This apostrophe to his muse may, perhaps, by some be blamed as another
digression; but, so little does it require defence, that one need not
hesitate to affirm that, had Homer, who often talks to his muse,
introduced, on these favourable opportunities, any little picture or
history of himself, these digressions would have been the most
interesting parts of his works.
digression; but, so little does it require defence, that one need not
hesitate to affirm that, had Homer, who often talks to his muse,
introduced, on these favourable opportunities, any little picture or
history of himself, these digressions would have been the most
interesting parts of his works.
Camoes - Lusiades
[590] _Before the love-sick Roman. _--Mark Antony.
[591] _The beverage--the fountain's cooling aid confess'd. _--It was a
custom of the ancients in warm climates to mix the coolest spring water
with their wine, immediately before drinking; not, we may suppose, to
render it less intoxicating, but on account of the cooling flavour it
thereby received. Homer tells us that the wine which Ulysses gave to
Polyphemus would bear twenty measures of water. Modern luxury has
substituted preserved ice, in place of the more ancient mixture.
[592] _Music, such as erst subdued the horrid frown of hell_,
etc. --Alluding to the fable of Orpheus. Fanshaw's translation, as
already observed, was published fourteen years before the Paradise Lost.
These lines of Milton--
"What could it less, when spirits immortal sung?
Their song was partial, but the harmony
Suspended hell, and took with ravishment
The thronging audience,"
bear a resemblance to these of Fanshaw--
"Musical instruments not wanting, such
As to the damn'd spirits once gave ease
In the dark vaults of the infernal hall. "
To _slumber_ amid their punishment, though omitted by Fanshaw, is
literal:--
"Fizerao descancar da eterna pena. "
[593] _No more the summer of my life remains. _--It is not certain when
Camoens wrote this. It seems, however, not long to have preceded the
publication of his poem, at which time he was in his fifty-fifth year.
This apostrophe to his muse may, perhaps, by some be blamed as another
digression; but, so little does it require defence, that one need not
hesitate to affirm that, had Homer, who often talks to his muse,
introduced, on these favourable opportunities, any little picture or
history of himself, these digressions would have been the most
interesting parts of his works. Had any history of Homer complained,
like this of Camoens, it would have been bedewed with the tears of ages.
[594] _Thy faith repent not, nor lament thy wrong. _--P. Alvarez Cabral,
the second Portuguese commander who sailed to India, entered into a
treaty of alliance with Trimumpara, king of Cochin, and high priest of
Malabar. The zamorim raised powerful armies to dethrone him. His
fidelity to the Portuguese was unalterable, though his affairs were
brought to the lowest ebb. --See the history in the Preface.
[595]
_His ship's strong sides shall groan beneath his weight,
And deeper waves receive the sacred freight. --_
Thus Virgil:--
"Simul accipit alveo
Ingentem AEneam. Gemuit sub pondere cymba
Sutilis, et multam accepit rimosa paludem. "--AEN. vi. 412.
That the visionary boat of Charon groaned under the weight of AEneas is a
fine poetical stroke; but that the crazy rents let in the water is
certainly lowering the image. The thought, however, as managed in
Camoens is much grander than in Virgil, and affords a happy instance
where the hyperbole is truly poetical.
