It
conveys a proof of the greatness of the Portuguese sovereign, and
affords a compliment to loyalty, which could not fail to be acceptable
to a monarch.
conveys a proof of the greatness of the Portuguese sovereign, and
affords a compliment to loyalty, which could not fail to be acceptable
to a monarch.
Camoes - Lusiades
_Hallo_, says he, _me muy embaracado_, &c. _I am so entangled and
encumbered with the multiplicity of business, that I have not a moment
to myself. In truth, we kings hold a laborious office_ (or trade);
_there is little reason to envy us. _"
[167] The propriety and artfulness of Homer's speeches have been often
and justly admired. Camoens is peculiarly happy in the same department
of the Epopaea. The speech of Gama's herald to the King of Melinda is a
striking instance of it. The compliments with which it begins have a
direct tendency to the favours afterwards to be asked. The assurances of
the innocence, the purpose of the voyagers, and the greatness of their
king, are happily touched. The exclamation on the barbarous treatment
they had experienced--"Not wisdom saved us, but Heaven's own care"--are
masterly insinuations. Their barbarous treatment is again repeated in a
manner to move compassion: Alas! what could they fear? etc. , is
reasoning joined with pathos. That they were conducted to the King of
Melinda by Heaven, and were by Heaven assured of his truth, is a most
delicate compliment, and in the true spirit of the epic poem. The
apology for Gama's refusal to come on shore is exceeding artful.
It
conveys a proof of the greatness of the Portuguese sovereign, and
affords a compliment to loyalty, which could not fail to be acceptable
to a monarch.
[168] Rockets.
[169] The Tyrian purple, obtained from the _murex_, a species of
shell-fish, was very famous among the ancients. --_Ed. _
[170] A girdle, or ornamented belt, worn over one shoulder and across
the breast. --_Ed. _
[171] Camoens seems to have his eye on the picture of Gama, which is
thus described by _Faria y Sousa_: "He is painted with a black cap,
cloak, and breeches edged with velvet, all slashed, through which
appears the crimson lining, the doublet of crimson satin, and over it
his armour inlaid with gold. "
[172] The admiration and friendship of the King of Melinda, so much
insisted on by Camoens, is a judicious imitation of Virgil's Dido. In
both cases such preparation was necessary to introduce the long episodes
which follow.
[173] The Moors, who are Mohammedans, disciples of the Arabian prophet,
who was descended from Abraham through the line of Hagar. --_Ed. _
[174] The famous temple of the goddess Diana at Ephesus. --_Ed. _
[175] Apollo.
[176] _Calliope. _--The Muse of epic poesy, and mother of Orpheus.
