  bom  romeiro. 

R.  Nao  fago. — De  parentes,  ja  sei  mais  do  que  queria  :  amigos 
tenho  um  ;  com  esse,  conto. 

y.  Ja  nao  sois  tam  infehz. 

M.  E  o  que  eu  poder  fazer-vos,  todo  o  amparo  e  agasalhado 
que  poder  dar-vos,  contae  commigo,  bom  velho,  e  com  meu 
marido,  que  hade  folgar  de  vos  proteger  .  .  . 

fathers  ;  and  when  it  is  His  will  you  will  die  quietly  among  your 
children. 

P.  I  have  no  children,  padre. 

J.  Amid  your  family  .  .  . 

P.  My  family  ...     I  have  no  family  now. 

M.  There  are  always  relations,  friends. 

P.  Relations  !  Those  nearest  to  me,  those  whom  I  looked  to 
find  have  counted  upon  my  death,  they  have  built  their  happi- 
ness upon  it ;  they  will  swear  that  they  do  not  know  me. 

M.  Can  there  be  people  wicked  and  vile  enough  for  that  ? 

P.  Necessity  has  great  power. — God  will  forgive  them,  if  He 
can. 

M.  Form  no  rash  judgments,  good  pilgrim. 

P.  I  do  not. — Of  my  relations  I  know  more  than  I  could  wish, 
of  friends  I  have  one  ;  on  him  I  can  depend. 

J.  Then  you  are  not  so  miserable. 

M.  And  for  what  I  can  do  for  you,  for  any  help  and  comfort 
I  can  give  you,  count  upon  me,  good  old  man,  and  on  my  hus- 
band, who  will  have  pleasure  in  protecting  you  .  .  . 


178  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

R.  Eu  ja  vos  pedi  algiima  coisa,  senhora  ? 

M.  Pois  perdoae,  se  vos  offendi,  amigo. 

R.  Nao  ha  offensa  verdadeira  senao  as  que  se  fazem  a  Deus. — 
Pedi-lhe  vos  perdao  a  Elle,  que  vos  nao  faltara  de  que. 

M.  Nao,  irmao,  nao  decerto.    E  Elle  tera  compaixao  de  mim. 

R.  Tera  .  .  . 

y.  {cortando  a  conversagdo).  Bom  velho,  dissestes  trazer  um  re- 
cado  a  esta  dama  :  dae-lh'  o  ja,  que  havereis  mister  de  ir  descangar. 

R.  {sorrindo  amargamenie).  Quereis  lembrar-me  que  estou 
abusando  da  paciencia  com  que  me  tem  ouvido  ?  Fizestes  bem, 
padre  :  eu  ia-me  esquecendo  .  .  .  talvez  me  esquecesse  de  todo  da 
mensagem  a  que  vim  .  .  .  estou  tarn  velho  e  mudado  do  que  fui ! 

M.  Deixae,  deixae,  nao  importa ;  eu  folgo  de  vos  ouvir  :  dir- 
me-heis  vosso  recado  quando  quizerdes  .  .  .  logo,  amanhan  .  .  . 

R.  Hoje  hade  ser.  Ha  tres  dias  que  nao  durmo  nem  descancjo, 
nem  pousei  esta  cabega,  nem  pararam  estes  pes  dia  nem  noite, 
para  chegar  aqui  hoje,  para  vos  dar  meu  recado  .  .  .  e  morrer 

P.  Have  I  asked  you  for  aught,  senhora  ? 

M.  Forgive  me,  then,  friend,  if  I  have  offended  you. 

P.  There  are  no  true  offences  but  those  towards  God.  Ask 
forgiveness  of  Him,  since  you  surely  have  sins  to  be  forgiven. 

M.  Yes,  brother,  assuredly.     And  He  will  have  mercy  on  me. 

P.  He  will  .  .  . 

J.  {breaking  ojf  the  conversation).  Good  old  man,  you  said  you 
brought  a  message  to  this  lady  :  give  it  her  now,  since  you  will 
have  need  of  rest. 

P.  {smiling  bitterly).  You  would  remind  me  that  I  am  abusing 
the  patience  with  which  she  has  listened  to  me  ?  You  do  well, 
padre :  I  was  forgetting.  .  .  .  Perhaps  I  might  have  quite  for- 
gotten the  message  on  which  I  came  ...  so  old  I  am  and  changed 
from  what  I  was. 

M.  Let  be ;  it  is  no  matter.  I  take  pleasure  in  listening  to 
you  :  you  will  give  me  your  message  when  you  will  .  .  .  now, 
to-morrow  .  .  . 

P.  It  must  be  to-day.  For  three  days  I  have  not  had  sleep  nor 
repose  ;  I  have  not  laid  my  head  to  rest  nor  stayed  my  feet  night 
or  day,  that  I  might  arrive  here  and  give  you  my  message  .  .  . 


ALMEIDA-GARRETT  179 

depois  .  .  .  ainda  que  morresse  depois  ;  porque  jurei  .  .  .  faz 
hoje  um  anno  .  .  .  quando  me  libertaram,  dei  juramento  sobre 
a  pedra  sancta  do  Sepulchro  de  Christo  .  .  . 

M.  Pois  ereis  captivo  em  Jerusalem  ? 

R.  Era  :  nao  vos  disse  que  vivi  la  vinte  annos  ? 

M.  Sim,  mas  .  .  . 

R.  Mas  o  juramento  que  dei  foi  que,  antes  de  um  anno  cum- 
prido,  estaria  deante  de  vos  e  vos  diria  da  parte  de  quem  me 
mandou  .  .  . 

M.  {aterrada).  E  quem  vos  mandou,  homem  ? 

R.  Um  homem  foi, — e  um  honrado  homem  ...  a  quem  unica- 
mente  devi  a  liberdade  ...  a  ninguem  mais.  Jurei  fazer-lhe  a 
vontade,  e  vim. 

M.  Como  se  chama  ? 

R.  O  seu  nome,  nem  o  da  sua  gente  nunca  o  disse  a  ninguem 
no  captiveiro. 

M.  Mas  enfim,  dizei  vos  .  .  . 

R.  As  suas  palavras,  trago-as  escriptas  no  cora^ao  com  as 
lagrymas  de  sangue  que  Ihe  vi  chorar,  que  muitas  vezes  me  cahi- 
ram  n'estas  maos,  que  me  correram  por  estas  faces.     Ninguem  o 

and  then  die  .  .  .  even  though  I  should  then  die ;  for  I  swore 
...  a  year  ago  to-day  .  .  .  when  they  set  me  free,  I  swore  an 
oath  upon  the  holy  stone  of  Christ's  Sepulchre  .  .  . 

M.  Were  you  then  captive  in  Jerusalem  ? 

P.  I  was.    Have  I  not  told  you  that  I  lived  there  twenty  years  ? 

M.  Yes,  but  .  .  . 

P.  But  the  oath  I  swore  was  that  before  a  year  had  passed,  I 
would  stand  before  you  and  say  to  you  from  him  who  sent  me  .  .  . 

M.  (in  dismay).     And  who  sent  you,  man  ? 

P.  It  was  a  man,  an  honourable  man  ...  to  whom  alone  I  owe 
my  freedom  ;  to  no  one  else.     I  swore  to  do  his  will,  and  came. 

M.  What  is  his  name  ? 

P.  His  name  he  told  to  no  one  in  captivity,  nor  that  of  his 
family. 

M.  But  speak  then,  you. 

P.  His  words  I  have  written  upon  my  heart  in  the  tears  of 
blood  which  I  saw  him  shed,  which  often  fell  upon  my  hands, 


i8o  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

consolava  senao  eu  .  .  .  e  Deus  !  Vede  se  me  esqueceriam  as 
suas  palavras. 

J.  Homem,  acabe. 

R.  Agora  acabo  :  soffrei,  que  elle  tambem  soffreu  muito. — 
Aqui  estao  as  suas  palavras  :  "  Ide  a  D.  Magdalena  Vilhena,  e 
dizei-lhe  que  um  homem  que  muito  bem  Ihe  quiz  .  .  .  aqui  esta 
vivo  .  .  .  por  seu  mal  .  .  .  e  d'aqui  nao  pode  sahir  nem  mandar- 
Ihe  novas  suas  de  ha  vinte  annos  que  o  trouxeram  captivo." 

M.  {ita  maior  anciedade).  Deus  tenha  misericordia  de  mim  ! 
E  esse  homem,  esse  homem.  .  .  .  Jesus  !  esse  homem  era  .  .  . 
esse  homem  tenha  sido  .  .  .  levaram-n'o  ahi  de  donde  !  .  .  . 
de  Africa  ? 

R.  Levaram. 

M.  Captivo  ?  .  .  . 

R.  Sim. 

M.  Portuguez  ?  .  .  .  captivo  da  batalha  de  .  .  .  ? 

R.  De  Alcacer-Kebir. 

M.  {espavorida).  Meu  Deus  !  meu  Deus!  Que  se  nao  abre  a  terra 


ran  down  my  cheeks.  I  was  his  only  comfort  ...  I  and  God  ! 
You  see,  then,  I  would  not  easily  forget  his  words. 

J.  End  now,  good  man. 

P.  I  make  an  end  even  now  :  suffer  me,  for  he,  too,  greatly 
suffered. — These  are  his  words  :  "  Go  to  Dona  Magdalena  de 
Vilhena  and  tell  her  that  a  man  who  loved  her  dearly  ...  is  here 
alive  ...  for  his  misfortune  .  .  .  and  has  been  unable  to  leave 
this  place  or  send  her  word  since  they  brought  him  here,  a 
captive,  twenty  years  ago." 

M.  {in  the  greatest  distress).  Heaven  have  mercy  upon  me  ! 
This  man,  this  man — O  God  1 — this  man,  was  he  .  .  .  had  he 
been  .  .  .  had  they  brought  him,  from  where  .  .  .  from  Africa  ? 

P.  Africa. 

M.  A  captive  ? 

P.  Yes. 

M.  A  Portuguese  ?  .  .  .  a  captive  from  the  battle  of  .  .  .  ? 

P.  Alcacer-Kebir. 

M.  {horrified).  My  God  !  my  God  !     Why  docs  the  ground  not 


ALMEIDA-GARRETT  i8i 

debaixo  dos  meus  pes  ?  .  .  .  Que  nao  cahem  estas  paredes,  que 
me  nao  sepultam  ja  aqui  ?  .  .  . 

J.  Callae-vos,  D.  Magdalena  :  a  misericordia  de  Deus  e  in- 
finita ;  esperae.  Eu  duvido,  eu  nao  creio  .  .  .  estas  nao  sao 
cousas  para  se  crerem  de  leve.  {Reflede,  e  logo  conio  por  uma  idea 
que  Ihe  acudiu  de  repente)  Oh  inspiragao  divina  .  .  .  {chegando 
ao  romeiro).  Conheceis  bem  esse  homem,  romeiro :  nao  e 
assim  ? 

R.  Como  a  mim  mesmo. 

J.  Se  o  vireis  .  .  .  ainda  que  fora  n'outros  trajos  .  .  .  com 
menos  annos — pintado,  digamos — conhece-lo-heis  ? 

R.  Como  se  me  visse  a  mim  mesmo  n'um  espelho. 

J.  Procurae  n'estes  retrattos,  e  dizei-me  se  algum  d'elles 
pode  ser. 

R.  (sent  procurar,  e  apontando  logo  para  o  retratto  de  D.  Joao). 
E  aquelle. 

M.  {com  urn  grito  espantoso).  Minha  filha,  minha  filha,  minha 
filha  !  .  .  .  {Em  torn  cavo  e  profundo)  Estou  .  .  .  estas  .  .  .  perdi- 


open  beneath  my  feet  ?  Why  do  these  walls  not  fall  and  bury 
me  here  now  ? 

y.  Silence,  Dona  Magdalena  :  the  mercy  of  God  is  infinite  ; 
have  hope,  I  still  doubt ;  I  cannot  beheve  .  .  .  these  things  are 
not  to  be  beheved  lightly.  {He  considers,  and  then  as  on  some 
sudden  thought)  A  Heaven-sent  inspiration  .  .  .  {advancing  to  the 
pilgrim).     You  know  this  man  well,  pilgrim  :  is  it  not  so  ? 

P.  Well  as  myself. 

J.  Were  3^ou  to  see  him,  although  in  different  dress,  in  other 
years — a  picture,  say — you  would  know  him  ? 

P.  Even  as  if  I  were  to  see  my  own  self  in  a  glass. 

J.  Search  among  these  portraits,  and  tell  me  if  it  could  be  one 
of  them. 

P.  {without  searching,  and  pointing  immediately  to  the  portrait  of 
Dom  Jodo).  He. 

M.  {with  an  awful  cry).  My  daughter,  my  daughter,  my 
daughter  !  .  .  .  {In  deep  and  hollow  tones)  I  am  .  .  .  you  are 
.  .  .  lost  .  .  .  dishonoured  .  .  .  infamous  !      {With  another  deep 


i82  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

das  .  .  .  deshonradas  .  .  .  infames  !     (Com  outro  griio  do  coragdo) 
Oh  minha  filha,  minha  filha  !     {Foge  despavorida  e  n'este  gritar.) 

ScENA  15. — Jorge,  e  0  Romeiro,  queseguia  Magdalenacom  os  olhos, 
e  esid  alpado  no  meio  da  casa  com  aspecto  severo  e  tremendo. 

7.  Romeiro,  romeiro  !  quem  es  tu  ? 

R.  {apontando  com  0  bordao  para  0  retratto  de  D.  Joao  de  Por- 
tugal). Ninguem.  (Fret  Jorge  cae  prostrado  no  chdo,  com  os  bragos 
esfendidos,  deante  da  tribuna.    O  panno  desce  lentamenie.) 

cry)  O  my  daughter,  my  daughter  !      {She  Hees  terror-stricken , 
still  crying  out  these  words.) 

Scene  15. — Jorge,  and  the  Pilgrim,  who  has  followed  Magdalena 
with  his  eyes,  and  stands  erect  in  the  centre  of  the  room,  with  a 
look  severe  and  terrible. 
J.  Pilgrim,  pilgrim  !  who  are  you  ? 

P.  {pointing  with  his  staff  at  the  portrait  of  Dom  Jodo  de  Portu- 
gal). No  one.  {Frei  Jorge  falls  prostrate  on  the  ground,  his  arms 
extended.     The  curtain  descends  slowly.) 

Dona  Philippa  de  Vilhena  (1846)  is  a  powerfully 
described  episode  in  the  revolt  of  Portugal  from  Spain 
in  1640.  Dona  Philippa  arms  her  two  sons  for  the 
fight  on  the  night  of  the  conspiracy  which  is  to  bring 
them  victory  or  death.  Again  the  play  holds  the 
reader's  attention  from  the  first  scene,  when  the  old 
porter  appears  muttering  and  murmuring  in  the  house 
of  his  master,  Rui  Galvao,  friend  of  Castille,  to  the 
last  vivas  of  the  victorious  Portuguese  people.  The 
interest  of  A  Sobrinha  do  Marqiiez,  sketching  the 
position  of  the  famous  Minister,  the  Marquez  de 
Pombal,  during  the  last  days  of  King  Jos6  I.,  is  equally 
well  sustained.  It  would  appear  paradoxically  that 
Garrett,  as  a  rule,  had  not  the  time  to  write  briefly  and 
with  concentration,  but  from  time  to  time  he  retired 


ALMEIDA-GARRETT  183 

into  a  subject  for  a  few  weeks  {Frei  Luiz  de  Sousa  was 
written  in  two  or  three  weeks,  when  the  author  was 
laid  up  in  March  and  April,  1842),  and  his  impression- 
able nature  then  received  and  reproduced  with  great 
truth  the  character  of  the  times  and  persons  depicted. 
The  characters  of  Cato  and  Brutus  (in  Catdo),  of  Dona 
Philippa  and  Dona  Leonor  (in  Dona  Philippa  de  Vilhena), 
of  Marianna  and  the  Marquez  de  Pombal  (in  A  Sobrinha 
do  Marquez),  are  all  excellently  drawn.  Equally  skilful 
are  the  sketches  of  popular  or  minor  persons — the 
buffoon  D.  Bernabe ;  the  servants  Ze  Braga,  minhoto 
cerrado,  and  Zephirino,  complacently  vain  ;  the  old 
aio  in  Frei  Luiz  de  Sousa,  representing  the  wistful 
satidade  of  the  Portuguese  people,  watching  for  the 
return  of  King  Sebastian,  '^  que  ha  de  vir  um  dia  de 
nevoa  muito  cerrada,  who  will  come  on  a  day  of  thickest 
mist."  In  these  four  later  plays  the  influence  of 
Egmont  and  other  of  Goethe's  works  is  clearly  seen.'^ 
The  style  in  all  of  them,  as  in  all  Garrett's  prose,  is 
flexible  a.nd  graceful,  capable  of  striking  many  notes 
and  voicing  many  moods  with  a  clear  simplicity  and 
insinuating  charm.  "  The  reading  of  many  French 
books,"  wrote  Herculano  in  1837,  "  has  so  corrupted 
our  .language  that  it  is  now  impossible  to  free  it  from 
Gallicisms."  Garrett  led  a  forlorn  hope  against  these 
corrupt  practices,  and  he  gave  so  national  an  impulse 
to  every  department  of  Portuguese  literature  that  he 
has  been  described  as  ''  uma  nacionalidade  que  re- 
suscita." 

1  In  the  autobiography  he  acknowledges  this  influence  of  German 
litera-ture,  and  especially  of  Goethe,  on  all  his  work  after  his  stay  aF 
Brussels  (1834-1836). 


CHAPTER  VII 

THREE  POETS  OF  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY 

In  the  sixteenth  century  the  Portuguese  poets  had 
flocked  from  the  provinces  to  Lisbon — Gil  Vicente 
from  Minho  (or  possibly  Beira  Baixa),  Sa  de  Miranda 
from  Coimbra,  Bernardim  Ribeiro  from  Alemtejo.^  In 
the  nineteenth  century  Lisbon  absorbed  Portuguese 
talent  even  to  a  greater  degree,  but  Joao  de  Deus 
Ramos  (1830-1896),  a  native  of  Algarve,  perhaps  more 
than  the  other  poets  of  his  time  v^ithstood  its  influence, 
and  remained  at  heart  a  provincial,  a  poet  of  the  soil. 
Born  at  Messines  in  1830,  he  took  his  degree  at 
Coimbra  University  in  1859,  ^.nd  continued  at  Coimbra 
until  1862,  afterwards  spending  five  years  in  Alemtejo 
and  Algarve,  chiefly  at  Villanova  de  Portimao.  When 
he  came  permanently  to  Lisbon  he  was  thirty-eight 
years  old.  He  was  returned  as  deputy  for  Silves 
(Algarve),  but  he  took  little  part  in  politics,  and  the 
last  twenty  years  of  his  life  were  occupied  largely  in 
founding  and  perfecting  a  system  of  education  through- 
out Portugal  {Methodo  Jodo  de  Deus).  Although  he 
studied  and  translated  from  French  and  Italian,  he  did 
not  profess  to  be  a  thinker   nor  deeply  learned,  but 

^  He  was  born  at  Torrao,  a  little  village  of  low,  white  houses  and 
narrow,  cobbled  streets  on  a  hill  near  the  frontier  of  Estremadura. 

184 


THREE  NINETEENTH-CENTURY  POETS  185 

simply  a  poet.  He  showed  throughout  his  Hfe  that  he 
possessed  an  inexhaustible  fund  of  lyrical  poetry  and 
an  astonishing  facility  of  rhyming.  Whether  he  was 
making  a  conventional  birthday  compliment,  or  criti- 
cizing a  new  book,  or  threatening  to  stop  the  eternal 
cry  of  the  maldito  cauteleiro,  the  Lisbon  seller  of  lottery 
tickets,  with  an  inkpot  thrown  from  a  fifth-story 
window,  it  was  still  in  verse  that  he  wrote;  always 
with  great  naturalness,  often  with  inimitable  charm. 
His  theory  of  poetry  was  diametrically  opposed  to  that 
of  Charles  Baudelaire — that  poetry  was  essentially  not 
an  art,  but  something  entirely  spontaneous :  a  poesia 
ndo  tern  conta  e  medida}  What  he  evidently  valued  was 
a  perfect  clearness  and  natural  flow  in  verse,  and  this 
he  found  in  the  popular  poetry  of  Portugal,  which  he 
took  for  the  basis  and  inspiration  of  his  own.  He 
improvised  continually,  and  some  of  his  unpremeditated 
art  shows  the  fairy  lightness  and  grace  of  Shelley's 
Ode  to  a  Skylark,  as  of  words  flowing  from  a  perennial 
spring,  crystally  clear.  In  all  his  work  there  is  no  line 
of  rhetoric.  If  the  theme  of  his  verses  is  sometimes 
commonplace  and  the  thought  non-existent,  there  is 
still  an  unfailing  freshness,  whether  the  verse  be 
passionate  and  intense  or  lightly  satirical.  He  would 
tell  younger  poets  who  sent  their  works  to  him  that  he 
was  no  critic,  but  that  time  would  show  whether  their 
poems  were  gold  or  tinsel.  The  secret  and  value  of 
his  own  poetry  lies  in  the  fact  that  he  did  not  seek  to 
belong  to  any  school,  but  was  content  to  be  direct  and 
simple  with  the  directness  and  simplicity  of  the 
popular  cantigas  : 

^  Joao  de  Deus,  Prosas  coordenadas  por  Theophilo  Braga.    Lisboa,  i8g8. 


i86  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

*'  Quando  vejo  a  minha  amada 
Parece  que  o  sol  nasceu  ; 
Cantae,  cantae  alvorada 
Oh  avesinhas  do  ceo." 

(When  I  see  my  love 
It  seems  the  sun  doth  rise  ; 
Sing,  sing  to  the  dawn, 
Sing,  birds  in  the  skies.) 

So  in  his  longer  poem  Enlevo,  of  which  these  are  the 
first  two  of  eight  verses  : 

"  Nao  brilha  o  sol 
Nem  pode  a  lua 
Brilhar  na  sua 
Presenga  d'ella ! 
Nenhuma  estrella 
Brilha  deante 
Da  minha  amante 
Da  minha  amada ! 

"  A  madrugada 
Quanto  nao  perde  ! 
O  campo  verde 
Quanto  esmorece  ! 
Quanto  parece 
A  voz  da  ave 
Menos  suave 
Que  a  sua  falla  !" 

(When  she  doth  appear 
The  sun  hides  its  light, 
The  moon  no  longer  bright 
Shines  when  she  is  near  1 
In  the  heavens  above 
Not  a  star  may  shine 
In  presence  of  my  love, 
Before  her  who  is  mine ! 


THREE  NINETEENTH-CENTURY  POETS  187 

When  my  love  is  seen 
Dawn  in  beauty  yields, 
And  from  out  the  fields 
Fades  the  glow  of  green  ! 
And  there  is  no  bird 
But  the  song  it  sings 
When  her  voice  is  heard 
Less  divinely  rings  !) 

One  of  his  finest  and  longest  poems,  the  elegy 
A  Vida,  may  remind  some  readers  of  Victor  Hugo's 
A  Villequier,  but  it  is  more  purely  lyrical,  and  without 
a  trace  of  rhetoric.  It  soon  breaks  into  lyrics  as  light 
and  exquisite  as  any  that  Joao  de  Deus  wrote : 

^'  A  vida  e  o  dia  de  hoje, 
A  vida  e  ai  que  mal  soa, 
A  vida  e  sombra  que  foge, 
A  vida  e  nuvem  que  voa ; 
A  vida  e  sonho  tam  leva 
Que  se  desfaz  como  a  neve 
E  como  o  fumo  se  esvae  : 
A  vida  dura  um  momento 
Mais  leve  que  o  pensamento, 
A  vida  leva-a  o  vento, 
A  vida  e  folha  que  cae  ! 

"  A  vida  e  flor  na  corrente, 
A  vida  e  sopro  suave, 
A  vida  e  estrella  cadente, 
Voa  mais  leve  que  a  ave : 
Nuvem  que  o  vento  nos  ares, 
Onda  que  o  vento  nos  mares 
Uma  apoz  outra  langou, 
A  vida — penna  cahida 
Da  aza  de  ave  ferida — 
De  valle  em  valle  impellida, 
A  vida  o  vento  a  levou." 


i88  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

(Life  is  this  day  we  live 

Life  is  a  wailing  cry, 

A  shadow  fugitive, 

A  cloud  that  floats  on  high ; 

Life  is  but  fleeting  show 

Fading  as  fades  the  snow, 

And  swift  as  smoke  is  thinned  : 

Lighter  than  thought,  one  brief 

Instant  set  in  relief. 

Life  is  a  falling  leaf 

Borne  on  wings  of  the  wind ! 

Life  is  a  flower  by  stream 
Borne  onward,  zephyr  light, 
Of  falling  star  the  gleam, 
Swifter  than  bird's  swift  flight : 
As  cloud  on  cloud  in  heaven. 
As  wave  on  wave  wind-driven, 
With  ever  more  behind. 
As  feather  falls  from  wound 
Of  bird  on  wing  to  the  ground, 
Life  from  vale  to  vale  is  bound 
On  the  wings  of  the  wind.) 

Joao  de  Deus  is  the  most  Portuguese  of  the  modern 
poets,  unfailingly  natural.  His  poetry  is  an  excellent 
proof  of  the  value  of  Wordsworth's  precept  that  one 
should  turn  to  common  rustic  speech  in  order  to  obtain 
poetic  diction.  His  first  published  work  was  rather 
more  artificial,  a  poem  of  sixty  stanzas  like  those  of  the 
Lusiads :  A  Lata  {Coimbra,  i860).  In  1868  appeared 
Flores  do  Campo  {Lisboa),  a  slight  volume  on  which  his 
fame  chiefly  rests,  and  in  1876  Folhas  soltas  (Porto).  In 
1893,  three  years  before  his  death,  he  published,  with 
the  help  of  Senhor  Theophilo  Braga,  a  complete  edition 


THREE  NINETEENTH-CENTURY  POETS  189 

of  his  poems  ^  in  a   single  volume,  containing   much 
occasional  verse. 

A  poet  of  a  very  different  order  is  his  contemporary, 
Thomaz  Antonio  RibeiroFerreira  (1831-1901).  In  his 
poetry  the  lightness  and  airy  grace  of  Algarve  is 
replaced  by  a  certain  solidity  and  heaviness  belonging 
to  Beira,  his  native  province.  He  belonged,  moreover, 
to  the  romantic  school,  and  much  of  his  poetry  is 
probably  now  little  read.  His  best-known  verses  are 
the  stanzas  A  Portugal^  with  which  opens  his  first  long 
poetical  romance,  D.  Jayme  (1862),  woven  round  the 
revolt  of  Portugal  from  Spain  in  1640,  on  the  publica- 
tion of  which  he  awoke  to  find  himself  famous : 

"  Jardim  da  Europa,  a  beira-mar  plantado 
De  loiros  e  acacias  olorosas, 
De  fontes  e  de  arroios  serpeado, 
Rasgado  por  torrentes  alterosas ; 
Onde  num  cerro  erguido  e  requeimado 
Se  casam  em  festoes  jasmins  e  rosas : 
Balsa  virente  de  eternal  magia, 
Onde  as  aves  gorgeiam  noite  e  dia. 

"  Porque  te  miras  triste  sobre  as  aguas, 
Pobre — d'aquem  e  d'alem  mar  senhora  ? 
E  te  consomes  nas  candentes  fragoas 
Das  saudades  crueis  que  tens  d'outrora  ? 
Por  tantos  loiros  que  te  deram  ?     Magoas  ? 
Foste  mal  paga  e  mal  julgada  ?     Embora  ! 
Has-de  cingir  o  teu  diadema  augusto ; 
Sao  tens  filhos  leaes,  e  Deus  e  justo."^ 

(Garden  of  Europe,  planted  by  the  sea, 

With,  amid  springs  and  streams'  meandering  flow, 

1  Campo  de  Flores.     Lyricas  completas.     Lisboa,  1893. 

2  These  are  Verses  3  and  6  out  of  fifteen. 


igo  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

The  scent  of  laurel  and  acacia-tree, 

And  rush  of  mountain-torrents  dashed  below, 

Jessamine  and  roses  inextricably 

High  in  thy  sun-kissed  hills  at  random  grow ; 

Fountain  of  magic  ever  freshly  springing, 

Where  still  in  night-  and  day-time  birds  are  singing ! 

Why  by  the  waters  dost  thou  mourn  and  brood, 
Poor — mistress  thou  of  lands  beyond  the  sea, 
Dreaming  for  ever  in  sad  wistful  mood 
Of  days  that  were  ?     Thy  victories  to  thee 
What  guerdon  brought  but  woe,  misunderstood 
And  unrewarded  still  ?     Well,  let  it  be  ! 
Yet  shalt  thou  raise  thy  crown  from  out  the  dust. 
Since  loyal  are  thy  sons,  and  God  is  just !) 

A  Delfina  do  Mai  is  another  long  poetical  romance, 
similar  to  D.  Jayme,  in  ten  cantos.  Both  contain  some 
fine  poems,  in  many  different  metres,  and  a  few  striking 
scenes.  He  also,  published  volumes  of  shorter  poems — 
Sons  que  passant  (1867),  Vesperas  {Porto,  1880),  Disson- 
ancias  {Porto,  1890) — and  wrote  pieces  for  the  theatre, 
besides  political  treatises — Historia  da  legislagdo  liberal 
portugueza  (of  1820),  and  O  Empresttmo  de  D.  MigoeL 
Born  at  Parada  de  Gonta  (Tondella)  in  1831,  he  took 
his  degree  in  1855  at  Coimbra,  and  practised  as  an 
advocate  at  Vizeu.  In  1862  he  was  elected  deputy  for 
Tondella,  and  in  1870  became  Secretary  to  the  Ad- 
ministration of  India.  He  returned  to  Portugal  two 
years  later,  and  became  Civil  Governor  of  Oporto  and 
of  Braganza,  Minister  of  Marine  in  1878  (in  a  Regenerador 
ministry).  Minister  of  the  Interior  in  1881,  and  of 
Public  Works  in  1890.  He  was  created  a  peer  of  the 
realm  in  1882.  He  was  also  the  editor  of  various 
newspapers.     All  this  does  not  seem  the  life  of  a  poet ; 


THREE  NINETEENTH-CENTURY  POETS  191 

but  his  deep  patriotism  and  his  love  of  Beira  Baixa  and 
the  Serra  da  Estrella  inspired  him : 

"  O  moradores  dos  plainos 
Que  nao  conheceis  a  Estrella  !" 

The  Serra  da   Estrella  forms  the  background  of   his 
poems : 

'*  Aqui,  sim  !  o  inverno  e  inverno 

E  este  e  o  paiz  da  procella ! 

Aqui  vive  o  gelo  eterno ; 

Aqui  suzerana  a  Estrella 

Espera  o  feudo  que  o  oceano 

Em  mil  aereas  galeras 

Lhe  deve  e  manda  cada  anno 

Desde  o  principio  das  eras  ! 

E  cada  nuvem  pejada, 

Galeao  sombrio  e  tardo, 

Ca  vem  depor  o  seu  fardo 

E  descangar  da  Jornada  !"^ 

His  verse  is  smooth  and  sonorous,  often  a  little  too 
smooth  and  sonorous,  and  at  times,  under  the  influence 
of  Lamartine,  somewhat  insipid  in  its  perfection.  He 
also  shows  a  tendency  (especially  in  Vesperas)  to  end 
his  lines  in  dactyllic  esdruxulas,  the  mannerism  of 
which  modern  Spanish  poets  are  so  fond.  But  Thomaz 
Ribeiro  will  always  live  in  his  verses  addressed  to 
Portugal,  which  will  continue  to  be  read  with  enthu- 
siasm by  his  countrymen. 

Of  all  modern  Portuguese  writers,  with  the  exception 
of  Almeida-Garrett,  the  name  best  known  abroad  is 
probably  that  of  Anthero  de 'Quental  (1842-1891).  He 
was  born  at  Ponta  Delgada  (iTha  de  S.  Miguel,  Azores) 
in   1842,  and   was   at   Coimbra   with   Joao   de   Deus, 

^  Sons  que  passam. 


192  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

Thomaz  Ribeiro,  and  others  celebrated  later  in  litera- 
ture and  politics — the  Coimbra  to  which  he  refers  in 
1872  as  "  aquella  encantada  e  quasi  phantastica 
Coimbra  "  of  ten  years  ago.  He  took  his  degree  in 
1864.  His  was  the  most  restless  spirit  of  all  these 
students,  and  in  1865,  in  a  famous  letter  to  Antonio 
Feliciano  de  Castilho  entitled  Bom  senso  e  horn  gosto, 
he  voiced  their  revolt  from  the  influence  of  Castilho 
and  the  romantic  school  in  favour  of  Germamsmo 
(Goethe  and  Hegel).  The  battle  was  strenuous. 
Quental  himself  became  involved  in  a  duel  with 
Ramalho  Ortigao.  In  the  same  year  appeared  his 
Odes  Modernas,  four  years  after  his  first  volume,  Souetos 
de  Anther 0  {Coimbra,  1861).  Later,  with,  among  others, 
Manoel  de  Arriaga^  and  Theophilo  Braga,^  he  drew  up 
a  programme  of  Conferencias  democraticas  (democratic 
lectures),  which  were,  however,  suppressed  by  order  of 
the  authorities.  He  travelled  in  France  and  Spain, 
and  visited  the  United  States  of  America.  Returning 
to  Portugal,  he  lived  for  some  time  at  Villa  do  Conde, 
in  the  north.  His  deep  pessimism,  however  (produced 
partly  by  an  inherited  neurotic  temperament,  partly  by 
the  study  of  German  philosophy),  from  which  he  had 
seemed  during  some  years  to  have  succeeded  in  freeing 
himself,  closed  in  upon  him  again,  and  he  died  by  his 
own  hand  at  Ponta  Delgada  in  1891.  He  was  essen- 
tially a  man  of  action.  Had  he  lived  in  the  thirteenth 
century,  says  the  critic  and  historian  Oliveira  Martins 
(1835-1894),  he  would  have  been  a  follower  of  St. 
Francis  of  Assisi.     Perhaps  he  might  have  found  even 

^  First  President  of  the  Portuguese  Republic. 
2  President  of  the  Provisional  Republic. 


THREE  NINETEENTH-CENTURY  POETS  193 

this  too  peaceful.  He  wished  to  *'  fall  radiantly, 
shrouded  in  the  gleam  of  swords  ": 

"  Cahira  radioso,  amortalhado 
Na  fulva  luz  dos  gladios  reluzentes."^ 

And  indeed  his  famous  sonnets^  are  as  gleaming 
swords.  They  are  written  em  letra  ardente,  and 
reveal  a  spirit  intense  as  that  of  Dante.  Many  of 
them  ring  like  a  splendid  battle-cry.  His  work,  says 
Senhor  Theophilo  Braga,  is  *'  rather  a  psychological 
document  than  an  esthetic  product."^    In  other  words, 

1  From  the  sonnet  Emquanto  outros  comhatem. 

^  Os  Sonetos  completos  de  Anthero  de  Quental,  publicados  por  J.  P. 
Oliveira  Martins.  Segunda  edifao,  augmentada  com  um  appendice 
contendo  traduc9oes  em  allemao,  francez,  italiano  e  hespanhol.  Porto, 
1890,  The  German  translations  are  irom  Anthero  de  Quental:  Aicsge- 
wdhlte  Sonette  aus  dem  Portugiesischen  verdeutscht  von  Wilhelm  Storck. 
Munstei\  1887.  Some  of  Quental's  sonnets  have  been  translated  into 
English  by  Mr.  Edgar  Prestage  {Sixty-four  Sonnets.  Englished  by 
Edgar  Prestage.  London  :  David  Nutt,  1894)  and  the  late  Dr.  Richard 
Garnett.  The  v^orks  of  Anthero  de  Quental  are:  Sonetos  de  Anthero 
[Coimbra,  1861)  ;  Beatrice  (Coimhra,  1865  ;  40  pp.)  ;  Fiat  Lux  {Coimbra, 
1864;  16  pp.);  Odes  Modernas  {Coimbra,  1865);  Primaveras  Romanticas 
(Versos  dos  vinte  annos)  {Porto,  1871) ;  Sonetos  {Porto,  i88i)  ;  Os  Sonetos 
completos  (first  edition  ;  Porto,  1886).  In  the  year  after  his  death 
appeared  Raios  de  extincta  luz.  Poesias  ineditas  (1859-1863)  .  .  .  pub- 
licadas  e  precedidas  de  um  escorso  biographico  por  Theophilo  Braga 
{Lisboa,  1892). 

3  "A  critic  alternating  with  a  mystic,"  said  Oliveira  Martins  of 
Quental  {Revista  Ilhistrada.  Anno  i  :  1890).  In  E9a  de  Queiroz' 
Notas  Contemporaneas  (1909)  there  is  a  study  of  Anthero  de  Quental, 
pp.  349-404.  The  writer  records  his  charm,  the  brilliance  of  his 
conversation,  his  unaffected  simplicity,  charity,  and  goodness:  "Por 
mim  penso  e  com  gratidao  que  em  Anthero  de  Quental  me  foi  dado 
conhecer,  n'este  mundo  de  peccado  e  de  escuridade,  alguem,  filho 
querido  de  Deus,  que  muito  padeceu  porque  muito  pensou,  que  muito 
amou  porque  muito  comprehendeu,  e  que,  simples  entre  os  simples, 
pondo  a  sua  vasta  alma  em  curtos  versos,  era  um  Genio  e  era  um 
Santo."     On  the  other  hand,  the  remark  that  "A  alma  de  Anthero 

13 


194  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

his  poems  were  the  almost  serene  and  effortless 
products  of  a  spirit  extraordinarily  intense,  tortured  in 
a  vain  search  after  truth — sparks  from  an  inner  fire. 
In  a  letter  addressed  to  Dr.  Wilhelm  Storck  in  1887  he 
says :  "  Writing  verses  with  me  was  always  perfectly 
involuntary  ;  with  the  advantage,  at  least,  that  they  are 
always  perfectly  sincere."^  In  the  sonnets  there  is 
clear  evidence  of  his  progress  from  empty  pessimism 
and  despair  to  a  certain  measure  of  peace  : 

"  Ja  socega  depois  de  tanta  lucta, 
Ja  me  descanga  em  paz  o  coracao."^ 

So  in  Solemnia  Verba,  another  of  the  later  sonnets,  he 

says  : 

"  D'esta  altura  vejo  o  Amor : 
Vivir  nao  foi  em  vao  se  e  isto  a  vida 
Nem  foi  de  mais  o  desengano  e  a  dor." 

(Love  from  this  height  I  see : 
If  this  is  life,  then  life  was  not  in  vain, 
Nor  all  its  disillusionment  and  pain.) 

Very  different  is  the  spirit  in  Ad  amicos,  one  of  the 
sonnets  written  between  1860  and  1862  : 

"  Em  vao  luctamos.     Como  nevoa  ba^a 
A  incerteza  das  cousas  nos  envolve, 
Nossa  alma  em  quanto  cria,  em  quanto  volve 
Nas  suas  proprias  redes  se  embara^a." 

(In  vain  our  strife.     For  still,  like  a  low  mist, 
The  uncertainty  of  all  things  hems  us  in ; 

foi  sempre  superiormente  elegante  "  seems  to  reveal  E9a  de  Queiroz 
rather  than  Anthero  de  Quental. 

^  "  Fazer  versos  foi  sempre  em  mim  cousa  perfeitamente  involun- 
taria ;  pelo  menos  ganhei  com  isso  fazel-os  sempre  perfeitamente 
sinceros." 

2  Transcendentalismo, 


THREE  NINETEENTH-CENTURY  POETS  195 

Our  soul  in  all  that  it  creates  and  plans 
Is  chained  by  its  own  fetters.) 

This  is  the  spirit  of  all  the  earlier  sonnets.     Like 
Musset,  he  was  ever  haunted  by 

*'  cette  amere  pensee 
Qui  fait  frissonner  Thomme  en  voyant  I'infini." 

But  while  Musset's  poetry  is  of  velvet  and  the  dusk, 
Quental's  is  of  bronze  and  granite,  flashing  light.  In 
their  thought  and  revelation  of  suffering  his  sonnets 
are  as  those  of  Baudelaire,  but  in  execution  they  are 
less  grey,  more  full  of  sound  and  light,  and  resemble, 
rather,  those  of  Jose  Maria  de  Heredia,  although 
Quental's  are  less  coloured  (for  he  had  a  horror  of 
picturesque  description)  and  more  intense.  Behind 
even  those  of  his  poems  "  qui  sont  de  purs  sanglots  " 
seems  to  lie  a  certain  strength  and  hope : 

"  Eu  amarei  a  santa  madrugada  ;" 

and  he  looks  to 

"  A  regiao  distante 
Onde  ainda  se  ere  e  se  ama  ainda, 
Onde  uma  aurora  igual  brilha  constante." 

(The  distant  land 
Where  faith  and  love  still  in  men's  hearts  may  stand, 
And,  still  unchanging,  dawn  serenely  shines.) 

So  in  Tentanda  Via  he  writes  : 

^'  Sim  !  que  e  precise  caminhar  dvante ! 
Andar  !  passar  por  cima  dos  S0IU90S  ! 
Como  quem  n'uma  mina  vae  de  brucos, 
Olhar  apenas  uma  luz  distante  " 


196  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

(Yes !  we  must  march  still  forward,  ever  go 
With  resolute  feet  passing  the  stream  of  tears, 

And,  as  to  one  in  dark  mine  bent  appears 

A  distant  gleam,  so  watch  for  light's  dim  glow) 

— until  the  future  opens  its  doors  of  gold  : 

"  Abrir-se,  como  grandes  portas  de  ouro. 
As  immensas  auroras  do  Futuro." 

His  dream  was  ever  of  light,  radiante  luz,  kcz  gloriosa, 
whether  it  was  of  the  heavens  and  infinite  space — 

**  La  por  onde  se  perde  a  phantasia, 
No  sonho  da  belleza ;  la  aonde 
A  noite  tem  mais  luz  que  o  nosso  dia  " 

(There  where  in  dreams  of  beauty  thought  is  lost 
And  night  more  luminous  than  is  our  day) 

— or  of  some  earthly  paradise  : 

'*  Sonho-me  as  vezes  rei,  nalguma  ilha, 
Muito  longe,  nos  mares  do  Oriente, 
Onde  a  noite  6  balsamica  e  fulgente 
E  a  lua  cheia  sobre  as  aguas  brilha." 

(In  some  far  island  of  the  Eastern  seas 
I  dream  myself  a  king,  where  fragrant  night 
Resplendent  gleams,  and  the  full  moon  shines  bright 
Upon  the  waters.) 

And  light  is  the  dominant  impression  left  by  his  work. 
The  life  of  this  man  of  action  was  spent  for  the  most 
part  in  a  mystic  forest  of  dreams  : 

*'  Na  floresta  dos  sonhos  dia  a  dia 
Se  interna  meu  dorido  pensamento."  ^ 

But  "  Nem  sempre  o  sonho  e  cousa  vSi."^ 

1  A  Ideia.  ^  Sonho 


THREE  NINETEENTH-CENTURY  POETS  197 

Certainly  his  life  of  dreams  was  not  ineffectual,  not  a 
life  of  inaction,  but  of  striving,  and  striving  to  some 
purpose.  He  can  never  lose  his  place  among  the 
greater  European  poets  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
His  epitaph  by  Joao  de  Deus  does  honour  to  both 
poets  : 

"  Aqui  jaz  p6  ;  eu  nao  ;  eu  sou  quem  fui : 
Raio  animado  de  uma  luz  celeste, 
A  qual  a  morte  as  almas  restitue, 
Restituindo  a  terra  o  p6  que  as  veste." 

(Here  lieth  dust ;  but  I — I  as  before 

Am  now,  a  living  ray  of  light  divine, 

To  which  death  coming  doth  the  soul  restore, 

And  unto  earth  its  outward  dust  consign.) 


CHAPTER  VIII 

TWO  MODERN  NOVELISTS 

During  the  last  half-century  the  novel  has  attained  a 
very  prominent  place  in  Spanish  literature,  in  which  it 
fascinates  by  its  regional  and  indigenous  character  and 
by  its  keen  impression  of  life  and  reality.  In  Portugal, 
although  the  novel  was  revived  there  by  Camillo 
Castello  Branco  (1825-1890)^  at  precisely  the  same 
time  as  by  Fernan  Caballero  (1796-1877)  in  Spain,  it 
has  not  prospered  to  the  same  extent,  and  Algarve  still 
awaits  its  Valera,  Minho  its  Emilia  Pardo  Bazan, 
Beira  Baixa  its  Pereda.  Camillo  Castello  Branco 
("  o  Camillo  "j  has  been  for  two  generations,  and  will 
probablY__long  remain,  a  favourite  novelist  among 
Portuguese  readers.  It  is  easy  to  understand  the 
enthusiasm  provoked  by  the  appearance  of  his  novels, 
for,  when  h^_J^^QiLJSLJN.T^^f")  novffl-reFirling  in  JP.^rtjigi^^ 
was  for  the  jnost_paT^_cpjifinedjto_mdi^^  transla- 

tion s  pOndiff&r^«t-F-F^nGh  Avorks . 

Castello  Branco  was  born  in  Lisbon  in  1825,  but  his 
father  was  of  Traz-os-Montes,  and  when  left  an  orphan 
in  1834  Camillo  went  to  live  with  an  aunt  at  '^lla 
Real^apital  of  Traz-os-Montes,  and  later  with  a  sister 

'  His  first  novel  appeared  two  years  after  Fernan  Caballero's  La 
Gaviota. 

X98 


TWO  MODERN  NOVELISTS  199 

in  the  transmontane  village  of  Villarinho  de  Samardan. 
Before  he  was  twenty  he  had  married  a  girl  of  Ribeira 
da  Pena,  and  when  he  went  as  a  medical  student  to 
Oporto  he  was  already  a  widower.  Daring  1856-1857 
he  lived  at  Vianna  do  Castello  (Minho),  where  he  wTote 
his  Scenas  Contemporaneas.  He  had  published  verses 
in  1845,  written  a  drama  in  1847,  ^^^  his  first  novel, 
Anathema,  had  appeared  in  1851.  For  the  next  forty 
years  he  continued  to  write  with  great  industry  (his 
complete  works  comprise  some  150  volumes),  and  two 
or  three  novels  sometimes  appeared  from  his  pen  during 
a  single  year.  In  1885  he  was  created  Visconde  de 
Correia  Botelho,  and  was  granted  a  pension  of  a  conto 
of  rets  (about  ;f  200).  He  fiad  inherited  from  his  father 
a  tendency  to  a  suicidal  pessimism,  and  his  life  ended 
by  suicide  in  the  year  1890.^  His  novels  were  the 
sincere  expression  of  a  temperament, singularly  restless 
Sind  nervous,  and  at  thesame  time  impressionable  as 
wax ^wlth  regard  to  hlssurroundin^s  and  his  rf^flHrng.  ^ 

WH.hJ:his__^ower__of_assimilation  he  wrote,  under  the  ^'t^CvtcV 
influence  of  Octave  Feuillet,  6  Romance  de  Um  Homem  \M4J^ 
Rico,  while  later,  under  the  influence  of  Zola,  he  pro-       I 
duced  Eusebio  Macario.    But  he  was  essentially  an  ultra- 
romantic.^     If  he  desired  to  be  the  Portuguese  Balzac, 
he  failed  through  lack  of  psychological  insight.     His 
nov^b  are  all,  a,ction  _  and^emptLon.      I^is^  personages 
pass  rapi(^^^_fmnT_nDe  pa.^^innafp  c;finc;atir>n   fn  another, 
and  end  for  -the- must  pail^-since  their  paroxysms  of 

^  Senhor  Fidelino  de  Figueiredo  considers  that  his  object  in  writing 
Eusebio  Macario  was  less  to  prove  that  he  could  excel  in  the  new  realistic 
fiction  than  to  reduce  it  to  absurdity  by  caricaturing  it ;  and  he  re- 
marks wittily  that  the  society  presented  in  this  novel  is  "absolutely 
ideal  in  its  shamelessness  "  {Hist.  da.  litt.  rom.  port.,  pp.  223-24). 


200  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

tragic  senti men tality^ ^could  no  further  -ga-r^in .  death . 
This  is  the  ending  of  the  principal  characters  in  the 
most  celebrated  of  his  novelg^^yjjnpr  de  Perd^do  (1862)^ 
and  the  novel  which  he  himself  preferred,  Livro  de  Con- 
solagdo,  is  not  more  cheerful.^  The  reader  is  nforrned 
that  the  title  is  due  to  the  fact  that,~however  great  his 
sorrow,  he  will  find  greater  sorrow  in  the  book.  His 
vein  of  iavention  was  inexhaustible.  He  wished,  he 
said,  to  show  foreigners  and  Portuguese  that  the  lack  of 
novels  in  Portuguese  literature  had  been  wrongly  attri- 
buted to  poverty  of  invention.^  All  kinds  of  strange  and 
strained  fatalities  throng  his  pages — sudden  reversals  of 
fortune,  brazileiros  returning  rich  to  their  country,  noble- 
men disguised  as  almocreves,  masked  figures,  plumes  and 
swords  and  galloping  steeds,  the  feuds  of  petty  Mon- 
tagues and  Capulets,  of  Liberals  and  Miguelists,  mid- 
night murders,  scaffolds,  scaled  convent  walls : 

"  L'enlevement  en  poste  avec  deux  chevaux,  trois, 
Quatre,  cinq. 

L'enlevement  sinistre  aux  lueurs  des  eclairs, 
Avec  appels  de  pied,  combat,  bruit  de  ferraille, 
Chapeaux  a  larges  bords,  manteaux  couleur  muraille." 

1  In  a  letter  to  the  poet  Thomaz  Ribeiro,  he  complains  that,  while 
a  second  edition  of  the  least  ordinary  of  his  works,  Livro  de  Consolagdo, 
was  not  called  for  until  thirteen  years  after  the  first,  of  his  more 
commonplace  novels,  Os  Mysterios  de  Lisboa  and  Amor  de  Perdifdo, 
seven  editions  were  necessary  in  under  ten  years.  Of  Amor  de  Perdi^do 
he  says  in  the  preface  to  the  fifth  edition  (1879)  that  "under  the 
electric  light  of  modern  criticism  it  is  a  romantic,  declamatory  novel 
with  many  lyrical  defects  and  criminal  ideas  which  reach  the  limit 
of  sentimentalism." 

*  "  Desaffrontar  a  litteratura  patria  de  injurias  com  que  estrangeiros 
e  nacionaes  a  desconceituam,  desairando-a  como  pobre  de  romances 
pela  sua  incapacidade  inventiva." 


TWO  MODERN  NOVELISTS  201 

His  work^  is  related  rather  to  the  Spanish  romantics 
oTThe  seventeenth  century  than  to  modern  novels,  and 
his  stories  sometimes  resemble  the  more  sentimental 
mterludes  of  Do7t  Quixote.  "Epater  le  bourgeois"  was 
his  constant  aim,  and  the  most  fantastic  episodes  were 
legitimate  means  to  this  end.  Whenjiejieavesjthis  high- 
flown  romanticism  there  is  an  air  of  truth  and  naturaL- 
ness  about  his  writing,  especially  in  scenes  of  humble 
life.  All  that  part  of  Amor  de  Perdi^do  which  has  for 
scene  the  farrier's  cottage  might  have  come  out  of  one  of 
Fernan  Caballero's  Relaciones.  Many  of  his  short  stories, 
as  Morrer  por  capvicho  in  Scenas  contemporaneas,  are  evi- 
dently sketches  of  his  own  experiences  and  adventures ; 
and  generally  his  novels  represent  his  own  impetuous, 
almost  hysterical  emotions,  and  are  thoroughly  sincere. 
His  style  has  been  called  "the  voice  of  a  spirit."^ 
"  I  do  not  belong,"  he  wrote,  "  to  our  word-chisellers  " ;  ^ 
but  his  style  is  clear  and  fluent  {linguagem  san),  true 
Portuguese,  and  has  in  fact  also  been  described^  as 
"  pure  marble  from  the  national  quarry."  His_vocabu- 
lary  was  extraordinarily  extensive,  but  neither  in  style 
nor  subjects  had  he  any  leaning  towards  the  exotic. 
Camillo  Castello  Branco  may  still  be  read  with 
pleasure  on  account  of  his  style  and  on  account  of  his 
portrayal  of  life  at  Oporto  half  a  century  ago,  or  of  life 
in  some  village  of  Minho  or  Traz-os-Montes  ruled  by 
the  mayor,  the  priest,  and  the  apothecary,  with  wolves 
coming  down  in  winter  from  the  hills — some  village  in 
which  the  more  prosperous  peasants  hid  their  savings 

1  Fialho  d'Almeida  in  the  Revista  Illustrada  (1890). 

2  "  Nao   perten9o   a   escola  dos  nossos    lapidanos    de    palavras. " 
{Scenas  contemporaneas.     Uma  paixdo  hem  empregada). 

3  By  Manuel  Pinheiro  Chagas. 


202  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

under  the  flagstones  of  their  lareira.  In  his  choice  of 
Portuguese  themes  and  in  the  purity  of  his  prose  he 
set  an  admirable  example — an  example  unhappily  not 
always  followed  by  subsequent  Portuguese  novelists. 

Totally  different  in  nearly  every  way  was  his  junior 
by  some  twenty  years,  Ega  de  Queiroz  (1843- 1900). 
The  two  were  alike  in~teing  destructive  rather  than 
creative,  and  in  their  love  of  satire,  but  in  other  respects 
scarcely  seem  to  belong  to  the  same  nation.  Jose 
Maria  E9a  de  Queiroz  was  born  at  Povoa  de  Varzim 
(entre  Douro  e  Minho)  in  1843.  He  took  his  degree 
at  Coimbra  in  1866,  and  in  that  year  came  to  stay  at 
Lisbon,  where  his  father,  a  magistrate,  then  lived  (in  a 
house  in  the  Rocio).  During  1866  and  1867  he  contri- 
buted Folhetins  to  the  Gazeta  de  Portugal.  The  first 
half  of  1867  he  spent  in  Alemtejo,  and  in  1869  he 
travelled  in  Egypt  and  Palestine.  Later  he  became 
Portuguese  Consul  at  Havanna,  at  Newcastle-on-Tyne, 
and  in  Paris,  where  he  died  in  August,  1900.  His  first 
stories  (the  Folhetins)^  reprinted  in  volume  form  after 
his  death  (Prosas  Barbaras),  had  attracted  some  atten- 
tion and  a  certain  amount  of  ridicule.  They  are  very 
various  in  character,  according  as  the  influence  of 
Victor  Hugo,  Michelet,  Heine,  Baudelaire,  or  E.  A.  Poe 
(in  Baudelaire's  translation)  prevailed.  He  is  said  to 
have  written  at  this  time  with  extreme  facility,  whereas 
later  he  erased  and  emended  with  a  care  that  would 
have  contented  Boileau.  The  titles  of  some  of  these 
stories  in  themselves  indicate  a  striving  after  the 
unusual,  the  sinister,  the  romantic — 0  Senhor  Diabo, 
O  Milhafre  (The  Kite),  Memorias  d'uma  Forca  (Reminis- 
cences of  a  Gallows).      Others  are  in  simpler  mood; 


TWO  MODERN  NOVELISTS  203 

one,  Entre  a  Neve  {Gazeta  de  Portugal,  November  13, 
1866),  telling  of  the  death  of  a  woodcutter  in  the  snow, 
has  a  Tolstoian  air  : 

"  A  neve  riscava  a  noite  de  branco.  Ao  longe 
uivavam  os  lobos,  e  a  neve  descia.  As  sombras  dos 
corvos  sumiram-se  para  alem  das  ramas  negras.  Os 
cabellos  desappareceram.     So  ficou  a  neve." 

(The  snow  lined  the  night  with  whiteness.  In  the 
distance  wolves  howled.  And  the  snow  fell.  The 
shadows  of  the  crows  were  lost  beyond  the  dark 
branches.  His  hair  disappeared.  Nothing  remained 
but  snow.) 

In  1870  appeared  0  Mysterio  da  Estrada  de  Cintra,^ 
in  the  form  of  letters  to  the  Diavio  de  Noticias,  written 
by  Ega  de  Queiroz  in  collaboration  with  Ramalho 
Ortigao.  "  It  is  execrable,"  said  the  authors  in  their 
preface  to  the  second  edition  (1884),  wTitten  "without 
plan  or  method,  school  or  documents  or  style."  It  is 
in  fact  a  sensational  story  of  passion  and  crime  told 
by  the  various  actors  and  spectators,  with  little  realism 
or  power  of  observation,  but  with  masked  men  carrying 
pistols,  with  murder  and  mystery,  dagger-thrusts  and 
fatal  potions.  In  1874-1875  E^a  de  Queiroz'  first  im- 
portant novel,  0  Crime  do  Padre  Amaro,  was  published 
in  the  Revista  Occidental  of  Lisbon  and  as  a  volume 
in  1876.2  The  author  describes  it  as  "an  intrigue  of 
priests  and  devout  women,  hatched  and  murmured  in 

1  0  Mysterio  da  Estrada  de  Cintra.  Cartas  ao  Diario  de  Noticias. 
Lisboa,  1870. 

2  Lisboa.  Second  edition,  Porto,  1880.  Third  edition,  Porto,  1889. 
Fourth  edition,  0  Crime  do  Padre  Amaro.  Scenas  da  vida  devota. 
Quarta  edigaointeiramenterefundida,  recomposta  e  differente  na  forma 
e  na  ac9ao  da  edi9ao  primitiva.     Porto,  1891. 


204  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

the  shadow  of  an  old  Portuguese  provincial  cathedral."  ^ 
The  author's  note  (Bristol,  January  i,  1880)  to  the  second 
edition  protests,  moreover,  against  the  criticism  that  the 
novel  is  an  imitation  of  Zola's  La F ante  de  I'Abbe  Mouret, 
since  the  former  was  written  in  1871  and  published  in 
1874,  whereas  the  latter  was  published  in  1875.  (The 
same  applies  to  Leopoldo  Alas'  La  Regenta,  also  of 
later  date.)  Nevertheless,  0  Crime  do  Padre  Amaro 
gives  the  impression  of  a  French  naturalistic  story 
superimposed  upon  the  delightful  old  cathedral  town 
of  Leiria,  lying  in  its  "  wide,  fertile  plain,  with  its  look 
of  many  waters  and  full  of  light."  It  would  appear 
from  this  novel  that  the  Canons  of  Leiria  had  sadly 
degenerated  since  the  days  when  fear  of  the  Sarrazin 
was  in  their  hearts.^ 

It  is  of  small  importance  whether  Ega  de  Queiroz 
imitated  this  or  that  novel,  but  the  influence  of  the 
French  naturalistic  school  is  clear.  Never  was  that 
influence  more  disastrous,  for  Ega  de  Queiroz,  with 
his   undoubted    gifts,    might    have   written    novels   as 

^  "  Intriga  de  clerigos  e  beatas  tramada  e  murmurada  a  sombra  de 
uma  velha  Se  de  provincia  portugueza." 

2  In  the  Chronicas  Breves,  published  in  Portugalice  Monumenta  His. 
torica,  we  read  that  "  O  castello  de  leyrea  era  dos  sarraziis,  e  corriam 
a  terra  ataa  coimbra.  E  faziam  muyto  mal  aos  christaaos  em  soyre 
e  em  pombal.  E  o  arcediago  dom  tello,  temendo  se  que  assy  o 
podiam  fazer  aos  coonigos  religiosos,  mandou  fazer  huum  muro 
em  caramanchoes  a  redor  da  igreja  e  claustro."  (The  Castle  of 
Leiria  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Sarrazins,  and  they  overran  the  land 
as  far  as  Coimbra.  And  they  did  grievous  harm  to  the  Christians 
in  Soyre  and  Pombal.  And  the  Archdeacon  Dom  Tello,  fearing  that 
they  might  so  do  to  the  Canons,  ordered  a  forti6ed  wall  to  be  built 
round  the  church  and  cloister.)  For  all  the  Archdeacon's  foresight, 
later  comes  the  news,  laconic  and  lugubrious,  that  the  Moors  had 
carried  off  a  Canon  at  Leiria. 


TWO  MODERN  NOVELISTS  205 

essentially  Portuguese  as  Spain  possesses  novels  essen- 
tially Spanish,  instead  of  producing  French  imitations. 
It  is  characteristic  of  the  mutual  ignorance  in  literary 
matters  existing  between  Spain  and  Portugal  that, 
when  Jose  Maria  de^Pereda  (1833-1906)  was  writing  his 
masterpieces  not  far  from  the  Portuguese  frontier, 
Ega  de  Queiroz,  completely  ignoring,  probably  com- 
pletely ignorant  of,  his  work,  should  have  gone  to  Paris 
for  his  literary  models.  Yet  in  Pereda  he  would  have 
found  a  truer  realism,  greater  impression  of  reality,  and 
work  immensely  powerful  without  being  sordid. 

His  next  novel  was  0  Primo  Bazilio}  It  is  a  sordid 
story  sordidly  told,  in  spite  of  all  its  fine  irony ;  but 
it  is  redeemed  by  its  remarkable  character  sketches. 
The  servant  Juliana — the  sinister,  snakelike,  envious, 
malicious,  merciless  Juliana,  a  figure  that  in  a 
Spanish  novel  would  seem  a  grotesque  exaggeration — 
dominates  the  book.  Beside  her  Jorge,  Luiza,  and 
Bazilio  are  vague  and  colourless.  There  are,  however, 
many  secondary  characters  drawn  with  equal  skill — 
Juliao  Zuzarte,  who  prefers  penury  at  Lisbon  to 
comfort  in  the  provinces  (Toda  a  provincia  0  aterrava)  ; 
Dona  Felicidade  de  Noronha;  the  solemn  fool  Accacio, 
0  Conselheiro,  closely  related  to  the  immense  talent  of 
Jose  Joaquim  Alves  Pacheco  in  A  Correspondencia  de 
Fradique  Mendes ;  the  Visconde  Reynaldo,  who  con- 
siders the  heat  of  Lisbon  vulgar  {Que  abjecgdo  de  paiz !). 

1  0  Primo  Bazilio  (Episodio  domestico).  Porto,  1878.  (Written  from 
September,  1876,  to  September,  1877),  Moniz  Barreto,  in  A  Littera- 
tiira  portugtieza  contemporanea  [Revista  de  Portugal ;  Porto,  1889  ;  pp.  1-40), 
describes  0  Primo  Bazilio  as  a  ''masterly,  almost  perfect  hook— livro 
magistral  e  quasi  per feito."  He  considered  E^a  de  Queiroz  "a  maior 
voca9ao  d'artista  que  tem  surgido  em  Portugal  desde  Garrett." 


2o6  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

And  we  have  Lisbon  as  the  background,  with  the  slow 
rumour  of  its  streets  at  night,  the  dilatory  tipoias,  the 
rumbling  of  ox-carts,  the  cries  of  the  street-sellers. 
But  from  the  general  atmosphere  of  the  book,  from  the 
empty  life  portrayed,  with  its  natural  reaction  upon 
those  whom  the  Conselheiro  would  call  *'  pessoas  de  haixa 
extyac^do,'^  the  reader  escapes  with  relief  to  occasional 
glimpses  of  a  different  order : 

**  Ou  entao  seria  outra  existencia  mais  regalada,  no 
convento  pacato  d'uma  boa  provincia  portugueza.  Alii 
OS  tectos  sao  baixos,  as  paredes  caiadas  faiscam  ao  sol, 
com  as  suas  gradesinhas  devotas  ;  os  sinos  repicam  no 
vivo  ar  azul ;  em  roda,  nos  campos  d'oliveiras  que  dao 
azeite  ao  convento,  raparigas  varejam  a  azeituna  can- 
tando  ;  no  pateo  lageado  d'uma  pedra  miudinha  as 
mulas  do  almocreve,  sacudindo  a  mosca,  batem  com  a 
ferradura  ;  matronas  cochicham  ao  pe  da  roda  ;  um 
carro  chia  na  estrada  empoeirada  e  branca ;  gallos 
cacarejam,  brilhando  ao  sol ;  e  freiras  gordinhas,  d'olho 
negro,  chalram  nos  frescos  corredores." 

(Another  life,  of  more  comfort,  in  the  peaceful  con- 
vent of  some  pleasant  Portuguese  province.  There  the 
roofs  are  low,  and  the  whitewashed  walls  gleam  in  the 
sun,  with  their  devout  little  gratings  ;  the  bells  ring 
out  in  the  clear  blue  air  ;  in  the  surrounding  olive-yards, 
which  provide  the  convent  with  oil,  girls  are  beating 
down  the  olives,  singing ;  in  the  courtyard,  paved  with 
small  cobbles,  the  carrier's  mules  are  stamping  as  they 
shake  off  the  flies  ;  matrons  whisper  by  the  store-room  ; 
a  cart  creaks  along  the  white  and  dusty  road;  cocks 
crow  in  the  bright  sunshine  ;  and  plump,  black-eyed 
sisters  chatter  in  the  cool  galleries.) 

In  1887  was  published  A  Reliquia,  an  extra- 
ordinary   book — vulgar,   repulsive,    blasphemous,    fan- 


TWO  MODERN  NOVELISTS  207 

tastic,  amusing,  sordid,  horrible.  The  characters  of 
the  paltry,  ill-tempered,  and  narrowly  devout  D.  Patro- 
cinio  das  Neves  (a  Portuguese  Dona  Perfecta),  and  of 
the  cynical  hypocrite  her  nephew  (far  more  brutally 
cynical,  if  not  more  hypocritical,  than  Julien  in  Le 
Rouge  et  le  Noir),  are  both  exaggerated  and  soon  pall 
on  the  reader.  The  whole  book  conveys  an  impression 
of  cleverness  and  imagination,  but  of  little  feeling  or 
sincerity.  More  than  a  third  of  it  consists  in  a  recon- 
struction of  the  last  scenes  of  the  Gospels,  very  different 
in  treatment  from  the  soberly  drawn  account,  earlier  in 
the  volume,  of  a  journey  from  Vianna  do  Castello  to 
Lisbon  about  the  year  i860  as  it  appeared  to  a  boy  of 
seven.  The  later  section  is  vivid,  coloured,  materialistic  ; 
the  subject  is  too  great  to  be  dragged  down  by  the 
author,  and  upholds  him ;  but  his  treatment  of  it  is 
more  akin  to  that  of  Marie  Corelli  in  Barabbas  than 
that  of  Gustav  Frenssen  in  Hilligenlei.  He  had  already 
written  a  similar  fragmentary  sketch  in  A  Revoliigdo  de 
Setembro  in  1870.^ 

Os  M^i^s  (Episodios  da  vida  romantica)  is  the  longest 
of  Ega  de  Queiroz'  novels  (1888).  The  story  is  more 
than  ordinarily  unpleasant,  its  clinging  vulgarity  rarely 
lifts  from  the  first  page  to  the  last,  and  the  conclusion 
of  the  whole  matter  is  that  nothing  in  life,  with  the 
possible  exception  of  a  good  dinner,  is  worth  an  effort. 
The  scene  is  Lisbon.  The  characters  are  clearly 
marked — the  paradoxical,  trenchant  Ega  ;  the  eccentric, 
impassive  Craft ;  the  fatuous  Damaso  ;  Carlos  da  Maia, 
whose  motto  in  Hfe  is  "  Deixar-se  ir — drift,"  totally 
incapable    of    concentrating   his   energy   or    intellect. 

1  Pvosas  Barbaras,  pp.  173-246. 


2o8  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

There  is  the  inane  diplomatist  Steinbroken,  with  his 
perpetual  "  C'est  grave,  c'est  excessivement  grave"; 
the  Marquez,  seized  at  intervals  by  terrores  catholicos  ; 
the  lisboetafino  murmuring  "  Este  e  urn  paiz  perdido"; 
the  old  servant  with  his  "  sad  shrug  of  the  shoulders, 
as  if  to  imply  that  nothing  in  the  world  was  going  well." 
So  far  as  Portugal  was  concerned,  it  was  the  author's 
object  to  show  that  nothing  went  well.  Affonso  da 
Maia's  advice  to  the  politicians  is,  ''  Less  liberalism 
and  more  character  " ;  to  the  men  of  letters,  "  Less 
eloquence  and  more  ideas  ";  to  the  citizens  in  general, 
"  Less  progress  and  more  morality."  Portugal  is  but 
"  a  little  wax  "  awaiting  impression.  Lisbon  has  no  soul, 
and  is  the  grave  of  souls  (coveira  d' almas.  "  Lishoa" 
1867).  Lisbon  is  a  city  translated  from  the  French 
into  slang  {A  Correspondencia  de  Fradique  Mendes).  He 
protested  against  the  "  universal  modernisagdo "  that 
destroyed  the  simpler  customs  of  Portugal.  In  order 
not  to  seem  backward  in  education,  he  says,  Portugal 
introduces  into  the  school-examinations  metaphysics, 
astronomy,  philology,  Egyptology ;  and  it  is  the  same 
in  all  ranks  and  professions  of  Portuguese  life. 
"  Portugal,  impatient  to  appear  very  modern  and  very 
civilized,  orders  models  from  abroad — models  of  ideas, 
of  clothes,  of  laws,  of  art,  of  cookery  "  ;  but  she  *'  exag- 
gerates the  model,  disfigures  and  distorts  it  into  cari- 
cature." E9a  de  Queiroz'  own  novels  are  an  example 
of  this.  If  it  was  his  aim,  by  an  unrelieved  presenta- 
tion of  vice  and  vulgarity,  to  reduce  them  to  the  absurd, 
he  only  succeeded  at  the  cost  of  reality  in  his  work. 
Zola  betrayed  how  far  removed  from  reality  was  the 
naturalism  of   his  school  by  occasionally  introducing 


TWO  MODERN  NOVELISTS  209 

episodes  more  improbable  than  the  wildest  imaginings 
of  the  romantics.  E9a  de  Queiroz  tended  to  exaggerate 
this,  especially  in  Os  Maias  and  0  Crime  do  Padre 
Amaro.  His  weakness  is  caricature,  a  leaning  towards 
buffoonery  and  the  burlesque,  and  some  of  his  characters 
are  grotesquely  unreal.  In  order  to  show  the  ignorance 
prevailing  in  Portugal,  he  introduces  us  to  a  Lisbon 
lady  listening  to  the  Sonata  pathetique,  and  asking  if 
that  melancholy  thing  was  the  player's  own  composi- 
tion, and  to  a  high  official  in  the  Department  of  Educa- 
tion inquiring  whether  England  possesses  a  literature.^ 
Another  defect  is  his  love  of  the  exotic,  both  in  subject 
and  in  style,  v/hich  largely  counteracted  the  value  of 
his  service  in  introducing  the  realistic  novel  into 
Portugal.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  his  art  is  often 
Manueline ;  indeed,  he  had  that  love  of  splendour  and 
new  things  which  characterized  King  Manoel  I.'s  reign. 
Just  as  King  Manoel  gave  his  courtiers  the  show  of  an 
elephant  fighting  a  rhinoceros,  E9a  de  Queiroz  presents 
his  readers  with  a  battle  between  a  plesiosaurus  and 
an  icthj^osaurus,  after  thus  luxuriantly  describing  the 
Garden  of  Eden  {Addo  e  Eva  no  Paraizo,  in  Contos) : 

**  Ao  fundo  d'essa  encosta  onde  parara  resplandecem 
vastas  Campinas  (se  as  Tradi9oes  nao  exaggeram) 
com  desordenada  e  sombria  abundancia.  Lentamente, 
atravez,  um  rio  corre  semeado  d'ilhas,  ensopando  em 
fecundos  e  espraiados  remansos  as  verduras  onde  ja 
talvez  cresce  a  lentilha  e  se  alastra  o  arrozal.  Rochas 
de  marmore  rosado  rebrilham  com  um  rubor  quente. 

1  In  one  of  his  Cartas  de  Inglaterva  he  wrote  (1880)  that,  while  a  bale 
of  merchandise  went  from  London  to  Lisbon  in  four  days,  the  names 
of  Tennyson,  Browning,  and  Swinburne  had  not  reached  Portugal  in 
forty  years. 

14 


2IO  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

D'entre  bosques  de  algodoeiros,  brancos  como  crespa 
espuma,  sobem  outeiros  cobertos  de  magnolias,  d'um 
esplendor  ainda  mais  branco.  Alem  a  neve  coroa  uma 
serra  com  um  radiante  nimbo  de  santidade,  e  escorre, 
por  entre  os  flancos  despedagados,  em  finas  franjas  que 
refulgem.  Outros  montes  dardejam  mudas  labaredas. 
Da  borda  de  rigidas  escarpas  pendem  perdidamente, 
sobre  profundidades,  palmeiraes  desgrenhados.  Pelas 
lagoas  a  bruma  arrastra  a  luminosa  molleza  das  suas 
rendas.  E  o  mar,  nos  confins  do  mundo,  faiscando, 
tudo  encerra,  como  um  aro  d'oiro." 

(At  the  foot  of  the  slope  on  which  he  stood  vast 
plains  (if  we  may  trust  the  traditions)  gleam  in  a  dark 
and  riotous  luxuriance.  Slowly  across  them  a  river 
glides,  dotted  with  islands,  drenching  in  wide  back- 
waters the  green  and  fertile  fields,  where  perhaps 
already  grows  the  lentil  and  ricefields  ripen.  Rocks 
of  rose-coloured  marble  blush  in  a  warm  glow  of  light. 
From  woods  of  cotton-trees,  white  as  the  foam  of  the 
sea,  rise  hills  covered  with  magnolias,  of  a  still  whiter 
splendour.  Beyond,  snow  crowns  a  mountain-range 
with  a  radiant  crown  of  holiness,  and  thins  on  the 
broken  mountain-sides  into  slender  fringes  of  light. 
Other  heights  glint  and  flame  in  silence.  On  the 
edge  of  the  steep  declivities  hang  desperately,  above 
precipices,  dishevelled  palm-woods.  Over  the  lakes 
extends  a  soft,  luminous  lace  of  mist.  And  the  sea  on 
the  boundary  of  the  world,  flashing,  hems  in  the  whole 
as  with  a  hoop  of  gold.) 

In  0  Mandarim  (Porto,  1879,  1880,  1889,  1900),  as 
elsewhere,  E9a  de  Queiroz  showed  that  he  could  com- 
bine realism  and  sobriety  wdth  extravagant  fancy.  His 
luxuriant  imagination,  his  art  that  evidently  rejoices 
in  the  rich  imagery  of  the  East,  and  resembles  some 
heavily  ornamented  chapel,  with  here  and  there  a  space 
of  pure  gold,  found  scope  in  descriptions  of  Asia  and 


TWO  MODERN  NOVELISTS  211 

Palestine  (0  Suave  Milagre ;'^  Addo  e  Eva  no  Paraizo ; 
A  Reliquia),  of  Egypt  {A  Reliquia ;  A  Correspondencia 
de  Fradique  Mendes),  China  (O  Mandarim),  Spain 
(0  Thesoiro  ;  0  Defunto^),  Calypso's  Island  (A  Perfeigdo, 
in  which  the  ''  ivory  stools,  rolls  of  embroidery,  jars  of 
worked  bronze,  shields  studded  with  precious  stones," 
represent  the  variegated  style  of  these  more  exotic 
stories).  In  three  books  which  appeared  after  his 
death — A  Illustre  Casa  de  Ramires  (1900),  A  Cidade  e  as 
Serras  (1901),  and^  Correspondencia  de  Fradique  Mendes 
(igoo) — exist  ample  proofs  that  E9a  de  Queiroz  in  his 
later  manner  tended  towards  a  far  saner  and  higher 
form  of  art.  A  Illustre  Casa  de  Ramires^  if  at  times  a 
little  tedious,  is  thoroughly  Portuguese,  soft  as  the 
national  arroz  doce,  but  still  flavoured  with  sarcasm.  It 
gives  an  excellent  picture  of  Portuguese  life  in  the 
provinces,  with  unending  gossip — infindaveis  cavaqueiras 
a  lareira  dos  campos — and  the  inevitable  savour  of  politics, 
and  with  glimpses  of  peasants,  simple  and  ignorant, 
cringing  or  insolent  towards  those  in  authority.  Gon^alo 
Mendes  Ramires  —  0  maior  fidalgo  de  Portugal  —  lives 
in  the  old  Torre,  which  belonged  to  his  ancestors  before 
Portugal  was  Portugal,^  in  the  village  of  Santa  Ireneia, 
chiefly  in  the  company  of  his  friend  Tito,  that  homen- 
zarrdo  excellente,  his  sister  and  brother-in-law,  the  good- 
natured  and  placid  Jose  Barroso,  and  the  chemist's 
assistant    Videirinha,    with    his    guitar,   interminably 

^  The  English  version,   The  Sweet  Miracle,  by  Mr.  Edgar  Prestage 
{London  :  David  Nutt),  is,  unfortunately,  now  out  of  print. 

2  Translated  into  English,  under  the  title  Our  Lady  of  the  Pillar,  by 
Mr.  Edgar  Prestage  {London :  Constable,  1906). 

3  He  denies  that  the  King  of  Portugal  has  authority  to  create  him 
a  Marquis. 


212  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

singing  old  ballads  in  the  soft,  scented  evenings ;  and, 
more  rarely,  of  the  sleek  and  specious  Civil  Governor 
of  the  district,  Andr^  Cavalleiro,  or  of  his  cousin, 
Maria  Mendonga,  even  prouder  than  Gongalo  of  the 
House  of  Ramires.  The  veranda,  overgrown  with 
honeysuckle,  looks  out  upon  orchards  and  vines  and 
orange-trees  and  the  old  tower,  since  the  tenth  century 
the  solar  of  the  Ramires.  Beyond,  clumps  of  elms, 
cork-trees,  and  pines,  and  fields  of  corn  stretch  away  to 
the  hills.  Sluggish,  reedy  streams,  choked  with  water- 
lilies,  and  hedges  of  honeysuckle  and  blackberry  divide 
the  land;  smoke  goes  up  from  an  isolated  farm  here 
and  there  ;  coveys  of  partridges  fly  up  from  the  stubble  ; 
children  pass  with  long  goads,  driving  the  cows.  With 
the  modern  story  is  interwoven  the  older  chronicle  of 
the  House  of  Ramires,  and  the  account  of  the  vengeance 
taken  by  one  of  Gongalo's  ancestors  is,  like  0  Defunto, 
one  of  the  most  grim  and  weirdly  horrible  episodes 
ever  written.  Gon9alo  is  vain,  affable,  kindly,  irresolute, 
with  noble  impulses,  but  incapable  of  confronting  an 
obstacle  with  courage,  physical  or  moral  ;  or  so  he 
appears  at  first.  But  his  character  develops,  becoming 
less  ineffectual,  and  he  finally  leaves  the  idle  life  of  a 
deputy  at  Lisbon  to  go  farming  in  Africa.  One  of  his 
friends  thus  sums  up  his  character  and  the  character  of 
Portugal : 

"  Aquelle  todo  de  Gon9alo,  a  franqueza,  a  do^ura,  a 
bondade,  a  immensa  bondade,  que  notou  o  Snr.  Padre 
Sueiro.  Os  fogachos  e  enthusiasmos  que  acabam  logo 
em  fumo,  e  juntamente  muita  persistencia,  muito  aferro 
quando  se  fila  a  sua  ideia.  A  generosidade,  o  desleixo, 
a  constante  trapalhada  nos  negocios,  e  sentimentos  de 
muita  honra,  uns  escrupulos  quasi  pueris,  nao  e  verdade  ? 


TWO  MODERN  NOVELISTS  213 

A  imaginagao  que  o  leva  sempre  a  exaggerar,  ate  a 
mentira,  e  ao  mesmo  tempo  um  espirito  pratico,  sempre 
attento  a  realidade  util.  A  viveza,  a  facilidade  em 
comprehender,  em  apanhar.  A  esperanga  constante 
n'algum  milagre,  no  velho  milagre  d'Ourique  que  sanara 
todas  as  difficuldades.  A  vaidade,  o  gosto  de  se  arre- 
bicar,  de  luzir,  e  uma  simplicidade  tao  grande  que  da 
na  rua  o  brago  a  um  mendigo.  Um  fundo  de  melancolia, 
apesar  de  tao  palrador,  tao  sociabel.  A  desconfianga 
terrivel  de  si  mesmo,  que  o  acobarda,  o  encolhe,  ate 
que  um  dia  se  decide  e  apparece  um  heroe  que  tudo 
arrasa.  Ate  aquella  antiguidade  de  raga,  aqui  pegada 
a  sua  velha  Torre  ha  mil  annos.  Ate  agora  aquelle 
arranque  para  a  Africa.  Assim  todo  completo,  com  o 
bem,  com  o  mal,  sabem  voces  quem  elle  me  lembra  ? 
— Quem  ? — Portugal." 

(Gon9alo  as  a  whole,  his  frankness,  gentleness,  and 
good  nature,  the  immense  good  nature  which  Padre 
Sueiro  noticed.  The  fire  and  enthusiasm  which  anon 
end  in  smoke,  and,  nevertheless,  a  real  tenacity  and 
persistence  when  an  idea  takes  hold  of  him.  Generosity, 
negligence,  constant  confusion  in  business,  and  a  strong 
sentiment  of  honour,  wath  scruples  that  are  almost 
childish.  An  imagination  that  is  always  carrying  him 
into  exaggeration  and  even  falsehood,  and  at  the  same 
time  a  utilitarian  spirit,  ever  attentive  to  practical 
reality.  A  natural  quickness  and  readiness  in  realizing 
and  understanding.  Perpetual  hope  of  some  miracle, 
like  the  old  miracle  of  the  field  of  Ourique,  which  will 
heal  all  difficulties.  Vanity,  a  fondness  for  decking 
himself  out,  a  desire  to  shine,  and  a  simplicity  so  great 
that  he  will  give  his  arm  to  a  beggar  in  the  street.  An 
essential  melancholy,  in  spite  of  his  talkative  and 
sociable  nature.  A  terrible  diffidence  which  intimidates 
and  dismays  him,  until  one  day  he  makes  up  his  mind, 
and  appears  as  a  hero  carrying  all  before  him.  Even 
his  ancient  house  attached  to  its  old  Torre  during  a 


214  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

thousand  years.  Even  this  enterprise  of  his  in  Africa. 
Taken  thus  all  altogether,  with  the  good  and  the  bad, 
do  you  know  whom  he  reminds  me  of  ? — Who  ? — 
Portugal.) 

The  scene  of  the  first  part  of  A  Cidade  e  as  Serras  is 
Paris,  the  Mecca  of  rich  Portuguese.  But  Jacintho, 
the  super-civilized,  determines  to  visit  one  of  the  vast 
estates  owned  by  his  family  in  Portugal  since  the  days 
of  King  Diniz,  although  he  considers  "leaving  Europe  " 
a  very  serious  matter.  Soon  the  macio  azul  of  the 
Portuguese  sky  appears,  and  when  the  stationmaster 
addresses  Jacintho  and  his  friend  Ze  Fernandes  as 
"  my  sons,"  the  reader  feels  that  he  is  indeed  in 
democratic  Portugal.  The  descriptions  of  the  country 
between  Douro  and  Minho,  of  the  ride  up  to  the  ancestral 
house,  the  solar^  in  the  hills,  of  the  quinta  (country- 
house),  called  Flor  da  Malva,  of  the  sebastianista  peasant, 
old  Joao  Torrado,  are  all  excellent : 

"  Espertos  regatinhos  fugiam  rindo  com  os  seixos, 
d'entre  as  patas  da  egua  e  do  burro ;  grossos  ribeiros 
agodados  saltavam  com  fragor  de  pedra  em  pedra ;  fios 
direitos  e  luzidios  como  cordas  de  prata  vibravam  e 
faiscavam  das  alturas  aos  barrancos ;  e  muita  fonte, 
posta  a  beira  de  veredas,  jorrava  por  uma  bica,  bene- 
ficamente,  a  espera  dos  homens  e  dos  gados.  Todo 
um  cabe90  por  vezes  era  uma  ceara,  onde  um  vasto 
carvalho  ancestral,  solitario,  dominava  como  seu  senhor 
e  seu  guarda.  Em  socalcos  verdejavam  laranjaes  re- 
scendentes.  Caminhos  de  lages  soltas  circundavam 
fartos  prados  com  carneiros  e  vaccas  retougando ;  ou, 
mais  estreitos,  penetravam  sob  ramadas  de  parra  es- 
pessa  n'uma  penumbra  de  repouso  e  frescura.  Tre- 
pavamos  entao  alguma  ruasinha  de  aldeia,  dez  ou  doze 
casebres   sumidos   entre    figueiras,    onde   se   esga9ava, 


TWO  MODERN  NOVELISTS  215 

fugindo  do  lar  pela  telha  va,  o  fumo  branco  e  cheiroso 
das  pinhas.  Nos  cerros  remotos,  por  cima  da  negrura 
pensativa  dos  pinheiraes  branquejavam  ermidas.  O  ar 
fino  e  puro  entrava  na  alma  e  na  alma  espalhava  alegria 
e  for9a.  Um  esparso  tilintar  de  chocalhos  de  guizos 
morria  pelas  quebradas." 

(Swift  streamlets  fled,  laughing  in  the  stones,  between 
the  feet  of  our  mounts  ;  great  precipitous  torrents  leapt 
crashing  from  rock  to  rock ;  straight,  shining  threads 
of  water,  like  cords  of  silver,  quivered  and  flashed  from 
height  to  gully  ;  and  many  fountains,  set  at  the  side  of 
the  paths,  gushed  water  from  their  spouts,  in  kindly 
readiness  for  men  and  cattle.  Sometimes  a  whole  hill 
was  covered  wath  corn,  and  over  it  a  huge  ancestral 
oak  stood,  solitary  lord  and  sentinel.  In  levelled  spaces 
grew  groves  of  scented  orange-trees.  Paved  ways  of 
stepping-stones  surrounded  fertile  meadows  in  which 
lambs  and  calves  gambolled,  or,  narrowing,  passed 
beneath  thick  vine-trellises  into  a  cool  and  restful 
shade.  Then  we  would  come  to  a  narrow  village  street, 
ten  or  twelve  hovels  buried  in  fig-trees,  whence  floated 
up  through  the  roof  from  the  hearth  the  white  and 
scented  smoke  of  pine-cones.  On  the  distant  hills, 
beyond  the  dark  and  dreamy  pine-woods,  white  her- 
mitages gleamed.  The  pure,  thin  air  gave  joy  and 
strength  at  every  breath.  A  sprinkled  tinkling  of  bells 
sounded  faintly  on  the  hill-sides.) 

At  last  they  reach  the  avenue  of  beech-trees  leading 
to  the  solar,  with  its  veranda  under  a  rough  wooden 
balcony,  and  boxes  of  cravos  (carnations)  set  along  the 
veranda  between  the  pillars  of  granite.  Huge,  empty 
rooms  with  blackened  walls  and  heaps  of  sticks  and 
tools  in  the  corners ;  the  windows,  mere  dark  squares 
in  the  granite,  protected  by  shutters  ;  the  great  gloomy 
kitchen,  with  its  immense  lareira,  whence  the  smoke 


2i6  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

escaped  through  the  wall  and  across  the  branches  of  a 
lemon-tree,  the  only  light  coming  from  the  door  of 
chestnut-wood  or  from  the  fire  gleaming  upon  vessels 
of  copper  and  iron  ;  the  tin  forks,  the  rough,  coarse 
cloth — it  was  all  very  different  from  Paris.  (Owing  to 
a  mistake,  their  arrival  was  unexpected,  and  their 
luggage  and  servants  had  been  lost  on  the  way.)  But 
"  a  good  smell  of  health  and  freshness  "  was  every- 
where, and  through  the  open,  glassless  windows  came 
the  air  of  the  serra.  Their  meal  was  of  broad  beans 
and  rice,  the  ordinary  fare  of  the  farm-servants  {a  comi- 
dinha  dos  mogos  da  quinta),  a  louro  fraiigo  roasted  on  the 
spit,  and  the  light  wine  of  the  serra.  Immediately 
beneath  the  windows  was  a  garden  of  vegetables,  a 
fountain  among  climbing  roses,  a  cherry-tree  laden  with 
cherries,  and  on  the  other  side,  enveloping  a  corner  of 
the  house,  the  orangery  or  laranjal.  Beyond,  pine- 
woods  and  hills  and  maize-fields  (milheiraes),  a  river- 
valley  and  purple  serras.  In  the  evening  a  mist  comes 
up  from  the  valley,  there  is  a  whispering  of  trees,  the 
sound  of  many  waters,  and  the  forlorn  voice  of  a 
shepherd  singing  :  "  E  la  debaixo,  dos  valles,  subia 
desgarrada  e  melancolica  uma  voz  de  pegureiro  can- 
tando."  Some  of  the  scenes  recall  Pereda's  Penas 
Arriba  (1895),  and  the  themes  of  both  books  are  the 
same.  Jacintho  leaves  Paris  and  arrives  at  Tormes 
exactly  as  Marcelo  leaves  Madrid  and  rides  across  the 
mountains  to  Tablanco ;  both  are  repelled  at  first,  but 
both  end  by  marrying  and  settling  happily  in  the 
uncivilized  mountain-country.  Further  comparison 
can  only  show  the  superiority,  above  all  the  greater 
sincerity,  of  Pereda;  but  whether  the   imitation  was 


TWO  MODERN  NOVELISTS  217 

direct  or  not,  Eqsi  de  Queiroz'  A  Cidade  e  as  Serras  was 
a  book  of  good  promise  for  the  future,  the  author  dying, 
unfortunately,  before  he  had  even  finished  correcting 
the  proofs. 

A  Correspond encia  de  Fradiqiie  Mendes  (Memorias 
e  notas)  is  not  a  novel,  but  contains  some  of  E9a  de 
Queiroz'  most  delightful  and  most  finished  work. 
Carlos  Fradique  Mendes  had  appeared  already  in 
0  Mysterio  da  Estrada  de  Cintra  as  an  ex-pirate,  poet, 
and  musician,  the  friend  of  Baudelaire,  and  is  now 
shown  further  to  be  the  friend  of  Victor  Hugo,  to  have 
fought  under  Napier  in  Abj'ssinia,  to  have  accompanied 
Garibaldi  on  his  Sicilian  expedition,  and  to  have  corre- 
sponded with  Mazzini.  His  letters  show  that  he  com- 
bined a  true  love  of  Portugal  with  appreciation  of  what 
is  conventionally  called  civilization.^  One  of  them 
describes  life  in  a  Minho  quinta — the  pateo  with  its 
^'fonte  de  boa  agua,''  the  jessamine  and  roses,  vine- 
trellis  and  olives,  the  horta  brimmed  with  flowers,  the 
granite  threshing-floor  and  granary,  the  clear  and 
duskier  golds  of  the  waving  corn,  the  hills  and  streams 
and  inatto  florido.  Life  there  is  all  pleasantness  {deslisa 
com  incomparavel  dogura),  from  the  first  crowing  of  the 
cocks,  when  the  shepherd  takes  up  his  staff,  and  the 
work  begins — 

"  Esse  trabalho  que  em  Portugal  parece  a  mais 
segura  das  alegrias  e  a  festa  sempre  incansavel,  porque 
e  todo  feito  a  cantar.  As  vozes  vem  altas  e  desgarradas, 
no  fino  silencio,  d'alem,  d'entre  os  trigos  ou  do  campo 
em  sacha,  onde  alvejam  as  camisas  de  linho  cru  e  os 
lengos  de  largas  franjas  vermelhejam  mais  que  papoulas  " 

^  They  appeared  originally  in  A  Revista  de  Portugal  (1889- 1892). 


2i8  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

(Work  which  in  Portugal  seems  the  surest  of  pleasures 
and  an  untiring  holiday,  since  it  is  ever  accompanied 
with  song.  The  voices  come  loud,  breaking  the  deli- 
cate silence,  from  beyond,  among  the  corn,  or  from  a 
field  that  is  being  hoed,  where  the  shirts  of  unbleached 
linen  gleam  white  and  the  long-fringed  kerchiefs  show 
redder  than  poppies) 

— to  the  return  at  evening  : 

"  No  piar  velado  e  curto  dos  passaros  ha  um  reco- 
Ihimento  e  consciencia  de  ninho  feliz.  Em  fila,  a 
boiada  volta  dos  pastos,  cangada  e  farta,  e  vai  ainda 
beberar  no  tanque,  onde  o  gotejar  da  agua  sob  a  cruz 
e  mais  pregui9oso.  Toca  o  sino  a  Ave-Maria.  Em 
todos  OS  casaes  se  esta  murmurando  o  nome  de  Nosso 
Senhor.  Um  carro  retardado,  pesado  de  matto,  geme 
pela  sombra  da  azinhaga." 

(The  notes  of  the  birds  are  brief  and  quiet  as  they 
think  of  the  shelter  of  their  happy  nests.  The  oxen 
return  in  single  file  tired  from  the  pasture,  having  fed 
their  fill,  and  go  for  one  last  drink  from  the  tank  where 
the  water  flows  more  sluggishly  beneath  the  cross. 
The  Angelus  rings,  and  in  all  the  farms  is  murmured 
the  name  of  the  Lord.  A  belated  cart,  with  heavy 
load  of  brushwood  groans  along  the  path  in  shadow.) 

The  other  posthumous  works  of  E9a  de  Queiroz  are — 
Contos  {Porto,  1902),  Prosas  Barbaras  (Porto,  1903), 
Cartas  de  Inglaterra  (igo^),  Echos  de  Paris  {igo^),  Cartas 
Familiares  e  Bilhetes  de  Paris  (1893-1896  ;  Porto,  1907), 
Notas  Contemporaneas  {Porto,  1909),  and  Ultimas  Paginas 
(Porto,  1912). 

In  Contos  we  have  some  of  his  most  characteristic 
work,  and  examples  of  his  peculiar  combination  of 
realism  and  fantasy  {Frei  Genebro  ;  0  Thesoiro  ;  A  A  ia ; 
O  Defunto;  As  Singularidades  de  uma  rapariga  lour  a;  Um 


TWO  MODERN  NOVELISTS  219 

poeta  lyrico,  telling  of  the  Greek  poet  Korriscosso,  waiter 
in  a  London  hotel ;  Ctvilisagdo,  afterwards  expanded 
into  A  Ctdade  e  as  Serras ;  etc.).  In  Ultimas  Paginas 
the  stories  are  longer  ;  that  of  S.  Fret  Gil  is  perhaps 
the  best,  breaking  off,  probably  not  unfortunately,  when 
Dom  Gil  was  about  to  leave  Portugal.  In  one  of  the 
articles  contained  in  this  volume,  O  Francezismo,  E9a  de 
Queiroz  writes  in  his  own  defence  that  from  his  birth 
France  was  all  around  him — at  home,  at  college,  at 
Lisbon — em  torno  do  mim  so  havia  a  Franca  ;  and  he 
repeats  that  Portugal  is  *'  a  country  translated  from 
French  into  slang."  He  himself,  unhappily,  contri- 
buted to  carry  the  translation  still  further.  It  is  not 
only  that  his  style  often  reads  like  translated  French 
(and  what  are  we  to  say  to  the  brazen  use  of  such 
words  as  goche  {gauche),  gochemente,  bonhomia  /),  but 
that  in  his  whole  art  he  suffered  himself  to  be  carried 
away  by  the  prevailing  current.  Every  phenomenon 
has  a  reality,  writes  Fradique  Mendes  in  one  of  his 
letters,  but  this  reality  is  obscured  by  a  mist  of  error, 
ignorance,  prejudice,  routine,  and  illusion  :  "  rare  are 
the  intellects  keen  and  powerful  enough  to  break 
through  the  mist  and  catch  the  exact  line,  the  true 
shape  of  reality."  Ega  de  Queiroz,  rather,  remained, 
as  in  another  letter  Fradique  Mendes  describes  him- 
self, "  a  man  who  passes  through  ideas  and  facts  with 
infinite  curiosity  and  attention."  But  the  true  artist 
is  something  more  :  he  is  "  um  homem  que  passa  infinita- 
meitte  curioso";  but  he  knows  that  nothing  exists,  and 
that  it  is  for  him  to  give  reality  to  the  motley  array  of 
^'figures  et  chases  qui  passent,''  a  reality  of  new  shades 
and  colours  unrecognized  till  he  presents  it  in  his  art. 


220  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

He  describes  things  sincerely  as  he  sees  them,  not  as 
they  commonly  appear,  and  in  the  crucible  of  his  style 
they  are  transformed  and  made  more  real.  A  consum- 
mate artist,  Anatole  France  or  Gustave  Flaubert,  would 
take  the  theme  of  O  Primo  Bazilio  or  Os  Maias  and, 
without  apparently  omitting  any  detail,  yet  through  the 
magic  of  his  style  entirely  change  the  atmosphere. 

Passages  here  and  there  in  Ega  de  Queiroz'  works 
seem  to  show  that,  had  he  lived,  he  would  have  suc- 
ceeded in  freeing  himself  from  falseness  and  imitations, 
and  would  have  taken  his  place  among  the  greatest  of 
modern  writers.  As  it  is,  he  must  rank  rather  with  the 
Palacio  Valdes  of  Maximina  than  with  the  Palacio 
Valdes  of  Marta  y  Maria,  and  appears  as  the  author 
of  striking  fragments  and  powerful  character  sketches, 
still  feeling  his  way  towards  work  more  sincere  and 
enduring. 


CHAPTER  IX 

PORTUGUESE  POETS  OF  TO-DAY 

With  the  nineteenth  century  disappeared  several  cele- 
brated poets  of  Portugal.  The  unquiet  spirit  of 
Anthero  de  Quental  found  its  rest  in  1891,  Francisco 
Gomes  de  Amorim  died  in  the  following  year,  Joao  de 
Deus  in  1896,  Thomaz  Ribeiro  in  igoi.  Ribeiro  was 
the  oldest  of  these  poets,  and  he  was  but  seventy  at 
the  time  of  his  death ;  yet  in  spite  of  these  losses, 
Portuguese  literature  continues  at  the  present  day  to 
live  principally  in  its  poets.  Its  novelists  cannot  com- 
pare for  charm  or  originality  with  those  of  Spain,  but 
its  poets  are  on  a  higher  level,  and  it  is  chiefly  owing 
to  their  merits  that  a  Spanish  critic,  Don  Miguel  de 
Unamuno,  has  been  emboldened  to  call  the  present 
the  golden  age  of  Portuguese  literature.  It  is  worth 
while  to  examine  the  work  of  some  of  these  poets  of 
to-day,  for  although  none  will  be  found  so  exquisite 
as  Joao  de  Deus  nor  so  passionately  ardent  as  Quental, 
a  study  of  their  poetry  amply  proves  that  the  vein  of 
lyricism  which  runs  through  Portuguese  literature  from 
the  thirteenth  century  is  by  no  means  exhausted  at  the 
present  day. 

The  first  place  among  Portugal's  contemporary  poets 
is    generally    accorded    to    Abilio    Guerra   Junqueiro, 


222  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

who  was  born  in  1850.  He  may  be  called  the 
Portuguese  Victor  Hugo.  He  has  not  only  many  of 
the  weaknesses  of  the  great  French  poet,  but  also  a 
fraction  of  his  genius.  Too  often  he  has  allowed  his 
political  revolutionary  ideas  to  drown  his  genuine  gift 
of  lyricism  in  a  yawning  pit  of  rhetoric.  He  declaims 
against  the  "  brigand  called  the  Law,"  against  the 
"  crass  bourgeoisie,''  against  priest  and  King.  At  such 
times  no  word  or  expression  is  too  ugly,  too  vulgar,  to 
be  admitted  by  his  undiscerning  Muse.  Umfrak  (a  frock- 
coat),  tcm  biffe  (a  beefsteak),  debochado  (debauched) — 
these  and  similar  words  are  the  dreadful  signs  of  the 
invasion  of  politics.  But,  when  least  expected,  true 
poetry  breaks  once  again  into  being,  as  a  flowering 
almond-tree  in  a  grey  February.  Occasionally  this  is 
so  even  in  a  long  satire,  such  as  A  Velhice  do  Padre 
Eterno,  and  in  the  gloomy  political  play  Patria  we  have 
suddenly  a  noble  description  of  Portugal : 

"  Campos  claros  de  milho  mo9o  e  trigo  loiro 
Hortas  a  rir,  vergeis  noivando  em  fructa  d'oiro, 
Trilos  de  rouxinoes,  revoada  de  andorinhas, 
Nos  vinhedos  pombaes,  nos  montes  ermidinhas,"  etc. 

(Bright  fields  of  springing  maize  and  yellow  corn, 
And  happy  gardens,  orchards  of  golden  fruit. 
The  song  of  nightingales,  the  flight  of  swallows, 
Doves  in  the  vines,  hermitages  on  the  hills.) 

Especially  frequent  are  these  gleams  of  poetry  in  Finis 
Patrick,  for  all  its  stern  denunciations.  This  short 
volume  is  in  fact  the  real  claim  of  the  author  to  be 
considered  great,  although  other  volumes — A  Musa  em 
Ferias,  A  Morte  de  Doni  Jodo,  Os  Simples — contain  several 
excellent  lyrics. 


PORTUGUESE  POETS  OF  TO-DAY        223 

"  E  negra  a  terra,  e  negra  a  noite,  e  negro  o  luar, 
Na  escuridao,  ouvi !  ha  sombras  a  fallar." 

These  are  the  two  prefatory  lines  of  Finis  PatricF,  and 
the  voices  thus  introduced  speak  in  turn  throughout  the 
volume — voices  of  peasant  and  workman,  fishermen, 
prisoners,  hospitals,  crumbling  fortresses,  overthrown 
monuments,  ruined  schools.  Victor  Hugo's  great  love 
and  pity  towards  children  and  the  poor  and  weak 
inspired  him  with  few  more  beautiful  lyrics  than 
A  alma  da  infancia.  Here  poetry  and  the  spirit  of 
reform  are  happily  united,  and  although  the  poet's 
bitter  invocation  would  seem  to  have  produced  no 
appreciable  improvement  in  the  schools  of  Portugal, 
the  lyric  itself  retains  its  freshness  and  charm  after 
many  years.  Beautiful  also  are  the  last  lines  of  A  Morte 
de  Dom  Jodo  : 

"  Parou  a  ventania. 
As  estrellas,  dormentes,  fatigadas, 
Cerram  a  luz  do  dia 
As  mysteriosas  palpebras  doiradas. 
Vae  despontando  o  rosicler  da  aurora ; 
O  azul  sereno  e  vasto 
Empallidece  e  cora, 
Como  se  Deos  Ihe  desse 
Um  grande  beijo  luminoso  e  casto. 
A  estrella  da  manha 
Na  altura  resplandece; 
E  a  cotovia,  a  sua  linda  irma, 
Vae  pelo  azul  um  cantico  vibrando, 
Tao  limpido,  tao  alto  que  parece 
Que  e  a  estrella  no  ceo  que  esta  cantando." 

(The  wind  has  ceased.     The  tired  stars  asleep 
At  the  approach  of  light 


224  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

All  their  mysterious  golden  eyelids  close. 

Slowly  from  out  the  night 

Across  the  sky  the  hues  of  dawn  now  creep ; 

And  soon  from  pale  to  rose 

Blushes  at  heaven's  kiss 

The  blue  serene's  unfathomable  abyss ; 

While  gleaming  there  afar 

Still  shines  the  morning  star. 

The  lark,  its  sister  fair, 

Flies  up  through  heaven's  blue,  its  song  far  ringing, 

So  clear,  so  high  in  air, 

That  in  the  sky,  it  seems,  the  morning  star  is  singing.) 

The  grim  weirdness  of  the  introductory  lines  of 
Finis  PatricB  recurs  in  several  poems  of  the  same  work, 
like  the  old  gardener's  bell  among  the  melons  at  mid- 
night in  Les  Miserables,  and  probably  no  other  living 
poet  can  convey  so  poignant  a  note  of  misery  and 
despair.  Thus  we  have  the  life  of  the  peasants,  with 
fireless  hearths,  old  mattresses,  and  black  cupboards 
without  bread,  so  that 

"  Old  and  young  to  the  earth  they  are  bringing, 
And  the  bells  toll,  toll ;  and  the  bells  toll, 
And  the  grave-digger  is  singing  " : 

"  Na  enxerga  fria  tremem  azas. 
No  lar  extinto  faltam  brazas, 
Nas  areas  negras  nao  ha  pao.  .  .  . 
Enterram  velhos  e  meninos, 
Dobram  os  sinos,  dobram  os  sinos, 
Canta  o  coveiro." 

The  description  of  the  workmen's  lot  follows  : 

"  A  fome  e  o  frio,  a  dor  e  a  usura, 
O  vicio  e  o  crime  .  .  .  ignobil  sorte ! 
Oh  vida  negra  !  oh  vida  dura  ! 


PORTUGUESE  POETS  OF  TO-DAY        225 

Deus,  quern  consola  a  desventura  ? 
A  Morte." 

(In  hunger  and  cold  and  usury  and  grief 

And  vice  and  crime  they  sadly  draw  their  breath. 

To  life  thus  black  and  hard  beyond  belief 

Is  there  no  happiness  to  bring  relief  ? 

Death.) 

That  of  the  fishermen  gives  an  impression  almost  of 
terror ;  the  angry  sea  and  cries  of  distraught  sorrow- 
surge  and  sway  and  mingle  in  the  rhythm  of  the  verses : 

**  Mar  de  tormenta,  mar  que  rebenta, 
Convulso  mar ! 

Noites  inteiras,  noites  inteiras, 
Nas  praias  tristes  ha  lareiras 
Com  maes  e  noivas  a  resar." 

(Sea  of  unrest,  sea  storm-oppressed, 

Unquiet  sea  ! 

Night  after  night,  night  after  night, 

In  homes  on  thy  shores  bereft  of  light 

There  are  mothers  and  wives  praying  ceaselessly.) 

Eugenio  de  Castro's  poetry,  unlike  that  of  Guerra 
Junqueiro,  is  coIH  and  artificial,  far  removed  from 
questions  of  the  present  day.  His  first  poems  were 
published  in  1884,  Cangoes  d'Ahril  and  Crystallisacoes  da 
Morte,  and  since  then  nearly  every  year  has  seen  the 
advent  of  a  tiny  volume  of  his  verses,  containing  more 
blank  pages  than  print,  so  that  the  full  catalogue  of  his 
works  is  imposing.^     He  began  to  write  verses  almost 

1  Jesus  de  Nazareth  (1885),  Per  umbram  (1887),  Horas  Tristes  (1888), 
Oaristos  (1890),  Horas  (1891),  Sylva,  hiterlimio,  and  (prose)  Belkiss  (1894), 
Tivesias  and  Sagramor  (1895),  Salome  e  outros  poemas  and  A  Nereide  de 
Harlem  (1896),  O  Rei  Galaor  (1897),  Saudades  do  Ceo  (1899},  Constanta 
{igoo),  Depots  da  Cei/a  (1901),  Poesias  escolhidas  (1901),  0  melhor  retrato  de 

15 


226  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

before  he  could  spell.  Some  of  the  poems  in  Cmt^oes 
d'Abril  (dated  1882,  1883,  and  1884)  were  written  at 
the  age  of  fifteen  (a  letter  from  Joao  de  Deus  appeared 
as  preface),  and  sometimes  in  these  early  poems  poetry 
and  rhyme  and  spelling  are  thrown  to  the  winds,  as  in 
the  lines — 

**  Nisto  eis  que  os  labios  sens,  esbo9o  de  Wateau  [sic], 
Um  sorriso  gentil  de  manso  Ihes  poisou."^ 

Eugenio  de  Castro  is  the  chief  of  the  Portuguese 
Decadents,  also  called  in  Portugal  the  "  cloud-treaders — 
nephelibatas.'"  His  verses  are  often  sensuous,  vibrating 
with  passion,  but  they  are  often  at  the  same  time  clear 
cut,  chiselled  with  the  precision  of  a  Theophile  Gautier. 
In  their  Greek  purity  of  form  and  cold  perfection  they 
are 

,''  De  narcissos  de  neve  um  cheiroso  festao," 

but,  in  a  phrase  of  Salome  e  oiitros  poemas,  "  ha  neve 
que  incendeia  " — the  snow  is  sometimes  afire.  We  are 
not  surprised  when  we  find  that  Eugenio  de  Castro 
translates  Greek  epigrams  and  also  many  poems  of 
Goethe.  In  Constanga  (Poema)  the  heavy  hendeca- 
syllabic  lines,  with  their  monotonous  endings,  like  the 
tolling  of  a  bell,  continually  recall  those  of  Goethe's 
Iphigenie, 

"  Und  auf  dem  Ufer  steh'  ich  lange  Tage 
Das  Land  der  Griechen  mit  der  Seele  suchend," 

Jodo  de  Deus  and  A  Sombra  do  Quadrante  (1906),  0  Annel  de  Polycrates 
(1907),  A  Fonte  do  Saiyro  e  outros poemas  {1908),  Poesias  de  Goethe  (1909), 
0  Filho  Prodigo  (1910). 

1  Anthero  de  Quental  had  in  the  sixties  rhymed  "rondo" 
(rondeau)  with  "  Watteau  "  {A  Carlos  Baudelaire  in  Primaveras 
Romanticas). 


PORTUGUESE  POETS  OF  TO-DAY        227 

and  are  well  suited  to  the  theme  of  ConstanQa's  grief 
at  witnessing  the  love  of  her  husband,  the  Infante  Dom 
Pedro,  and  Ines  de  Castro  : 

"  A  noite  e  fria  e  escura, 
Constan9a  vae  morrer. 

Ninguem  a  vela  : 
Fingindo-se  melhor,  pediu  a  todos 
Que  a  deixassem  a  sos,  que  se  deitassem, 
E  apenas  consentiu  que  um  pagem  mo90, 
Que  de  ha  muito  a  servia  lealmente, 
Ficasse  a  porta  da  gelada  camara. 
No  vasto  leito,  sob  a  cobertura 
De  rija  tela  onde  se  fanam  lirios 
Que  ella  bordou  em  dias  venturosos, 
Mai  se  adivinha  o  vulto  do  seu  corpo." 

(The  night  is  cold  and  dark. 
And  Constan9a  is  dying. 

No  one  watches, 
For,  feigning  to  be  better,  she  had  bidden 
Them  leave  her  thus  alone  and  take  their  rest. 
Only  one  page,  who  long  and  faithfully 
Had  served  her,  had  she  suffered  to  remain 
In  waiting  at  the  door  of  the  icy  room. 
In  the  vast  bed  beneath  the  coverlet. 
The  heavy  cloth  of  fading  lilies  by  her 
Embroidered  during  days  of  happiness, 
The  outline  of  her  form  is  scarcely  marked.) 

The  following  is  a  description,  from  the  same  poem, 
of  the  Choupal  of  Coimbra  along  the  river  Mondego  in 
spring  : 

*'  Pela  relva 
Entresachada  de  aprilinas  flores. 
Das  aves  que  do  exilio  regressavam 
Azues  corriam  as  ligeiras  sombras ; 
Em  baixo  o  rio,  gemedoramente, 


228  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

Ao  sol  brilhava,  como  se  arrastasse 

Fulgidas  cotas  de  argentina  malha, 

E  do  seu  crystal  puro  e  marulhante 

Saltavam  no  ar  de  quando  em  quando  os  peixes, 

Faiscantes,  vivos  como  lingoas  d'agoa ; 

Zumbiam  vespes  sobre  as  laranjeiras 

Carregadas  de  flor  ;  as  borboletas 

Eram  petalas  soltas  procurando 

Anciosissimamente  os  caules  verdes 

D'onde  a  brisa  inconstante  as  arrancara ; 

Nas  altas  ramas  perpassavam  echos 

D'embalador  oceano,  e  muito  ao  longe 

O  som  das  flautas  pastoraes  unia-se 

Ao  balar  infantil  dos  cordeirinhos." 

(Across  the  grass,  with  April  flowers  enamelled, 

From  time  to  time  blue  shadows  lightly  sped 

Of  birds  returning  from  their  winter  exile. 

Below,  the  river  flowing  plaintively 

Shone  in  the  sun,  as  sheathed  in  gleaming  silver, 

And  from  its  crystal  surface  fishes  leapt, 

Glittering  in  the  air  as  living  tongues  of  water. 

Wasps  hummed  above  the  flowered  orange-trees. 

And  butterflies,  stray  petals,  sought  longingly 

The  green  stems  whence  the  inconstant  wind  had 

torn  them. 
In  the  high  poplar  branches  came  and  went 
Echoes  of  murmuring  seas,  and  distantly 
Came  sound  of  bleating  lambs  and  shepherds'  pipes.) 

In  the  preface  to  Oaristos  (1890)  Castro  deplored  the 
commonplaces  of  modern  Portuguese  poetry,  the  thin- 
ness of  its  themes,  the  "  Franciscan  poverty "  of  its 
rhymes.  He  was  determined,  he  said,  to  exchange 
vulgarity  for  originality :  "  Mon  verre  est  petit  mais  je 
bois  dans  mon  verre."  He  claimed  to  be  the  first  in 
Portugal  to  free  the  Alexandrine  from  the  tyranny  of 


PORTUGUESE  POETS  OF  TO-DAY        229 

the  caesura,  to  adapt  the  French  rondeau,  and  to  intro- 
duce alliteration  and  rare  rhymes — "  rimas  raras  ruti- 
lantes."  His  innovations  in  Oaristos  were  perhaps  not 
very  happy.  Some  of  his  lines  make  the  reader  wish 
that  alliteration  had  recrossed  the  Portuguese  frontier, 
while  the  following  tour  de  force  is  rather  clever  than 
poetical : 

"  Acorda,    Flor,    meu    cora9ao    freme    em   ardentes 
Delirios, 
Vao-se  estrellando  os  ceos  azues,  jardins  florentes 
De  lyrios,"  etc. 

Other  poems  in  Oaristos  are  evidently  due  to  the 
influence  of  Baudelaire,  as  certain  others  among  his 
poems — e.g.,  the  sonnet  in  A  Sombra  do  Quadrante 
beginning  : 

"  Nao  pe90  para  mim  !     Foram  baldadas 
Foram  vas  minhas  supplicas,  Senhor." 

(Not  for  myself  I  ask  :  useless  and  vain. 
Lord,  then  were  all  my  prayer.) 

There  are  lines  in  Oaristos  which  are  pure  Baudelaire : 

"  Sonho  uma  casa  branca  a  beira  d'agoa,  um  palmo 
De  terreno  onde  eu,  campestremente  calmo, 
Cultivasse  rozaes  e  compozesse  idyllios, 
Celebrando  em  abril  os  alados  concilios 
Das  vespas  no  estellar  Vaticano  das  flores. 
Sob  um  irideo  ceo  colmado  de  fulgores ; 
Sonho  contigo,  6  nobre  e  pallida  insubmissa, 
Pallida  e  triste  como  uma  ingenua  novi9a, 
Sonho  o  grande  tormento  amargo  e  delicioso 
De  n'um  verso  imitar,  n'um  verso  glorioso, 
A  tua  lenta  voz,  de  accentos  longos,  lentos, 
Voz  somnolenta,  lenta,  e  cheia  de  lamentos. 


230  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

Voz  somnolenta  que  6,  morena  que  me  ennervas, 
Como  OS  lamentos  dos  arroios  sob  as  hervas." 

(Of  white  house  by  the  water's  edge  1  dream 
And  plot  of  land  where,  rustically  calm, 
I  might  my  roses  grow  and  idylls  write, 
Singing  in  April  of  the  wasps'  winged  councils 
Held  in  their  starry  Vatican  of  flowers 
Beneath  a  blue  sky  filled  and  thrilled  with  light. 
Of  thee  I  dream,  noble  and  pale  and  cruel, 
Pensive  and  pale  as  an  ingenuous  novice, 
And  of  the  torment  bitter-sweet  I  dream 
To  imitate  in  verse,  in  wondrous  verse, 
The  long,  slow  accents  of  thy  trailing  voice, 
Thy  somnolent,  slow  voice  full  of  laments, 
Somnolent  voice,  fair  one  that  torturest  me, 
As  plaintive  voice  of  streams  beneath  the  grass.) 

But  while  Baudelaire,  however  exotic,  ever  weaves  his 
verses  as  it  were  in  a  soft,  continuous  veil  of  opal,  and 
casts  over  them  a  soothing  magic  of  opium,  so  that 
they  vibrate  greyly  in  a  minor  key, 

'*  Le  violon  fremit  comme  un  cceur  qu'on  afflige," 

the  rare  words  in  the  verses  of  Castro  sometimes  seem 
to  stand  out  a  little  clumsily,  like  the  huge  precious 
stones  on  some  ancient  missal — the  following  lines,  for 
instance,  of  a  sonnet  written  at  Biarritz  in  1889  : 

"  Na  estufa  lendo  um  livro  de  botanica 
Uma  das  maos  afaga  uma  begonia 
Com  a  outra  lacera  uma  tacsonia 
Nervosamente  frigida,  tyranica,"  etc. 

Depots  da  Ceifa,  an  aftermath  of  poems  written  between 
1894  and  1896,  and  published  in  1901,  and  Sagramor 
{Coimbra,  1895)  contain  some  fine  poetry.  We  feel 
that  in   the  intensity  of  these  poems  the  author  has 


PORTUGUESE  POETS  OF  TO-DAY        231 

forgotten   all   about   the   decadent   style   and    "  rimas 
raras  rutilantes": 

**  Quando  as  almas  sao  novas, 
Velhos  P090S  cobertos  de  jasmins, 
Quando  as  futuras  covas 
Parecem  jardins, 
Quando  a  aranha  do  desengano 
Nos  cora9oes  nao  tece  ainda, 
Sao  quatro  as  esta96es  do  anno, 
Qual  a  mais  linda. 

"  Primavera,  verao,  outomno  e  inverno 
Sao  quatro  meninas 
De  olhar  bem  terno, 
De  maos  bem  finas. 

"  Os  olhos  d'uma  sao  ingenuos  firmamentos, 
Os  da  segunda  ruivos  como  a  Valeriana, 
Os  olhos  da  terceira  sao  cinzentos, 
E  OS  da  quarta  sao  negros,  de  cigana. 

**  A  primeira  usa  flores  rosadas, 
A  segunda  flores  de  escarlata, 
A  terceira  flores  d'oiro,  desbotadas, 
E  a  quarta  flores  de  prata. 

"  E  todas  ellas, 
Com  maos  mais  finas  que  as  suas  flores, 
Derramam  estrellas, 
Estrellas  e  amores." 

(When  souls  are  young,  old  wells  covered  w^ith 
flowers,  and  seem  to  be  gardens,  although  soon  they 
will  be  dark  pits,  when  the  web  of  disillusion  is  not 
yet  woven  in  the  heart,  four  are  the  seasons  of  the  year, 
and  all  of  them  are  fair.  Spring,  summer,  autumn, 
and  winter  are  four  maidens  of  delicate  hands  and 
tender  eyes.  Of  the  first  the  eyes  are  ingenuous  worlds, 
the  eyes  of  the  second  are  red  as  valerian,  of  the  third 


232  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

the  eyes  are  ashen-grey,  and  of  the  fourth  black,  as 
eyes  of  gipsies.  The  flowers  of  the  first  are  rose  of 
hue,  the  second  has  scarlet  flowers ;  the  flowers  of  the 
third  are  blown  flowers  of  gold,  of  the  fourth  the 
flowers  are  silver.  And  all  of  them  from  hands  fairer 
than  their  flowers  go  scattering  stars,  stars  and  love.) 

Sagramor  strives,  in  love  and  gold,  in  travels,  fame, 
knowledge,  faith,  love  of  Nature,  to  escape  his  enemy 
Ennui,  but 

"  O  Tedio  cobre  todas  as  cousas." 
"  Nem  sequer  uma  sensa^ao  nova  ! 
Julgo  ter  visto  tudo  o  que  vejo." 

The  phantoms  of  Sardanapalus,  Solomon,  Caligula, 
Baudelaire,  and  many  others,  confirm  him  in  the 
opinion  that  vanity  of  vanities,  all  is  vanity,  and  that 
Tedio  cannot  be  evaded ;  and  the  poem  ends  with  the 
offers  of  many  voices  : 

*'  Pede  OS  mais  raros,  doces  prazeres, 
Queres  ser  estrella,  queres  ser  rei  ? 
Vamos  responde,  dize,  o  que  queres. 
Sagramor.    Nao  sei,  nao  sei."     (Silence  and  darkness.) 

(Ask  thou  for  pleasures  the  rarest,  divinest, 
Wouldst  thou  be  king  or  a  star  in  the  sky  ? 
Come,  answer,  tell  us,  for  what  then  thou  pinest. 
Sagramor.  I  know  not,  know  not,  I.) 

Curiously,  in  all  his  attempts  to  cheat  the  hours  he 
made  no  trial  of  two  very  simple  expedients  :  a  spell  of 
hard  manual  labour,  or  a  return  to  his  original  shep- 
herd's state. 

A  Portuguese  poet  perhaps  not  very  widely  known, 
certainly   at    least    out   of    Portugal,   is    Teixeira    de 


PORTUGUESE  POETS  OF  TO-DAY        233 

Pascoaes.-^  He  has  the  immense  distinction  in  modern 
times  of  being  a  poet  who  is  content  to  feel  the  poetry 
of  Earth  and  Heaven  without  being  haunted  by  the  fear 
that  he  will  be  found  deficient  in  rhymes  and  metres 
sufficiently  clever  to  express  it.  He  does  not  strain  at 
originality ;  for  him  life  is  poetry,  and  hence  his  poetry 
is  living.  Those  who  demand  of  poets  that  their  works 
should  be  of  polished  marble  or  a-glitter  with  gems 
should  beware  of  reading  Teixeira  de  Pascoaes ;  those 
who  can  appreciate  true  poetry,  the  poetry  of  Words- 
worth and  William  Barnes,  of  the  Imitatio  and  the 
Fioretti,  will  probably  read  his  poems  and  return  to 
them  with  delight.  In  his  sadness  and  saudade  he  is 
very  Portuguese,  singing  of  love  and  sorrow  and  death, 
the  chief  themes  of  Portuguese  poetry  since  the  time 
of  King  Diniz : 

"  O  Amor 
E  irmao  da  Dor,  e  a  Morte  e  irma  da  Vida." 

(For  Love 
Is  brother  of  Sorrow,  and  Death  to  Life  is  sister.) 

In  the  perfection  of  form  in  which  this  sadness  at 
times,  albeit  rarely,  finds  expression  he  recalls  Leopardi  ; 
in  his  quiet  love  of  Nature  and  of  animals  he  resembles 
the  Spanish  poet  Gabriel  y  Galan.  He  lives  in  remote 
Traz-os-Montes,  in  the  valley  of  the  Tamega,  far  from 
cities  and 

''  Essa  vida  de  cega  maldi^ao 
Entre  as  turbas  vivida  e  na  cidade ;" 

1  Joaquim  Pereira  Teixeira  de  Vasconcellos.  His  first  book  of  poems 
VJ3.S Sempre  (1897),  followed  by  Terra  prohibida  (1899),  J^^sus  e  Pan  (1903), 
Para  a  Luz  (1904),  Vida  Etherea  (1906),  As  Somhras  (1907),  A  Senhora  da 
Noite  (1909),  Mardnos  (191 1),  Regresso  ao  Paraiso  (1912). 


234  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

and  the  quiet  charm  of  streams  and  woods  and  misty 
mountain  spaces  has  entered  into  his  soul.  He  has 
woven  a  magic  web  of  mists  and  shadows  till  each  of 
his  poems  becomes 

'*  Um  idyllio  de  sombras,  muito  al^m, 
Nas  distantes  florestas  " 

(An  idyll  made  of  shadows  there  afar 
In  distant  forests), 

and  even  love  is  no  radiant  apparition,  but 

"  Amor  que  tudo  vae  annuviando." 

(Love  that  in  mist  all  things  o'ershadoweth.) 

His  own  spirit  becomes  a  shadow  in  a  world  of  shadows  : 

"  Sombras  que  vejo  em  mim 
E  em  tudo  quanto  existe." 

(Sempre.) 

His  philosophy  is  vaguely  pantheistic.  The  Kingdom 
of  Heaven  is  in  the  heart  of  man,  and  so,  too,  is  the 
Kingdom  of  Earth.  God  is  in  everything,  and  every- 
thing is  one  and  one  is  everything  : 

"  Por  isso,  se  quero  ver-te, 
Olho  as  aves  e  as  estrellas, 
As  montanhas  e  os  rochedos, 
Cora9ao." 

(To  see  my  heart  I  look 
Upon  the  birds  and  stars, 
Upon  the  hills  and  rocks.) 

{As  Sombras.) 

In  spirit  man  can  stay  the  sun  and  stars  in  their  courses, 
and  transform  a  stone  into  a  sentient  thing : 


PORTUGUESE  POETS  OF  TO-DAY        235 

'*  Sim,  a  vida  do  espirito  domina 
O  proprio  sol ;  um  gesto,  uma  palavra 
O  fez  parar  no  ceo  !  .  .  .     E  a  luz  divina 
Ante  o  sonho  dos  homens  anoitece." 

(Yes,  for  the  living  spirit's  force  can  master 
The  very  sun ;  a  single  word  or  gesture 
Can  stay  the  sun  in  heaven,  and  the  light  divine 
Before  the  dream  of  men  is  turned  to  darkness.) 

"  Tudo  e  milagre  e  sombra,  6  Natureza."  The  river  is 
not  divided  from  the  sea,  nor  the  valley  from  the 
mountain  : 

"  Um  valle  vae  subindo  e,  enfim,  e  serra, 
Uma  fonte  vae  chorando  e,  enfim,  e  mar." 

(A  valley  climbs  and  climbs,  and  now  is  hill, 
A  spring  flows  on  and  on,  and  now  is  sea.) 

Eternity  is  embraced  in  one  Heaven-sent  moment ;  the 
sun  is  reflected  in  a  drop  of  dew  : 

"  As  vezes,  n'uma  hora  consagrada, 
Para  nos  se  contem  a  eternidade. 
Da  mesma  forma  o  sol  por  um  instante 
N'uma  gotta  de  orvalho  se  resume 
E  n'ella  e  viva  imagem  radiante 
De  viva  luz  acesa  em  sete-cores." 

Thus  Heaven  and  Earth  exist  in  the  spirit  of  man,  and 
in  this  pragmatism  God  is  man's  creature : 

*'  O  nosso  Deus  e  nossa  creatura ; 
E  so  nas  minhas  obras  posso  crer. 
Cada  homem  e  um  mundo  de  ternura  ; 
E  Deus  e  a  eterna  flor  que  d'elle  nasce, 
Que  o  inspira,  perfuma  e  eleva  aos  astros ; 
Sua  expressao  perfeita,  a  sua  face 
Eterna  e  projectada  no  Infinito. 


236  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

Ama  o  teu  Deus ;  isto  e,  adora  em  ti 
A  creatura  ideal  que  concebeste." 

(Our  God  is  our  own  creature,  and  alone 

In  my  own  works  can  I  believe :  each  man 

Can  be  a  world  of  tenderness,  and  God 

Is  the  eternal  flower  that  from  it  springs. 

Upholds  and  sweetens,  and  guides  it  to  the  stars ; 

Its  perfected  expression,  undying  form 

Projected  thence  into  infinity. 

Love  then  thy  God,  that  is,  adore  in  thee 

The  creature  of  thy  dreams  and  thy  ideals.) 

The  chief  defect  of  Teixeira  de  Pascoaes  is  a  constant 
tendency  to  diffuseness.  The  philosophy  which  sees 
no  distinction  between  stone  and  flesh,  Earth  and 
Heaven,  seems  to  have  affected  his  poetry,  depriving 
it  of  sharp  divisions  and  definite  shape.  It  is  charac- 
teristic that  a  sonnet  in^s  Sombras  (Uma  Avee  0  Poeta) 
extends  to  a  poem  of  four  sonnets,  fifty-six  lines.  His 
long  poem  in  eighteen  cantos,  Mardnos  (igii),  may  be 
likened  to  a  grey  shadowland,  a  mountain  mist,  often 
lifting  to  reveal  fair  regions  of  noble  verse, 

"  altas  serras  coroadas 
De  neve  e  de  silencio  " 

(High   mountain-ranges   crowned  with   silence   and 
with  snow), 

and     **  Os  longes  do  ceo  indefinivel, 

Onde  em  segredo  e  sombra  os  astros  nascem  " 

(Vague    distances  of    sky,  where    in    secret   and    in 
shadow  stars  are  born), 

or  crystallizing  into  exquisite  single  lines,  now  limpidly 
clear  as  running  waters,  now  gleaming  as  a  sun-glint 


PORTUGUESE  POETS  OF  TO-DAY        237 

through  the  mist.     Then  his  poetry  is  as  ini4s  Sombras 
are  the  songs  of  birds  : 

**  Meu  canto  6  luz  do  sol  em  mi  filtrada : 
Vou  a  cantar  .  .  .  e  canta  a  luz  do  ceo." 

(My  song  is  light  of  the  sun  in  me  distilled : 

My  song  begins  and  lo  !  'tis  heaven's  light  singing.) 

Then  we  hear  the  birds  singing  to  the  sun, 

**  Os  canticos  ao  sol  dos  passarinhos," 

and  the  song  of  half-awakened  larks, 

"  Can96es  de  cotovias  adormecidas." 

A  voice  sounds  distantly,  misty  as  is  the  voice  of  the 
sea, 

*'  Nevoenta  como  a  voz  que  tem  o  mar," 

or  shepherds  sing  in  the  whispering  dusk, 

"  As  cangoes  dos  pegureiros 
E  OS  sussurros  dormentes  do  crepusculo," 

when  the  shepherd's  star  brings  in  mysterious  night, 

"  A  tarde  quando  a  estrella  do  pastor 
Surge  trazendo  a  Noite  com  sens  mysteries." 

Or  the  mist  at  dawn  is  threaded  with  rifts  of  gold, 

**  Nevoa  d'ante-manha  molhada  en  oiro," 

till  horizon  and  trees  grow  golden, 

"  e  o  horizon te 
Uma  montanha  d'oiro,  e  d'oiro  as  arvores." 

Then  the  mist  closes  in  again,  rendering  the  shepherds 
invisible  : 

**  Era  tao  densa  a  nevoa  e  tao  cerrada 
Que  OS  pastores  fallando  mal  se  viam." 


238  STUDIES  IN  PORTUGUESE  LITERATURE 

The  poet  has  Wordsworth's  power  of  giving  vivid 
reHef  to  things  vague  and  grey  and  indefinite,  the  slow 
motion  of  clouds  heavy  with  rain  ("  And  with  what 
motion  moved  the  clouds "),  or  night's  immeasurable 
silence : 

"  Que  solidao  !  que  noite  !  que  silencio  ! 
Dormia  sobre  os  pincaros  o  vento. 
Era  quasi  sensivel  o  gemido 
Do  luar  sobre  as  arestas  dos  rochedos. 
Quasi  se  ouvia  a  noite  caminhar 
N'um  murmurio  de  sombras  e  de  medos." 

(What  solitude,  what  silence  of  the  night ! 
The  wind  upon  the  mountain-tops  was  sleeping. 
And  one  might  almost  feel  upon  the  rocks 
The  moonlight's  plaintive  radiance,  and  hear 
Night  moving  in  a  murmur  of  fears  and  shadows.) 

Mardnos  is,  in  the  phrase  of  Francisco  de  Mello,  a  quiet 
poem — "  poema  quieto."  Throughout  the  poem  the 
reader  is  reminded  of  the  way  in  which,  in  Words- 
worth's Prelude,  some  beautiful  word-image  or  thought 
continually  occurs  to  belie  any  feeling  of  weariness. 
In  several  beautiful  passages  (as  in  Sempre  and  As 
Sombras)  the  poet  sings  his  home  and  the  valley  of  the 
Tamega  and  the  mountains  of  Traz-os-Montes : 

"  O  valle  das  saudades,  onde  a  terra 
Idyllica  do  Minho  se  transforma 
No  ascetismo  granitico  da  serra. 
No  elegiaco  drama  transmontano  !" 

the  mist-white  river, 

"  Rio  Tamega 
Tudo  mudado  em  branco  nevoeiro," 

and  the  bronze-hued  soil  of  Traz-os-Montes, 


PORTUGUESE  POETS  OF  TO-DAY         239 

*'  A  terra 
Sombria,  em  bronzea  cor  de  Traz-os- Monies. " 

The  beauties  of  the  poem  are  many  and  undeniable, 
but  it  is  a  pity  that  the  author  has  allowed  it  to  trail 
inordinately.  Not  only  does  this  prolixity  frighten 
away  readers,  to  their  own  loss,  but  the  effect  is  often 
inartistic,  causing  his  Muse  to  crawl  with  broken  wing. 
Were  he  to  correct  this  failing,  Teixeira  de  Pascoaes 
might  easily  claim  the  first  place  among  the  living 
poets  of  Portugal,  and  a  high  place  among  the  living 
poets  of  the  world,  for  he  has  in  him  the  true  spirit  of 
poetry,  which  disdains  little  ingenuities  and  rhymed 
clevernesses.  An  expression  in  Mardnos — "  estupidez 
divina  e  intelligente,  a  divine,  intelligent  stupidity" — may 
be  applied  to  his  poetry  as  it  may  be  applied  to  the 
poetry  of  Wordsworth  and  of  Virgil,  and  could  not 
possibly  be  applied  to  the  poetry  of  Byron  or  of 
Gautier. 

Portugal  has  many  other  singers  now  living,^  and 
indeed  the  lovely  provinces  of  Portugal  should  un- 
failingly beget  many  true  poets.  A  University  educa- 
tion and  the  influence  of  the  capital  too  often,  however, 
direct  poetic  talent  into  the  muddy  channel  of  foreign 
imitations.  Here,  too,  Teixeira  de  Pascoaes  sets  an 
excellent  example,  for  he  is  thoroughly  Portuguese  and 
regional,  wrapped  in  the  life  of  Traz-os-Montes, 

'*  Content  to  breathe  his  native  air 
In  his  own  ground." 

^  Especially  Antonio  Duarte  Gomes  Leal,  born  at  Lisbon  in  1848, 
author  of  Claridades  do  Sul  {Lisboa,  1875  ;  second  edition,  1901),  0  Anti- 
Christo  {Lisboa,  1884),  0  Fim  d'um  Mundo,  etc.,  who  now  stands  with 
Guerra  Junqueiro  at  the  head  of  the  older  living  poets  of  Portugal. 


INDEX  TO  QUOTATIONS 


PAGE 


Adorae  montanhas  (Gil  Vicente)     -            -            -  -  -  77 

A  formosura  d'esta  fresca  serra  (Camoes)    -            .  -  -  136 

Agora,  peregrine,  vago  errante  (Camoes)    -            -  -  -  134 

Alma  minha  gentil  que  te  partiste  (Camoes)           .  -  .  146 

Amad'  e  meu  amigo  (Kmg  Diniz)     -             -             -  -  -  33 

A  mais  fremosa  de  quantas  vejo       -            -            -  -  -  26 

A  noite  e  fria  e  escura  (Eugenio  de  Castro)             .  .  -  227 

-Ao  fundo  d'esta  encosta  (Ega  de  Queiroz)  -            -  -  -  209 

Aquella  cativa  (Camoes)        .-...-  149 

Aquella  triste  a  leda  madrugada  (Camoes)  -            .  -  -  147 

-Aquelle  todo  de  Gon9alo  (Efa  de  Queiroz)              -  -  -  212 

Aqui  jaz  pd  (Joao  de  Deus)   ------  197 

Aqui  sim,  o  inverno  e  inverno  (Thomaz  Ribeiro)  -  -  -  191 

Assim  como  a  bonina  que  cortada  (Camoes)            -  -  -  156 

A  vida  e  o  dia  de  hoje  (Joao  de  Deus)           -            -  -  -  187 

Bailemos  agora  por  Deus,  ay  velidas  (Joham  Zorro)  -  -  22 

Baylemos  nos  ja  todas,  todas,  ay  amigas  (Ayras  Nunes)  -  -  23 

Cerra  a  serpente  os  ouvidos  (Sa  de  Miranda)          -  •  -  107 

Conhecias  tu  a  Deos  ?  (Gil  Vicente)             -             -  -  -  71 

Deixa  me  ver  este  ceo  (Sa  de  Miranda)        -            -  -  -  iii 

Del  rosal  vengo,  mi  madre  (Gil  Vicente)     -            -  -  -  14 

Digades  filha,  minha  filha  velida  (Pero  Meogo)       -  -  -  12 

Dizia  la  fremosinha  (Alfonso  Sanches)         -             -  -  -  13 

Donde  vindes  filha,  branca  e  colorida  ?  (Gil  Vicente)  -  -  72 

Eis  a  noite  com  nuvens  s'escurece  (Camoes)            -  -  -  154 

Em  nome  de  Deus  que  he  fonte  e  padre  damor  (Infante  Pedro)    -  42 

En  lixboa,  sobre  lo  mar  (Joham  Zorro)       -            -  -  -  19 

Era  assim  ;  tinha  esse  olhar  (Almeida-Garrett)       -  -  -  170 

Eres  portuguez  ?  (Almeida-Garrett)             -            -  -  -  176 

240 


INDEX  TO  QUOTATIONS  241 

PAGE 

• — Espertos  regatinhos  fugiam  rindo  {E9a  de  Queiroz)  -  -  214 

Estorea,  muy  excellente  Rey  (Ruy  de  Pina)            -  -  -  53 

Filho,  toma  es£for90  no  meu  cora^om          -            -  -  -  4^^ 

Homem  d'um  so  parecer  (Sa  de  Miranda)               -  -  -  86 

Hum  amigo  que  eu  havia  (Gil  Vicente)       -            -  -  -  78 

Hun  tal  home  sey  eu,  6  bem  talhada  (King  Diniz)              -  -  30 

Inda  hoje  vemos  que  era  Fran9a  (Sa  de  Miranda)  -  -  -  96 

Ja  a  vista  pouco  a  pouco  se  desterra  (Camoes)        -  -  -  127 

Ja  no  largo  Oceano  navegavam  (Camoes)    -            -  -  -  155 

Jardim  da  Europa  a  beira-mar  plantado  (Thomaz  Ribeiro)  -  189 

Los  mis  tristes  ojos  (Sa  de  Miranda)            ...  -  100 

Madre,  chegou  meu  amig'  oj'  aqui  (Stevam  Fernandes)  -  -  17 

Mar  de  tormenta,  mar  que  rebenta  (Guerra  Junqueiro)  -  -  225 

Mas  nunca  deixara  de  ser  formosa  (Diogo  Bernardes)  -  -  xii 

Mas  se  o  sereno  ceo   me  concedera  (Camoes)          -  -  -  135 

Mha  madre  velyda  (King  Diniz)       -            -            -  -  -  15 

Muitos  tambem  do  vulgo  vil  sem  nome  (Camoes)  -  -  -  150 

Na  enxerga  fria  tremem  azas  (Guerra  Junqueiro)    -  -  -  224 

Nao  brilha  o  sol  (Joao  de  Deus)        .            -            .  .  .  186 

—No  piar  velado  e  curto  dos  passaros  (Ega  de  Queiroz^  -  -  218 

Nom  chegou,  madr',  o  meu  amigo  (King  Diniz)      -  -  -  32 

Nom  podees  servyr  a  Deus  e  ao  mamona    -            -  -  -  46 

6  cavalleiros  de  Deus  (Gil  Vicente)              -            -  -  -  76 

O  nosso  Deus  e  nossa  creatura  (Teixeira  de  Pascoaes)  -  -  235 

O  prado  as  flores  brancas  e  vermelhas  (Camoes)     -  -  -  158 

6  rio  Le9a  (^Francisco  de  Sa  de  Menezes)    -            -  -  -  xi 

Os  mais  dos  dias  bem  cedo  (King  Duarte)    -            -  -  -  48 

Os  mo§os  de  boa  lynhagem  (King  Duarte)  -            -  -  -  52 

'•*Ou  entao  seria  outra  existencia  (E9a  de  Queiroz)  -  -  -  206 

Parou  a  ventania  (Guerra  Junqueiro)           -            .  .  -  223 

Pela  relva  (Eugenio  de  Castro)         .            -            -  -  -  227 

Por  estes  campos  sem  fim  (Sa  de  Miranda)             -  -  -  84 

Por  isso  quero  fazer  (Gil  Vicente)    -  -  -  -  -70 

Poys  nossas  madres  vara  a  Sam  Simom  (Pero  Gomes  Barroso)     -  24 

Quando  as  almas  sac  novas  (Eugenio  de  Castro)     -  -  -  231 

Quando  vejo  a  minha  amada  (Joao  de  Deus)          -  -  -  186 

16 


242  INDEX  TO  QUOTATIONS 


PAGE 


Remando  vao  remadores  (Gil  Vicente)        -            -  -  -  76 

Sao  bellas,  bem  o  sei,  essas  estrellas  (Almeida  Garrett)     -  -  170 

Senhor  fremosa  vejo-vos  queixar  (King  Diniz)        -  -  -  31 

Sonho  uma  casa  branca  (Eugenio  de  Castro)           -  -  -  229 

Unha  pastor  se  queixava       -            -            -            -  -  -  •  21 

Vejo-vos,  filha,  tam  de  coragom  (Pedro  de  Veer)   -  -  -  17 

Vem  alta  noite  de  andar  (Gil  Vicente)         -            -  -  -  79 


INDEX 


^/^ 


A. 


Addison,  Joseph,  173 
Affonso,  Infante,  57,  58,  107 
Affonso  I.,  of  Portugal,  1,  3,  155 
Affonso  II. ,  of  Portugal,  42 
Affonso  III.,  of  Portugal,  27 
Affonso  V,,  of  Portugal,  47 
V<A.las  (Leopoldo),  204 
VAlcoforado  (Marianna),  viii 

Alfonso  VI.,  of  Leon  and  Castille, 

V  Alfonso  X.,  el  Sabio,  4,  49 
Alfonso  XI.,  of  Castille,  36 
vAlmeida  (Fialho  de),  201 
Amadeo,  Count  of  Savoy,  2 
Amigo  (Pedr').     See  Sevilha 
Amorim   (Francisco    Gomes   de), 

221 
Andrade  Caminha  (Pedro  de),  vii, 

35,  82,'"^,  "^gr  92,  98,  99.  100. 

102 
■ — Anriquez JLuis) ,  58,  107 
Anrriques?^  See  Henriques 
Ariosto  (Ludovico),  85,  105,  153 
Aristotle,  46,  47,  115 
Arriaga  (Manoel  de),  192 
Athaide  (Caterina  de),   123,    138, 

141,  146,  147,  150,  156,  172 
Azurara  (Gomez  Eannes  de).    See 

Eannes 

B. 

Balzac  (Honore  de),  199 
Barganga.     See  Braganza 
Barnes  (William),  233 
Barreto  (Moniz),  205 
■^/'Barros  (Joao  de^,.  viii,  36,  128 


Baudelaire   (Charles),    185,    195 

202,  217,  229,  230 
Beatriz,  Infanta,  75,  85,  173 
Bembo  (Pietro),  85 
Berceo  (Gonzalo  de),  62 
Bernardes  (Diogo),  vii,  xii,  82,  98, 

99,  no,  143,  145,  160 
Bocage  (Manuel   Maria   Barbosa 

du),  136 
Bolseyro  (Juyao),  11 
Boscan  (Juan),  88,  105,  123 
Braamcamp  Freire  (Anselmo),  57 
Braga  (Joaquim  Fernandes  Theo- 

philo),  V,  vi,  2,  5,  7,  25,  26,  28, 

29.  38,  56,  57,  82,  83,  118,  120, 

128,  129,  192,  193 
Braganza  (Mendo  Alao  de),  2 
Brito  Rebello  (J.  I.),  57 
Byron  (George  Gordon),  Lord,  239 


Caballero  (Fernan),  198,  201 

Calderon  de  la  Barca  (Pedro),  79 

Camoes  (Bento  de),  120 

CamQes.(Luis  de),  vii,  x,  3,  80,  92, 
102,  105,  no,  113,  114-161,  172 

Cancioneiro  Colocci-Brancuti,  37 

Cancioneiro  da  Ajuda,  vi,  26,  37 

Cancioneiro  da  Vaticana,  4,  5,  6,  9, 
26,  31,  32,  36-9,  47 

Cancioneiro  de  Baena,  119 

Cancioneiro  de  Resende.  See  Can- 
cioneiro Geral 

Cancioneiro  Geral,  ^^,  47,  62,  83, 
106,  107 

Carreira,  Visconde  da,  38 

Casado  (Fernando),  126 


243 


244 


INDEX 


Ml^aspancho  (Ayras),  15 
Castanheira,  Conde  de,  85 
Castello    Branco    (Camillo),    57, 

132,  198-202 
Castilho  (Antonio  Feliciano  de), 

162,  192 
Castro  (Eugenio  de),  225-32 
Castro    (Ines  de),  108,   150,   155, 
156,  227 
y   ~"^astro  (Joao  de),  vii,  ix,  122 
X    Cclestina,  La,  62 
^Cervantes  (Miguel  de),  114,   131, 

134 
Chagas  (Manoel  Pinheiro),    201    ,; 
Chaucer  (Geoffrey),  no 
Clironicas  Breves,  41,  204 
— €oelho.     See  Scares  Coelho 
Colocci  (Angelo),  37 
Colonna,  Family  of,  85 
Constanta,  Infanta,  227 
Corelli  (Marie),  207 
Coronica  do  Condestabre,  174 
Correa  (Manoel),    114,    117,    119, 

143 
Coutinho  (Gon^alo),  82 
Couto  (Diogo  de),  133,  141 
Crasbeeck  (Lourengo),  143 
Crawfurd  (O,),  82,  no 

D. 

"Dante,  88,  91,  92,  105,  193 
Darmea  (Pedro),  20 
Denis.     See  Diniz 
.Deus.  (Joao  de),  146,   160,  184-9, 

197,  226 
..Diniz,  King  of  Portugal,  9,  13,  15, 
16,  20,  25,  26,  27,  28-38,  40,  41, 
42,  50,  112 
Donis.     See  Diniz 
Duarte,  King  of  Portugal,  viii,  30, 
36,  43-54 

E. 

Eannes  de  Azurara  (Gomez),  54 
Ebrard  (Aymeric  d'),  28 
-J£^a^de  Queiroz  (Jose  Maria),  ix, 
193,  194,  202-20 
Eduarte.     See  Duarte 
Elizabeth,  Saint,  28 
Elvas  (Stevam  Fernandes  d'),  17 
Encina  (Juan  del),  61,  66 


/ 


F. 


Falcao  (Christovam),  vii,  5 
Faria  (Manoel  Severim  de),  114, 

115,  117,  141,  160 
Faria  e  Sousa  (Manoel),  115,  116, 
117,  126,  129 
""Fernandez  (Domingos),  117.     See 
Elvas 
Fernandez  (Stevam),  17 
Fernando,  Infant e,  53 
Ferreira  (Antonio),    55,   98,    100, 
loi,  106,  108,  109 
y^Feuillet  (Octave),  199 
•   Figueredo  (Fidelino  de),  199 
Fitzmaurice-Kelly  (James),  xviii, 

79 
Flaubert  (Gustave),  220 
France  (Anatole),  220 
Frenssen  (Gustav).  207 

G. 

Gabriel  y  Galan  (Jose  Maria),  233 
Gaia  (Joham  de),  9 
Gama,  Family  of,  118 
Gama  (Paulo  da),  152,  157 
Gama  (Vasco  da),  128,  144,  153, 
155,  157 
„.Gar9ao  (Pedro  Antonio  Correa), 

153 
Garrett  (J.  B.  da  S.  L.  Almeida-), 

ix,  41,  55,  no,  162-83.  191 
Gautier  (Theophile),  226,  239 
Gil  (Vaasco),  28 
.  Goes  (Damiao  de),  54,  122 
Goethe  (Johann  Wolfgang  von), 

168,  183,  192,  226 
Gomes  Barroso  (Pero),  10,  24 
Gomes  Charinho  (Payo),  20 
^  _Qiierra,Junqueiro  (Abilio),  221-5 
Guilhade  (Johan  de),  12,  18,  20 

H. 

Heine  (Heinrich),  202 

Henrique,  Cardinal,  King  of  Portu- 

g^'^h  143 
Henrique,  Infante,  97 
Henriques  (Affonso).     SeeAPFON- 

so  I.,  of  Portugal 
Henry,  Count,  i,  2 
Henry  V.,  of  England,  44 


INDEX 


245 


Henry,  Prince,  the  Navigator,  48 

Heraclitus,  100 

Herculano    (Alexandre),   ix,   165, 

183 
Heredia  (Jose  Maria  de),  195 
Hobbes  (Thomas),  169 
Homer,  88,  150 
Horace,  88,  91,  92,  no,  169 
Hugo  (Victor),  187,  202,  217,  222, 

223,  224 
Humboldt  (Alexander  von),  153 

I. 

Isabel,    Queen,    Consort    of    King 

Diniz,  28 
Isabel,  Queen,  Consort  of  Manoel  /., 

58 

J- 
Jeanroy  (Alfred) ,  6,  9,  27 
Joao,  Infante,  98,99,  102,  112,  123, 

126 
Joao  I.,  of  Portugal,  40,  47,  49 
Joao  III.,  of  Portugal,  58,  65,  66, 

85,  86,  87,  97,  104 
]d\i3.m/jogiar,  35 

K. 

Kausler  (E.  K.  von),  33 

L. 

La  Fontaine  (Jean  de),  no 

Lamartine  (Alphonse  de),  191 

Lane  (H.  R.),  5 

Lazarillo  de  Tormes,  79 

Leonor,    Queen,    Consort  of  King 

Duarte,  43,  44 
L.eonor,  Queen,  Consort  of  Joao  II., 

58 
Leopardi  (Giacomo),  Count,  233 
"Lopes  (Fernao),  54 
Lopes  de  Moura  (Caetano),  38 
Louren^o,  yo^rar,  11 
Luiz,  Infante,  97 

M. 

Macedo  (Anna  de),  117,  118,  119, 

120 
Machado  de  Azevedo   (Manoel), 

83,  86,  92,  97,  119 


Mafalda,  Queen,  2 
Manoel  I.,  of  Portugal,  40,  53,  57, 
58,  59,  60,  63,  84,  102,  103,  121, 

124.  155 
Manrique  (Jorge),  62,  102 
Marcabrus,  2 
Maria,  Infanta,  59 
Maria,  Qneen,  Consort  of  Manoel  /., 

58 
Mariz  (Pedro  de),  114,  117,  118, 

119,  126,  131,  140,  141,  142 
Mello  (Francisco  Manoel  de),  viii, 

ix,  50,  122,  238 
Mendez  de  Silva  (Rodrigo),  25 
Menendez  y  Pelayo  (Marcelino), 

76,  106 
Meogo  (Pero),  12 
Michaelis  de  Vasconcellos  (Caro- 
lina), vi,  vii,  xii,  23,  39,  63,  81, 

83,  108,  112,  115 
Michelet  (Jules),  202 
Mickle  (W.  J.).  120 
Monaci  (Ernesto),  5,  25,  38 
Montebello,  Marquez  de,  97 
Montemayor  (Jorge  de),  82,  98 
Moraes  (Christovam  Alao  de),  56 
Musset  (Alfred  de),  195 

N. 

Napoleon,  163 

Noronha  (Antonio  de),  123,  124, 

135.  138 
Nunes  (Ayras),  21,  22 
Nunes  (Duarte),  37,  41 

O. 

Ocem  (Manoel  Pereira  de),  124 
Oliveira  Martins  (J.  P.),  161,  192, 

193 
Orta  (Garcia  da),  132 


Palacio  Valdes  (Armando),  220 
Pardo  Bazan  (Emilia),  198 
Pascoaes      (Teixeira     de),      See 

Teixeira  de  Vasconcellos 
Pedro,  Conde  de  Barcellos,  7,  36 

42,43 
Pedro,  Constable  of  Portugal,  4 


246 


INDEX 


Pedro,  Infante,  49 

Pereda  (Jose  Maria  de),  198,  205, 

216 
Pereira  (Antonio),  89,  97,  108,  109 
Pereira  (Nun'  Alvares),  97,  174 
Petrarca  (Francesco),  88,  105,  145 
Philip  II,,  of  Spain,  140,  144 
Philippa,  Queen,  Consort  of  J  odo  I., 

48 

Pma  (Ruy  de),  44,  47,  48,  53,  54 
Pires  de  Camoes  (Vasco),  119 
Poe  (Edgar  Allan),  202 
Pombal,  Marquez  de,  182 
Ponte  (Pero  da),  7,  10 
Portugal  (Manoel  de),  vii,  x,  98, 

108,  138 
Prestage  (Edgar),  ix,  xii,  xiii,  57, 

163,  175,  193.  211 

Q. 

y  Quental  (Anthero  de),  191-7,  221, \ 
"  "226 
Quixote f  Don,  8,  201 

R. 

Ramalho   Ortiga.o  (Jose  Duarte), 

192,  203 
Raymond,  Count,  i 
Redondo,  Cofide  de,  131,  132 
Resende  (Andre   Falcao  de),  65, 

122,  150 
Resende  (Garcia  de),  33,  65,  66, 

108 
Ribeiro  (Bernardim),  vii,  83,  85, 

173, 184 
^^Ribeirfi  (Thomaz),  3,  189-91,  200, 

221 
Rodrigues  Lobo  (Francisco),  vii 
Ruiz    (Juan),   Archpriest  of  Hita, 
47.  79 

S. 

Sa  (Annade),  116,  119,  120,  140 
Sa  (Gongalo  Mendes  de),  loi 
Sa  (Hieronymo  de),  98 
Sa  (Mem  de),  88,  104,  no 
Sa  de  Menezes  (Francisco  de),  xi 
•  Sa   de   Miranda    (Francisco   de), 
vii,  X.  xiii,  35,  36,  37,  47,  50,  65, 
§1^113,  114,  119,  148 


Vi 


Sabugosa,  Conde  de,  56 
Sanches  (Afifonso),  14 
Sanchez  (Tomas  Antonio),  25 
Sancho  III.,  of  Portugal,  27 
Sannazaro  (Jacopo),  85 
Santarem,  Visconde  de,  43 
Santillana,  Marques  de,  xiii,  4,  25, 

119,  149 
Sebastian,  King  of  Portugal,   102, 

141,  142.  143,  144,  155,  172,  183 
Sevilha  (Pedr'  Amigo  de),  15 
Silva  (Epiphanio  da),  5 
Soares  Coelho  (Joham),  9,  15,  16 
Soares  (Martim),  32 
Solaz  (Pedr'  Anes),  8 
Southey  (Robert),  147 
Storck   (Wilhelm),   8,    115,    116, 

118,  119,  120,  123,  125,  129,  132, 

145,  146,  194 
Stuart  (Charles),  37 


T. 


Tareja,  Infanta,  i 

Tasso  (Torquato),  152,  153 

Teixeira     de    Vasconcellos    (Joa- 

quim  Pereira)  [Teixeira  de  Pas- 

coaes],  x,  233-9 
Tenoyro  (Mem  Rodrigues),  19 
Tolstoi  (Leo),  203 
Torneol  (Nuno  Fernandez),  13 

U. 

Ulhoa  (Joham  Lopes  de),  10 
Unamuno  (Miguel  de),  221 
Urraca,  Infanta,  i 

V. 

Valera  (Juan),  34,  198 
Varnhagen  (F.  A.),  37,  38 
Vaz  de  Camoes  (Antao),  i  (8 
Vaz  de  Camoes  (Joiio),  118 
Vaz   de   Camoes   (Luis  de).     See 

Camoes  (Luis  de) 
Vaz  de  Camoes  (Simao),  116,  118 
Vaz  de  Gama  (Guiomar),  118 
Veer  (Pedro  de),  17 
Vega,  (Garcilaso  de   la),   88,    89, 

105,  109,  no,  113,  122,  123,  148 
Vega  (Lope  Felix  de),  25,  79,  114 


INDEX 


247 


V^Vicestfi.(Gil),  vii,  x,  5,  9,  14,  50, 
55-80,  loi,  103,  104,  105,  106, 
109,  no,  168,  174 

Vicente  (Luiz),  56 

Vicente  (Luiz),  son  of  Gil,  59 

Vicente  (Martim),  56 

Vicente  (Martim),  soi  of  Gil,  59 

Vicente  (Paula),  59,  63,  78,  174 

Vicente  (Valeria),  59 

Vimioso,  Conde  do,  x 

Virgil,  150,  239 


W. 


Weekley  (Ernest),  64 

Wolf  (Ferdinand  Joseph),  7,  106 

Wordsworth  (William),  188,  233, 

238.  239 
Wyche  {Sir  Peter),  xiii 

Z. 

Zola  (Emile),  199,  204,  208 
Zorro  (Joham),  20,  23 


THE   END 


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