Handbook of Universal Literature, From the Best and Latest Authorities Part 25

9. HISTORY AND OTHER PROSE WRITINGS.--The fathers of Spanish history are Zurita and Morales. Zurita (1512-1580) was the author of the "Annals of Aragon," a work more important to Spanish history than any that had preceded it. Morales (1513-1591) was historiographer to the crown of Castile, and his unfinished history of that country is marked by much general ability. Contemporary with these writers was Mendoza, already mentioned. The honor of being the first historian of the country, however, belongs to Mariana (1536-1623), a foundling who was educated a Jesuit. His main occupation for the last thirty or forty years of his life was his great "History of Spain." There is an air of good faith in his accounts and a vividness in his details which are singularly attractive. If not in all respects the most trustworthy of annals, it is at least the most remarkable union of picturesque chronicling with sober history that the world has ever seen. Sandoval (d. 1621) took up the history of Spain where Mariana left it; but while his is a work of authority, it is unattractive in style. "The General History of the Indies," by Herrera, is a work of great value, and the one on which the reputation of the author as a historian chiefly rests.

One of the most pleasing of the minor Spanish histories is Argensola's account of the Moluccas. It is full of the traditions found among the natives by the Portuguese when they first landed there, and of the wild adventures that followed when they had taken possession of the island.

Garcila.s.so de la Vega, the son of one of the unscrupulous conquerors of Peru, descended on his mother's side from the Incas, wrote the "History of Florida," of which the adventures of De Soto const.i.tute the most brilliant portion. His "Commentaries on Peru" is a striking and interesting work.

The last of the historians of eminence in the elder school of Spanish history was Solis, whose "Conquest of Mexico" is beautifully written, and as it was flattering to the national history, it was at once successful, and has enjoyed an unimpaired popularity down to our times.

The spirit of political tyranny in the government, and of religious tyranny in the Inquisition, now more than ever united, were more hostile to bold and faithful inquiry in the department of history than in almost any other. Still, the historians of this period were not unworthy of the national character. Their works abound in feeling rather than philosophy, and are written in a style that marks, not so much the peculiar genius of their authors, perhaps, as that of the country that gave them birth.

Although they may not be entirely cla.s.sical, they are entirely Spanish; and what they want in finish and grace they make up in picturesqueness and originality.

In one form of didactic composition, Spain stands in advance of other countries: that of proverbs, which Cervantes has happily called "short sentences drawn from long experience." Spanish proverbs can be traced back to the earliest times. Although twenty-four thousand have been collected, many thousands still remain known only among the traditions of the humbler cla.s.ses of society that have given birth to them all.

From the early part of the seventeenth century, Spanish prose became infected with that pedantry and affectation already spoken of as Gongorism, or "the cultivated style;" and from this time, everything in prose as well as in poetry announced that corrupted taste which both precedes and hastens the decay of a literature, and which in the latter half of the seventeenth century was in Spain but the concomitant of a general decline in the arts and the gradual degradation of the monarchy.

No country in Christendom had fallen from such a height of power as that which Spain occupied in the time of Charles V. into such an abyss of degradation as she reached when Charles II., the last of the house of Austria, ceased to reign. The old religion of the country, the most prominent of all the national characteristics, was now so perverted from its true character by intolerance that it had become a means of oppression, such as Europe never before witnessed. The principle of loyalty, now equally perverted and mischievous, had sunk into servile submission, and as we approach the conclusion of the century, the Inquisition and the despotism seem to have cast their blight over everything.

PERIOD THIRD.

THE ACCESSION OF THE BOURBON FAMILY TO THE PRESENT TIME (1700-1885).

1. FRENCH INFLUENCE ON THE LITERATURE OF SPAIN.--The death of Charles II., in 1700, was followed by the War of the Succession between the houses of Hapsburg and Bourbon, which lasted thirteen years. It was terminated by the treaty of Utrecht and the accession of Philip V., the grandson of Louis XIV. Under his reign the influence of France became apparent in the customs of the country. The Academy of Madrid was soon established in imitation of that of Paris, with the object of establis.h.i.+ng and cultivating the purity of the Castilian language. The first work published by this a.s.sociation was a Dictionary, which has continued in successive editions to be the proper standard of the language. At this time French began to be spoken in the elegant society of the court and the capital, translations from the French were multiplied, and at last, a poetical system, founded on the critical doctrine of Boileau, prevalent in France, was formally introduced into the country by Luzan, in his "Art of Poetry,"

which from its first appearance (1737) exercised a controlling authority at the court, and over the few writers of reputation then to be found in the country. Though the works of Luzan offered a remedy for the bad taste which had accompanied and in no small degree hastened the decline of the national taste, they did not lay a foundation for advancement in literature. The national mind had become dwarfed for want of its appropriate nourishment; the moral and physical sciences that had been advancing for a hundred years throughout Europe, were forbidden to cross the Pyrenees. The scholastic philosophy was still maintained as the highest form of intellectual culture; the system of Copernicus was looked upon as contrary to the inspired record; while the philosophy of Bacon and the very existence of mathematical science were generally unknown even to the graduates of universities. It seemed as if the faculties of thinking and reasoning were becoming extinct in Spain.

2. THE DAWN OF SPANISH LITERATURE IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.--The first effort for intellectual emanc.i.p.ation was made by a monk, Benito Feyjoo (1676-1764), who, having made himself acquainted with the truths brought to light by Galileo, Bacon, Newton, Leibnitz, and Pascal, devoted his life to the labor of diffusing them among his countrymen. The opposition raised against him only drew to his works the attention he desired. Even the Inquisition summoned him in vain, for it was impossible to question that he was a sincere and devout Catholic, and he had been careful not to interfere with any of the abuses sanctioned by the church. Before his death he had the pleasure of seeing that an impulse in the right direction had been imparted to the national mind.

One of the striking indications of advancement was an attack upon the style of popular preaching, which was now in a state of scandalous degradation. The a.s.sailant was Isia (1703-1781), a Jesuit, whose "History of Friar Gerund" is a satirical romance, slightly resembling Don Quixote in its plan, describing one of those bombastic orators of the age. It was from the first successful in its object of destroying the evil at which it aimed, and preachers of the cla.s.s of Friar Gerund soon found themselves without an audience.

The policy of Charles III. (1759-1788) was highly favorable to the progress of literature. He abridged the power of the Inquisition, and forbade the condemnation of any book till its writer or publisher had been heard in its defense; he invited the suggestion of improved plans of study, made arrangements for popular education, and raised the tone of instruction in the inst.i.tutions of learning. Finally, perceiving the Jesuits to be the most active opponents of these reforms, he expelled them from every part of his dominions, breaking up their schools, and confiscating their revenues. During his reign, intellectual life and health were infused into the country, and its powers, which had been so long wasting away, were revived and renewed.

Among the writers of this age are Moratin the elder (1737-1780), whose poems are marked by purity of language and harmony of versification; and Yriarte (1750-1791), who was most successful in fables, which he applied, to the correction of the faults and follies of literary men. To this period may also be referred the school of Salamanca, whose object was to combine in literature the power and richness of the old writers of the time of the Philips with the severer taste then prevailing on the continent. Melendez (1754-1817), who was the founder of this school, devoted his muse to the joys and sorrows of rustic love, and the leisure and amus.e.m.e.nts of country life. Nothing can surpa.s.s some of his descriptions in the graceful delineation of tender feeling, and his verse is considered in sweetness and native strength, to be such a return to the tones of Garcila.s.so, as had not been heard in Spain for more than a century. Gonzalez (d. 1794), who, with happy success, imitated Luis de Leon, Jovellanos (1744-1811), who exerted great influence on the literary and political condition of his country, and Quintana (b. 1772), whose poems are distinguished by their n.o.ble and patriotic tone, are considered among the princ.i.p.al representatives of the school of Salamanca.

The most considerable movement of the eighteenth century in Spain, is that relating to the theatre, which it was earnestly attempted to subject to the rules then prevailing on the French stage. The Spanish theatre, in fact, was now at its lowest ebb, and wholly in the hands of the populace.

The plays acted for public amus.e.m.e.nt were still represented as they had been in the seventeenth century,--in open court-yards, in the daytime, without any pretense of scenery or of dramatic ingenuity. Soon after, through the influence of Isabella, the second wife of Philip V., improvements were made in the external arrangements and architecture of the theatres; yet, owing to the exclusive favor shown to the opera by the Italian queens, the old spirit continued to prevail.

In the middle of the eighteenth century a reform of the comedy and tragedy was undertaken by Montiano and others, who introduced the French style in dramatic compositions, and from that time an active contest went on between the innovators and the followers of the old drama. The latter was attacked, in 1762, by Moratin the elder, who wrote against it, and especially against the _autos sacramentales_, showing that such wild, coa.r.s.e, and blasphemous exhibitions, as they generally were, ought not to be tolerated in a civilized and religious community. So far as the _autos_ were concerned, Moratin was successful; they were prohibited in 1768, and since that time, in the larger cities, they have not been heard.

The most successful writer for the stage was Ramon de la Cruz (1731-1799), the author of about three hundred dramatic compositions, founded on the manners of the middle and lower cla.s.ses. They are entirely national in their tone, and abound in wit and in faithful delineations of character.

While a number of writers pandered to the bad taste of low and vulgar audiences, a formidable antagonist appeared in the person of Moratin the younger (1760-1828), son of that poet who first produced, on the Spanish stage, an original drama written according to the French doctrines.

Notwithstanding the taste of the public, he determined to tread in the footsteps of his father. Though his comedies have failed to educate a school strong enough to drive out the bad imitations of the old masters, they have yet been able to keep their own place.

The eighteenth century was a period of revolution and change with the Spanish theatre. While the old national drama was not restored to its ancient rights, the drama founded on the doctrines taught by Luzan, and practiced by the Moratins, had only a limited success. The audiences did as much to degrade it as was done by the poets they patronized and the actors they applauded. On the one side, extravagant and absurd dramas in great numbers, full of low buffoonery, were offered; on the other, meagre, sentimental comedies, and stiff, cold translations from the French, were forced, in almost equal numbers, upon the actors, by the voices of those from whose authority or support they could not entirely emanc.i.p.ate themselves.

3. SPANISH LITERATURE IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.--The new life and health infused into literature in the age of Charles III. was checked by the French revolutionary wars in She reign of Charles IV., and afterwards by the restoration of civil despotism and the Inquisition, brought again into the country by the return of the Bourbon dynasty in 1814. Amidst the violence and confusion of the reign of Ferdinand VII. (1814-1833), elegant letters could hardly hope to find shelter or resting-place. Nearly every poet and prose writer, known as such at the end of the reign of Charles IV., became involved in the fierce political changes of the time,--changes so various and so opposite, that those who escaped from the consequences of one, were often, on that very account, sure to suffer in the next that followed. Indeed, the reign of Ferdinand VII. was an interregnum in all elegant culture, such as no modern nation has yet seen,--not even Spain herself during the War of the Succession. This state of things continued through the long civil war which arose soon after the death of that king, and, indeed, it is not yet entirely abated. But in despite of the troubled condition of the country, even while Ferdinand was living, a movement was begun, the first traces of which are to be found among the emigrated Spaniards, who cheered with letters their exile in England and France, and whose subsequent progress from the time when the death of their unfaithful monarch permitted them to return home, is distinctly perceptible in their own country.

The two princ.i.p.al writers of the first half of the century are the satirist Jose de Larra (d. 1837), and the poet Esp.r.o.nceda (d. 1842); both were brilliant writers, and both died young. Zorrilla (b. 1817), has great wealth of imagination, and Fernan Caballero is a gifted woman whose stories have been often translated. Antonio de Trueba is a writer of popular songs and short stories not without merit, Campoamor (b. 1817) and Bequer represent the poetry of twenty years ago. The short lyrics of the first named are remarkable for their delicacy and finesse. Bequer, who died at the age of thirty, left behind him poems which have already exercised a wide influence in his own country and in Spanish America; they tell a story of pa.s.sionate love, despair, and death. Perez Galdos, a writer of fiction, attacks the problem of modern life and thought, and represents with vivid and often bitter fidelity the conflicting interests and pa.s.sions of Spanish life. Valera, the present minister from Spain to the United States, is the author of the most famous Spanish novel of the day, "Pepita Jimenez," a work of great artistic perfection, and his skill and grace are still more evident in his critical essays. Castelar has gained a European celebrity as an orator and a political and miscellaneous writer. The works of these authors, and of many others not named, show clearly that Spain is making vigorous efforts to bring herself, socially and intellectually, into line with the rest of Europe.

Of the Spanish colonies Cuba has produced some writers of enduring renown.

The most distinguished for poetic fame is Gertrude de Avelleneda; Heredia and Placido may also be mentioned. In Venezuela, Baralt is known as a historian, poet, and cla.s.sical writer; Olmedo as a poet of Bolivia, and Caro a writer of the United States of Colombia.

PORTUGUESE LITERATURE.

1. The Portuguese Language.--2. Early Literature of Portugal.--3. Poets of the Fifteenth Century; Macias, Ribeyro.--4. Introduction of the Italian Style; San de Miranda, Montemayor, Ferreira.--5. Epic Poetry; Camoens; The Lusiad.--6. Dramatic Poetry; Gil Vicente.--7. Prose Writing; Rodriguez Lobo, Barros, Brito, Veira.--8. Portuguese Literature in the Seventeenth, Eighteenth, and Nineteenth Centuries; Antonio Jose, Manuel do Nascimento, Manuel de Bocage.

1. THE PORTUGUESE LANGUAGE.--Portugal was long considered only as an integral part of Spain; its inhabitants called themselves Spaniards, and conferred on their neighbors the distinctive appellation of Castilians.

Their language was originally the same as the Galician; and had Portugal remained a province of Spain, its peculiar dialect would probably, like that of Aragon, have been driven from the fields of literature by the Castilian. But at the close of the eleventh century, Alphonso VI., celebrated in Spanish history for his triumphs over the Moors, gave Portugal as a dowry to his daughter on her marriage with Henry of Burgundy, with permission to call his own whatever accessions to it the young prince might be able to conquer from the Moorish territory. Alphonso Henriquez, the son of this pair, was saluted King of Portugal by his soldiers on the battle-field of Castro-Verd, in the year 1139, his kingdom comprising all the provinces we now call Portugal, except the province of Algarve. Thenceforward the Portuguese became a separate nation from the Spaniards, and their language a.s.serted for itself an independent existence. Still, however, the Castilian was long considered the proper vehicle for literature; and while few Portuguese writers wholly disused it, there were many who employed no other.

Although the Portuguese language, founded on the Galician dialect, bears much similarity to the Spanish in its roots and structure, it differs widely from it in its grammatical combinations and derivations, so that it const.i.tutes a language by itself. It has far more French, and fewer Basque and Arabic elements than the Spanish; it is softer, but it has, at the same time, a truncated and incomplete sound, compared with the sonorous beauty of the Castilian, and a predominance of nasal sounds stronger than those of the French. It is graceful and easy in its construction, but it is the least energetic of all the Romance tongues.

2. EARLY LITERATURE OF PORTUGAL.--The people, as well as the language, of Portugal possess a distinctive character. Early in the history of the country the extensive and fertile plains were abandoned to pasturage, and the number of shepherds in proportion to the rest of the population was so great, that the idea of rural life among them was always a.s.sociated with the care of flocks. At the same time, their long extent of coast invited to the pursuits of commerce and navigation; and the nation, thus divided into hardy navigators, soldiers, and shepherds, was better calculated for the display of energy, valor, and enterprise than for laborious and persevering industry. Accustomed to active intercourse with society, rather than to the seclusion of castles, they were far less haughty and fanatical than the Castilians; and the greater number of Mocarabians that were incorporated among them, diffused over their feelings and manners a much stronger influence of orientalism. The pa.s.sion of love seemed to occupy a larger share of their existence, and their poetry was more enthusiastic than that of any other people of Europe.

Although the literature of Portugal, like the character of its people, is marked by excessive softness, elegiac sentimentality, and an undefined melancholy, it affords little originality in the general tone of its productions. Henry of Burgundy and his knights early introduced Provencal poetry, and the native genius was nurtured in the succeeding age by Spanish and Italian taste, and afterwards modified by the influence of French and English civilization. National songs were not wanting in the early history of the country, yet no relics of them have been preserved.

The earliest monuments of Portuguese literature relate to the age of the French knights who founded the political independence of the country, and must be sought in the "Cancioneros," containing courtly ballads composed in the Galician dialect, after the Provencal fas.h.i.+on, and sung by wandering minstrels. The Cancionero of King Dionysius (1279-1325) is the most ancient of those collections, the king himself being considered by the Portuguese as the earliest poet. In fact, Galician poetry, modeled after the Provencal, was cultivated at that time all along the western portion of the Pyrenean peninsula. Alfonso the Wise, King of Castile, used this dialect in his poems; and as a poet and patron of the Spanish troubadours, he may be considered as belonging both to the Spanish and Portuguese literatures.

In the fourteenth and beginning of the fifteenth century, Portuguese poetry preserved its Provencal character. The poets rallied around the court, and the kings and princes of the age sang to the Provencal lyre both in the Castilian and the Galician dialects; but only a few fragments of the poetry of the fourteenth century are extant.

3. POETS OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY.--Early in the fifteenth century, the same chivalrous spirit which had achieved the conquest of the country from the Moors, led the Portuguese to cross the Straits of Gibraltar, and plant their banner on the walls of Ceuta. Many other cities of Africa were afterwards taken; and in 1487, Bartolomeo Diaz doubled the Cape of Good Hope, and Vasco da Gama pointed out to Europe the hitherto unknown track to India. Within fifteen years after, a Portuguese kingdom was founded in Hindostan, and the treasures of the East flowed into Portugal. The enthusiasm of the people was thus awakened, and high views of national importance, and high hopes of national glory, arose in the public mind.

The time was peculiarly favorable to the development of genius, and especially to the spirit of poetry. Indeed, the last part of the fifteenth century, and the beginning of the sixteenth, the age of King John (1481- 1495), and of Emanuel (1495-1521), may be called the golden age of the Portuguese poetry.

At the head of the poetical school of the fifteenth century, stands Macias, surnamed the Enamored (fl. 1420). He was distinguished as a hero in the wars against the Moors of Granada, and as a poet in the retinue of the Marquis of Villena. He became attached to a lady of the same princely household, who was forced to marry another. Macias continuing to express his love, though prohibited by the marquis from doing so, was thrown into prison; but even there, he still poured forth his songs on his ill-fated love, regarding the hards.h.i.+ps of captivity as light, in comparison with the pangs of absence from his mistress. The husband of the lady, stung with jealousy, recognizing Macias through the bars of his prison, took deadly aim at him with his javelin, and killed him on the spot. The weapon was suspended over the poet's tomb, in the Church of St. Catherine, with the inscription, "Here lies Macias the Enamored."

The death of Macias produced such a sensation as could only belong to an imaginative age. All those who desired to be thought cultivated mourned his fate. His few poems of moderate merit became generally known and admired, and his melancholy history continued to be the theme of songs and ballads, until, in the poetry of Lope de Vega and Calderon, the name of Macias pa.s.sed into a proverb, and became synonymous with the highest and tenderest love.

Ribeyro (1495-1521), one of the earliest and best poets of Portugal, was attached to the court of King Emanuel. Here he indulged a pa.s.sion for one of the ladies of the court, which gave rise to some of his most exquisite effusions. It is supposed that the lady, whose name he studiously conceals, was the Infanta Beatrice, the king's own daughter. He was so wholly devoted to the object of his love, that he is said to have pa.s.sed whole nights wandering in the woods, or beside the banks of a solitary stream, pouring forth the tale of his woes in strains of mingled tenderness and despair. The most celebrated productions of Ribeyro are eclogues. The scene is invariably laid in his own country; his shepherds are all Portuguese, and his peasant girls have Christian names. But under the disguise of fict.i.tious characters, he evidently sought to place before the eyes of his beloved mistress the feelings of his own breast; and the wretchedness of an impa.s.sioned lover is always his favorite theme.

The bucolic poets of Portugal may be regarded as the earliest in Europe, and their favorite creed, that pastoral life was the poetical model of human life, and the ideal point from which every sentiment and pa.s.sion ought to be viewed, was first represented by Ribeyro. This idea threw an air of romantic sweetness and elegance over the poetry of the sixteenth century, but at the same time it gave to it a monotonous tone and an air of tedious affectation.

4. INTRODUCTION OF THE ITALIAN STYLE.--The poet who first introduced the Italian style into Portuguese poetry was so successful in seizing the delicate tone by which the blending of the two was to be effected that the innovation was accomplished without a struggle. Saa de Miranda (1495-1558) was one of the most pleasing and accomplished men of his age. He traveled extensively, and on his return was attached to the court of Lisbon. It is related of him that he would often sit silent and abstracted in company, and that tears, of which no one knew the cause, would flow from his eyes, while he seemed unconscious of the circ.u.mstance, and indifferent to the observation he was thus attracting. These emotions were of course attributed to poetic thought and romantic attachments. He insisted on marrying a lady who was neither young nor handsome, and whom he had never seen, having been captivated by her reputation for amiability and discretion. He became so attached to her, that when she died he renounced all his previous pursuits and purposes in life, remained inconsolable, and soon followed her to the grave. Miranda is chiefly celebrated for his lyric and pastoral poetry.

Montemayor was a contemporary of Miranda, and a native of Portugal, but he declined holding any literary position in his own country. The pastoral romance of "Diana," written in the Castilian language, is his most celebrated work. It was received with great favor, and extensively imitated. With many faults, it possesses a high degree of poetic merit, and is ent.i.tled to the esteem of all ages.

Ferreira (1528-1569) has been called the Horace of Portugal. His works are correct and elegant, but they are wanting in those higher efforts of genius which strike the imagination and fire the spirit. The glory, advancement, and civilization of his country were his darling themes, and it was this enthusiasm of patriotism that made him great. In his tragedy of Inez de Castro, Ferreira raised himself far above his Italian contemporaries. Many similar writers shed a l.u.s.tre on this, the brightest and indeed the only brilliant period of Portuguese literature; but they are all more remarkable for taste and elegance than for richness of invention.

5. EPIC POETRY.--The chief and only boast of his country, the sole poet whose celebrity has extended beyond the peninsula, and whose name appears in the list of those who have conferred honor upon Europe, is Luis de Camoens (1524-1579). He was descended from a n.o.ble, but by no means a wealthy family. After having completed his studies at the university, he conceived a pa.s.sion for a lady of the court, so violent that for some time he renounced all literary and worldly pursuits. He entered the military service, and in an engagement before Ceuta, in which he greatly distinguished himself, he lost an eye. Neglected and contemned by his country, he embarked for the East Indies. After various vicissitudes there, he wrote a bitter satire on the government, which occasioned his banishment to the island of Macao, where he remained for five years, and where he completed the great work which was to hand down his name to posterity. There is still to be seen, on the most elevated point of the isthmus which unites the town of Macao to the Chinese continent, a sort of natural gallery formed out of the rocks, apparently almost suspended in the air, and commanding a magnificent prospect over both seas, and the lofty chain of mountains which rises above their sh.o.r.es. Here he is said to have invoked the genius of the epic muse, and tradition has conferred on this retreat the name of the Grotto of Camoens.

On his return to Goa, Camoens was s.h.i.+pwrecked, and of all his little property, he succeeded only in saving the ma.n.u.script of the Lusiad, which he bore in one hand above the water, while swimming to the sh.o.r.e. Soon after reaching Goa, he was thrown into prison upon some unjust accusation, and suffered for a long time to linger there. At length released, he took pa.s.sage for his native country, which he reached after an absence of sixteen years. Portugal was at this time ravaged by the plague, and in the universal sorrow and alarm, the poet and his great work were alike neglected. The king at length consented to accept the dedication of this poem, and made to the author the wretched return of a pension, amounting to about twenty-five dollars. Camoens was not unfrequently in actual want of bread, for which he was in part indebted to a black servant who had accompanied him from India, and who was in the habit of stealing out at night to beg in the streets for what might support his master during the following day. But more aggravated evils were in store for the unfortunate poet. The young king perished in the disastrous expedition against Morocco, and with him expired the royal house of Portugal. The independence of the nation was lost, her glory eclipsed, and the future pregnant with calamity and disgrace. Camoens, who had so n.o.bly supported his own misfortunes, sank under those of his country. He was seized with a violent fever, and expired in a public hospital without having a shroud to cover his remains.

The poem on which the reputation of Camoens depends, is ent.i.tled "Os Lusiadas;" that is, the Lusitanians (or Portuguese), and its design is to present a poetic and epic grouping of all the great and interesting events in the annals of Portugal. The discovery of the pa.s.sage to India, the most brilliant point in Portuguese history, was selected as the groundwork of the epic unity of the poem. But with this, and the Portuguese conquests in India, the author combined all the ill.u.s.trious actions performed by his countrymen in other quarters of the world, and whatever of splendid and heroic achievement history or tradition could supply. Vasco da Gama has been represented as the hero of the work, and those portions not immediately connected with his expedition, as episodes. But there is, in truth, no other leading subject than the country, and no episodes except such parts as are not immediately connected with her glory. Camoens was familiar with the works of his Italian contemporaries, but the circ.u.mstance that essentially distinguishes him from them, and which forms the everlasting monument of his own and his country's glory, is the national love and pride breathing through the whole work. His patriotic spirit, devoting a whole life to raise a monument worthy of his country, seems never to have indulged a thought which was not true to the glory of an ungrateful nation.

The Greek mythology forms the epic machinery of the Lusiad. Vasco da Gama, having doubled the Cape of Good Hope, is steering along the western coast of Africa, when the G.o.ds a.s.semble on Mount Olympus to deliberate on the fate of India. Venus and Bacchus form two parties; the former in favor, the latter opposed to the Portuguese. The poet thus gratified his national pride, as Portugal was eminently the land of love, and moderation in the use of wine was one of its highest virtues. Bacchus lays many snares to entrap and ruin the adventurers, who are warned and protected by Venus. He visits the palace of the G.o.ds of the sea, who consent to let loose the Winds and Waves upon the daring adventurers, but she summons her nymphs, and adorning themselves with garlands of the sweetest flowers, they subdue the boisterous Winds, who, charmed by the blandishments of love, become calm. Vasco is hospitably received by the African king of Melinda, to whom he relates the most interesting parts of the history of his native country. On the homeward voyage, Venus prepares a magic festival for the adventurers, on an enchanted island, and the G.o.ddess Thetis becomes the bride of the admiral. Here the poet finds the opportunity to complete the narrative of his country's history, and a prophetic nymph is brought forward to describe the future achievements of the nation from that period to the time of Camoens.

The Lusiad is one of the n.o.blest monuments ever raised to the national glory of any people, and it is difficult to conceive how so grand and beautiful a whole could be formed on a plan so trivial and irregular. The plan has been compared to a scaffolding surrounded and concealed by a majestic building, serving to connect its parts, but having no share in producing the unity of the effect. One of the most affecting and beautiful of all the pa.s.sages of the Lusiad, is the narrative of the tragical fate of Inez de Castro, who, after her death, was proclaimed queen of Portugal, upon the accession of her lover to the throne.

In the poems of Camoens we find examples of every species of composition practiced in his age and country. Some of them bear the impress of his personal character, and of his sad and agitated career. A wild tone of sorrow runs through them, which strikes the ear like wailings heard through the gloom of midnight and darkness. We know not by what calamity they were called forth, but it is the voice of grief, and it awakens an answering throb within the breast.