Chapter IV: Originality and Influence (5)

HERM. Agoro quero eu dizer
535 o que aqui venho buscar.
Eu desejo dabitar
hũa ermida a meu prazer
onde podesse folgar.
E queriaa eu achar feyta
540 por nam cãsar em fazela,
que fosse a minha cella
antes bem larga que estreyta
& que podesse eu dançar nella.
E que fosse num deserto
545 denfindo vinho & pão,
& a fonte muyto perto
& longe a contemplação.
¶ Muyta caça & pescaria
que podesse eu ter coutada
550 & a casa temperada:
no veram que fosse fria
& quente na inuernada.
A cama muyto mimosa
& hum crauo aa cabeceyra,
555 de cedro a sua madeyra;
porque a vida religiosa
queria eu desta maneyra.
¶ E fosse o meu repousar
& dormir atee tais horas
560 que nam podesse rezar
por ouuir cantar pastoras
& outras assouiar.
Aa cea & jantar perdiz,
o almoço moxama,
565 & vinho do seu matiz,
& que a filha do juyz
me fizesse sempre a cama.
¶ E em quanto eu rezasse
esquecesse ella as ouelhas
570 & na cela me abraçasse
& mordesse nas orelhas,
inda que me lastimasse.
Irmãos pois deueis saber
da serra toda a guarida
575 prazauos de me dizer
onde poderey fazer
esta minha sancta vida.

GONÇ. ¶ Estaa alli, padre, hum siluado
viçoso, verde, florido,
580 com espinho tam comprido,
e vos nuu alli deytado
perderieis o proido.
Yuos, nam esteis hi mais,
porque a vida que buscais
585 nam na da Deos verdadeyro
inda que lha vos peçais.

SERRA. ¶ Ora, filhos, logo essora,
cada hum com sua esposa,
vamos ver a poderosa
590 Raynha nossa Senhora,
sem nenhum de vos por grosa,
porque he forçoso que va,
que segundo minha fama
da Raynha ey de ser ama
595 & a isso vou eu la.
¶ Que tal leyte como o meu
nam no ha em Portugal,
que tenho tanto & tal
e tam fino Deos mo deu
600 que he manteyga & nam al.
E pois ha de ser senhora
de tam grande gado & terra
quem outra ama lhe der erra,
porque a perfeyta pastora
605 ha de ser da minha serra.

GONÇ. ¶ Ha mester grandes presentes
das vilas, casaes & aldea.

SERRA. Mandaraa a vila de Sea
quinhentos queyjos resentes,
610 todos feytos aa candea,
e mais trezentas bezerras
& mil ouelhas meyrinhas
& dozentas cordeyrinhas
taes que em nenhũas serras
615 nam se achem tam gordinhas.
¶ E Gouuea mandaraa
dous mil sacos de castanha
tam grossa, tam san, tamanha
que se marauilharaa
620 onde tal cousa se apanha.
E Manteygas lhe daraa
leyte para quatorze annos,
& Couilham muytos panos
finos que se fazem laa.
625 ¶ Mandaraam desses casaes
que estam no cume da serra
pena pera cabeçaes
toda de aguias Reaes,
naturaes mesmo da terra.
630 E os do val dos penados
& montes dos tres caminhos
que estam em fortes montados
mandarão empresentados
trezentos forros darminhos
635 pera forrar os borcados.
¶ Eu ey lhe de presentar
minas douro que eu sey
com tanto que ella ou el Rey
o mandem ca apanhar,
640 abasta que lho criey.

GONÇ. E afora ainda aos presentes
auemos lhe de cantar
muyto alegres & contentes
polla Deos alumiar
645 por alegria das gentes.

Vem dous foliões do Sardoal, hum se chama Jorge e outro Lopo, & diz a Serra:

¶ Sois vos de Castella, manos,
ou la debayxo do estremo?

JOR. Agora nos faria o demo
a nos outros Castellanos.
650 Queria antes ser lagarto
polos sanctos auangelhos.

SERRA. Donde sois?

JOR. Do Sardoal,
& ou bebela ou vertela,
vimos ca desafiar
655 a toda a serra da estrela
a cantar & a baylar.

ROD. ¶ Soberba he isso perem
pois haqui tantos pastores
& tam finos bayladores
660 que nam ham medo a ninguem.

LOPO. Muytos ratinhos vam la
de ca da serra a ganhar
& la os vemos cantar
& baylar bem coma ca
665 & he assi desta feyçam.

¶ Canta Lopo & bayla, arremedando os da serra.

¶ E se ponerey la mano en vos
Garrido amor!
¶ Hum amigo que eu auia
mançanas douro menuia,
670 Garrido amor!
¶ Hum amigo que eu amaua
mançanas douro me manda,
Garrido amor!
¶ Mançanas douro menuia
675 a milhor era partida,
Garrido amor!
¶ [Mançanas douro me manda,
a milhor era quebrada,
Garrido amor!]

Falado.

680 ¶ Isso he, ou bem ou mal,
assi como o vos fazeis.

SERRA. Peçouolo que canteis
aa guisa do Sardoal.

LOPO. Esse he outro carrascal,
685 esperay ora & vereis:
¶ Ja nam quer minha senhora
que lhe fale em apartado.
Oo que mal tam alongado!
¶ Minha senhora me disse
690 que me quer falar um dia
agora por meu peccado
disseme que nam podia.
Oo que mal tam alongado!
¶ Minha senhora me disse
695 que me queria falar,
agora por meu peccado
nam me quer ver nem olhar.
Oo que mal tam alongado!
Agora por meu peccado
700 disseme que nam podia,
yrmey triste polo mundo
onde me leuar a dita.
Oo que mal tam alongado!

¶ Esta cantiga cantarão & baylarão de terreyro os foliões, & acabada diz Felipa:

¶ Nam vos vades vos assi,
705 leixay ora a gayta vir
& o nosso tamboril,
& yreis mortos daqui
sem vos saberdes bolir.

CAT. Em tanto por vida minha
710 seraa bem que ordenemos
a nossa chacotezinha
& con ella nos yremos
ver el Rey e a Raynha.

¶ Ordenaramse todos estes pastores em chacota, como la se costuma, porem a cantiga della foy cantada de canto dorgam, & a letra he a seguinte:

¶ Nam me firais, madre,
715 que eu direy a verdade.
¶ Madre, hum escudeyro
da nossa Raynha
falou me damores,
vereis que dezia,
720 eu direy a verdade.
¶ Falou me damores,
vereis que dezia:
quem te me tiuesse
desnuda em camisa!
725 Eu direi a verdade.

¶ E com esta chacota se sayram & assi se acabou.

¶ LAUS DEO.

NOTES:

0. _Esta tragecomedia pastoril foy feyta_ B.

0. _com hum parvo & diz_ C.

2. _estrella_ B.

4. _Castella_ B.

7. _yr_ B.

24. _despaña_ B.

34. _quant'elle_ C.

53, 54. _Imperatriz_, _Imperador_ C.

100. _faz un rey cousas_ B.

102. _atraues_ B. _a través_ C.

109. _tós_ C.

116. _dá-lhe_ C.

123. _phantesia_ C.

125. _querera_ B.

127. _seguem dous açores_ C.

135. _reccado_ C.

152. _lendes_ C.

159. _porque_ A, B, C, D, E. _porqu'é_ ?

161. _cures_ A, B. _cuides_ C.

167. _do melão_ A, B. _de melão_ C.

172. _Arrenega tu_ A, B. _Arrenego eu_ C.

179. _outra_ A, B. _outrem_ C.

196. _tem-te_ C.

197. _Inda_ C.

231. _com tigo_ A, B. _comtigo_ C.

261. _sês_ C.

265. _rogoto_ A. _rogo-te_ C.

276. _alma_ A. _a alma_ C.

284. _do_ A. _de_ C.

299, 300. _ver-te-has_ C.

308. _ca mão_ A, B. _ca a mão_ C.

327. _libara_ B.

328. _querelo_ A, B. _querê-lo_ C, D, E.

332. _bem_ A, B. _vem_ C, D, E.

353. _eu amargura_ B.

354. _quasi_ A, B. _qu'assi_ C.

378. _lhe basta_ C.

392. _vayamonos_ A. _vayamos_ C.

407. _maas_ A. _mais_ C.

408. _descortees_ A. _descortes_ B. _descortez_ C.

427. _moncarraz_ A, B. _Monçarraz_ C.

456. _mami_ A. _a mi_ C.

462. Desunt 462-577 in B.

469. _a creatura_ C.

477. _escriptas_ C.

482. _& diz Fernando_ A. _& diz o Ermitão_ C.

487. _Escri._ A. _(Lê o Ermitão o escrito)_ C.

498. _alto, nome_ C.

499-500. _Escrito_ A. _(Lê o Ermitão)_ C.

530: _amigo_ A, B, C, D, E. _marido_ ?

545: _D'infindo_ C.

566. Desunt 566-8 in C.

608. _Cea_ C.

609. _recentes_ C.

613. _duzentas_ C.

618. _tan grossa, tam san._ B.

628. _Aguias reaes._ B.

630. _penedos._ B. _Penados._ C.

635. _brocados._ C.

645-6. Desunt _hum se chama._ et _outro._ in C. _Iorge._ C.

647. _extremo._ C.

649. _Castelhanos._ C.

655. _estrella_ B.

660. _ham_ A. _ha hi_ C.

668. _auia, havia_ A, B, C, D, E. _queria_?

685-6. _Cantiga_ B.

711. _chacotezinha_ A, B. _chacotazinha_ C.

713-4. _he a seguinte Cantiga_ C.

Note. ad fin. ¶ _Laus Deo_ B.

ENGLISH TRANSLATION:

_Pastoral tragicomedy of the Serra da Estrella._

_A pastoral tragicomedy made in honour of and played before the very powerful and catholic King Dom John III of Portugal on the delivery of the most high Queen Dona Caterina our lady and the birth of the most illustrious Infanta Dona Maria, afterwards Princess of Castille, in the city of Coimbra in the Year of the Lord 1527._

_Enters the Serra da Estrella and says:_

Joy that shakes and wakes the hill,
The mighty mountain-range of me,
Will increase the swelling sea
And the sky with singing fill
5 Till Castilla dance in glee.
And in this hour it is my will
That the whole of me, no less,
To Coimbra as a shepherdess,
A Beira peasant-girl, shall come,
10 Since in Beira is my home.
With me thither they who are mine,
The hill-girls of nut-brown tresses,
Each with her lover shall repair,
Yea and all the shepherdesses
15 Who flocks upon my pastures keep.
And the choicest of the kine
And of the merino sheep,
That I may have to offer there
A present to our Queen of Queens
20 Who is fairest of the fair.
Mistress she of broad demesnes
Came unto our mountain land
And among the hills hath she
Borne a new princess of Spain
25 That we give to her again,
Even a rose imperial
As the most high Isabel,
An image of Gabriel
For the repose of Portugal,
30 Its precious ward and canopy.
So clearly is God's purpose planned.

_Fool._ Good faith, no, not a whit he knows
But the Virgin Mary knows.
But he unto no good inclines
35 And only serves to burn the vines.

_Serra._ What a thing for thee to say!

_Fool._ Who? God? why, now, I swear to God
That He must always have His way.
For I was at Coimbra, I,
40 At the time this very queen
In the palace bore a daughter:
I will tell you all about it.
This same queen, and may God bless her,
The queen herself was in the palace,
45 For, you know, on such occasions
She is rarely seen outside it.
And the Lady of the Bedchamber,
For she's from Castille, they say
At this very time began to pray
50 A girl, not a boy, be given her.
(Even here, see, goes our way)
And would you know the reason why?
The Empress had just before
Given birth unto an Emperor,
55 And they will marry by and by.
'Twas different with my mother, she
Cared not whether it might be
A boy or eke a girl by chance
But unto the Virgin Mary
60 Prayed she for deliverance.

_Enter Gonçalo, a shepherd of the Serra, who comes from the Court, singing:_

Flying, the magpie has flown away,
O that 'twere brought to me again:
In yonder covert
'Twas mine at will,
65 With its dark-brown eyes
And its golden bill.
O that 'twere brought to me again!
By Heaven in fine trim to-day
Our Serra is and all aglow!

70 _S._ Come, Gonçalo, come away,
For I minded am to go,
Leaving these my haunts straightway,
Gathering you all together
Forthwith and without delay
75 That we may all journey thither
A visit to our queen to pay
If God assist us on our way.

_G._ I am now come even thence
And from all that I could tell
80 Our going thither will be well,
Aye, 'twill be no vain pretence,
For the child of royal line,
The princess that has now had birth
Seems, they say, a thing divine,
85 A star that ceases not to shine
Though it has appeared on earth.

_S._ I'll tell thee how it is, I ween:
Her birth is in a hill-country,
Of a king fairest to be seen
90 Of all that are upon the earth
And of a most lovely queen.
And she is born in a city
Which will bless her and blest has been
And of great authority.
95 On lucky day too was she born,
Of Mars, the god of victory,
And the winds that very morn
Brought rain needed instantly
For the birth of grass and corn.

100 _Fool._ Sometimes God, it is a fact,
Sometimes, I say, God doth act
All upside down, as one might say.
For unless I'm much mistaken
Mondego will be in flood
105 And all the wine from the casks be taken:
Could a demon do less good?
For He so brings it about
That the aldermen grow stout
And like dry sticks girls wither away,
110 Purple the friars wax and red,
Yellow and jaundiced are the lay,
And lusty they whose youth is fled
While the young grow weak and grey
And for nothing doth He care.
115 At Coimbra when for oats they pray
Of mussels enough and e'en to spare
And fish likewise He sends straightway.

_G._ Serra, if you would fain go
With shepherds and with shepherdesses
120 First their loves of long ago
Must mutual agreement show
That as yet no ending blesses.
And for my part willingly
Would I Madanela wed,
125 That design is in my head
But I know not if she'll agree.

_Enter Felipa, a shepherdess of the Serra, singing:_

Two falcons to follow me have I,
But one of them of love shall die.
Two falcons had I, and the twain
130 Are here with me, being of love's train,
But one of them of love shall die.

(_Spoken:_)

_F._ Gonçalo, hast thou seen my sheep,
Tell me hast thou seen them now?

_G._ From the town I am just returned and trow
135 That I for thee thy flocks must keep.

_F._ Well, thou hast been married here:
They only for thy coming stay.

_G._ What, married ere I can appear?
Then am I in a pretty way.

140 _F._ Nay thou must marry on thy return
And must go and live with her
Unless Madanela thou wouldst prefer.

_G._ From the game's chance aside I turn.

_F._ Wouldst thou the best of them all thus spurn?

145 _G._ Is it, is it Alvarenga?

_F._ No, but Catherine Meigengra.

_G._ In evil fire would I rather burn.
Of Meigengra is no question here:
The greatest slattern, I assert,
150 Is she and if unsewn her skirt
Not a stitch will it get from her,
And though she covered be with dirt
Yet will she never comb her hair,
And at the merest word will she
155 Be vanquished of laughter utterly.
She sweeps and lets the sweepings lie,
She eats and will never wash the dishes,
Her uncle beats her hourly,
So laxly doth she flout his wishes.
160 Madanela's the apple of my eye.
And there is no more to be said
But tell Meigengra presently
To reckon on another head.

_F._ Thy father has given his hand, thus clinching
165 The matter beyond any flinching.

_G._ To give her my foot would I be willing
As if she were a melon's rind,
But as for me, my heart and mind
With love of Madanela are thrilling.

170 _F._ Yet richer Meigengra thou'lt find,
For Madanela has not a shilling.

_G._ A curse upon money, say I,
Which only brings me fresh distress:
A single hour of happiness
175 'S worth all the gold beneath the sky.
God give me but the girl I love
Or deprive me of life's breath,
And my marriage be with death
If to her I faithless prove.

180 _F._ Well, I must go instantly
After my flocks and see how they fare.

_G._ And I to my father will repair
And find out how this thing may be.

_Enter Catherina Meigengra, singing:_

Lofty the mountain-height,
185 But stronger is love's might,
Could he but hear!

_F._ Whither, Meigengra, sister, away?

_C._ 'Tis the heifer I go to seek,
Hast thou seen it here, I pray?

190 _F._ I have not seen it all this week.
But Gonçalo is just gone hence,
Even from the Court came he
And I gave him great offence
When I spoke to him of thee,
195 As if thou wert a pestilence,
Such disaffection hast thou won.

_C._ And by my life I'm glad of it
For, sister, I have lost my wit
For Ferdinand, my uncle's son.
200 If I do not marry him
I will surely die of love.
But Gonçalo can only move
My thoughts, yes even in a dream,
To distaste and weariness.

205 _F._ If for him thou dost not care
He for thee cares even less.

_C._ Bad luck to him through all the land
If to think of me he dare.
But if Heaven only planned
210 My marriage with Ferdinand
Death to me that day welcome were,
Joy's victim, not of this distress.
O Ferdinand, my uncle's son,
For thee was all this love begun!

215 _F._ This your love, your Ferdinand,
Secretly offered me his hand.

_C._ Was that long ago, I pray?

_F._ It was but on last Saturday.

_C._ What a villain then is he,
220 And men how full of all deceits,
For he these last three years repeats
That he's distraught for love of me.
Felipa, dost thou speak in jest?
I think indeed thou triflest,
225 But if with words thou wouldest play,
Do not play upon my heart
Since no jest is in the smart.

_F._ He came to me in the heat of the day,
To the rock of the palm came he,
230 'Felipa, my life,' said he straightway,
'I am mad to marry thee.'
And I say, say I to him:
'Go away and have a swim.'

_C._ Perhaps he was but mocking thee.

235 _F._ Nay I know what's mockery
And because I said him No
I could see his tears downflow.

_C._ Ill be the tears that are so shed,
For with me also he will weep,
240 And the crops may be eaten by his sheep,
He does not even turn his head.

_F._ Well, I must go up the hill,
Perhaps my flock may be in sight.

_C._ Thou leavest me in a plight so ill
245 That I've forgotten mine outright.
If one could but only know
All the end in the beginning
That one might have straightway so
Knowledge that I now am winning!

_Enter Ferdinand, singing:_

250 With what eyes thou lookedst upon me
That so fair I seemed to thee:
How have other thoughts now won thee?
Who has spoken ill of me?

_C._ Good Ferdinand, art thou here
255 To see Felipa, thy lady dear?
But may thy coming even be
Ill for thy flock and ill for thee.

_F._ Catherina, thus wouldst thou
Deprive me of all power of speech?
260 Look straight at me, I beseech.
But if thus thou changest now
With lowering and angry brow,
'Who has spoken ill of me?
With what eyes thou lookedst upon me?' etc.

265 _C._ Tell me, Ferdinand, I pray
Why thou wouldest me betray?
If Felipa is thy love,
Why me thus with treachery prove?

_F._ By my life, thou'rt mocking me today.

270 _C._ O no, I jest not: didst not say
That thou with her wouldst gladly wed?

_F._ 'Twas but for fun the words were said.
In what I say will truth be found
And believe no one else, I pray.
275 For as for me my life alway
And soul and will in thee are bound.

_C._ With weeping since thy eyes were red
Needs must be that thou lov'st her well.

_F._ I may have wept, I cannot tell,
280 But not for her my tears were shed.
Felipa's not unlike thee, so
At sight of her I thought of thee
And fell to weeping bitterly
At memory of all my woe.
285 And if she thought my tears did flow
For her, how should I be to blame?
For my love ever is the same
On thee, thee only to bestow,
And that it's thine well dost thou know.

290 _C._ How I hate thee, how I love thee,
Ferdinand, were it mine to prove thee!

_F._ Now despair I utterly,
Yes, I am most desperate,
And good and ill come all too late.
For thy father has married thee
295 To Gonçalo, and desolate
I here remain, alone, deserted,
Nothing of thee left to me
But to be thus broken-hearted.
And another's shalt thou be,
300 Taken to another place,
And I, by the Devil's grace,
Promise that I instantly
Will a monk become: in fine
So much of thee shall be mine
305 In imagination's play
As was given me on that day
When thine eyes began to shine.

_C._ Nay, but give me thy hand instead
And I will say that I am wed.

310 _F._ Alas I have nothing now to give.
My promise is already said
That I will in a convent live.

_C._ How many perils mar the peace
Of this gloomy sea of love,
315 From day to day they still increase
And its tempests greater prove.
If a monk then thou must be
Husband mine will ne'er be seen:
If a monk thou must be, for me
320 Thou leavest of necessity
The fate of Dido, hapless queen.

_F._ Thou wilt find no sure escape
With Gonçalo not to marry,
For whatever plans thou shape
325 Thou wilt never round the cape
And thy father the day will carry.

_C._ O deliver us from ill!
May such never be my lot,
For Gonçalo loves me not,
330 And Gonçalo I love less still.
But there he comes, see, Ferdinand,
Above there in the mountain pass,
And Madanela goes before,
She it is that he searches for.

335 _F._ Behind this hedge here we will stand
And listen to them as they pass
And we will see what's in his mind
And if to thee he be inclined
Or if thou art given o'er.

340 _Enter Madanela, singing, and behind her Gonçalo:_

(_Song:_)

When here below there's rain and snow
What will it be on the mountain-height?
On the hills of Coimbra 'twas snowing
345 and raining,
What will it be on the mountain-height?

(_Spoken:_)

Gonçalo, what is your pretence?

_G._ Madanela, Madanela!

350 _M._ Go back at once, I say, go hence,
Since thou hast so little sense.

_G._ Madanela, Madanela!

_M._ What another plague is here,
What annoyance, by my soul!
355 What, wouldst thou now follow me?

_G._ I suppose I need not fear
That thou shouldst eat me whole.
But if me thou wouldest kill
Because of this my love for thee
360 Not serious surely is thy will.

_M._ Gonçalo, go back, go back to thy plough,
For all this is but vanity.

_G._ What reason canst thou give me now
To refuse to marry me?
365 I shall have of wheat enow
And thy life with me shall be
As a goldfinch's free from toil.
I will not have thee hoe the soil,
I will not have thee work in the sun,
370 But thou shalt sit and take thy ease
And by me all the work be done.
Art thou willing, Madanela?

_M._ Gonçalo, go back, go back to thy plough,
With none will I marry, I avow,
375 In the whole Serra da Estrella,
In vain wilt thou persist and tease.
Catalina is a very good girl
And fair enough, though not a pearl,
Comes of good stock and loves thee well,
380 And she is very sensible.
Then take what's offered thee and so
Shalt balm of thy desire know.

_G._ Nay, but I pray thee do not seek
To teach my heart what way to go.

385 _M._ Go hence, if nonsense thou must speak.

_G._ I say I will not marry her.

_M._ And I will not marry thee.
But yonder comes Rodrigo, see,
After Felipa, and I aver
390 That not a fig for him cares she.

_Enter Rodrigo, singing:_

My love, let's be going, be going together,
Be going together.
Rodrigo and Felipa were crossing the river,
My love, let's be going.
395 How is it, Felipa, with thee?

_F._ And what business is that of thine?
Days past I've bidden thee thy chatter
To thy father to confine.

_R._ But that, my dear, does not suit me.

400 _F._ And why drag me into the matter?

_R._ Felipa, turn thy eyes this way
And give me that fair hand of thine.

_F._ Away, away with thee, I say,
What art thou to me, in the name of evil?

405 _R._ So, Felipa, thou art here, I see.

_F._ Rodrigo, wouldst thou begin again?
If ever there was feather-brain,
But I would not be uncivil.

_R._ Would then that thou mightest be
410 Now less shrewish and unkind.
Yet even that is to my mind,
So charming art thou unto me
So graceful and so fair to see.

_F._ Everyone should regulate
415 At reason's bidding his request,
Thou my heart requirest
But I cannot give thee that
Nor listen to thee save in jest.
And as to my marrying I wis,
420 Although I keep the sheep, withal
An honoured judge my father is
And by his side the rest are small,
He's best related of them all.
At Court too he's been many a day
425 And the king once spoke to him, to say:
'In the district of Monsarraz
And Fronteira, Affonso Vaz,
What is the price of wheat, I pray?'
So that here to marry would be for me,
430 Rodrigo, to act unreasonably.

_R._ Shouldest thou a courtier marry
What amusement unto me
And consolation that would carry!
For if as a country-lout he harry
435 Thee all day and for evermore,
Would I, what though my heart should grieve,
Rejoice, since, though I thee adore,
Me thus contemptuously dost thou leave,
And if he bid thee keep thy place
440 As being but of low degree:
Since thou despisest such as me
Thee shall the mighty then abase.

_F._ When I see a courtier fine
With his velvet slippers, and
445 His viola in his hand,
'Tis all up with this heart of mine
Nor can I his ways withstand.

_R._ Gonçalo, come help me now
At the labour of my plough
450 And I'll help thee anon with thine.
For as to the other 'twill be in fine
When its fortune shall allow.

_G._ As for Madanela, I
Have ceased at last my luck to try.

455 _R._ Ah! then the same thing it must be
As with Felipa and me.

_G._ Yes, 'tis even so we stand.

_R._ And how is't with thee, Ferdinand?

_F._ I am in both smiles and frowns,
460 And a lover's life is planned
In a maze of ups and downs.

_Enters a hermit who says:_

_H._ Shepherds, for love of God, on me
Pray bestow your charity.

_R._ Rather him it now behoves
465 Charitable towards us to be
And tie the knots of all our loves.

_H._ Marrying is in God's hand
And from Him comes fortune too,
For by His especial grace
470 All men fortune may embrace
And good sense assists thereto.
Place yourselves beneath His sway,
Take not any thought to choose
But receive what comes your way,
475 For these idle loves, I say,
You'll in sure repentance lose.
Your names, my daughters, here you
leave;
My sons, now each your lot receive:
Behave yourselves in such a sort
480 That you your infinite thanks shall give
To God, and to the King and Court.

_The hermit takes from his sleeve three small written pieces of paper and gives them to the shepherds that each may take his lot, and Ferdinand says:_

Rodrigo shall the first lot claim.
We'll see now if he acts aright.

_R._ In the Virgin Mary's name
485 Read it, padre, for the same
Brings to me my day or night.

_The hermit reads the writing:_

'By Fortune's and by God's command
Whosoever draws this lot
Shall to Felipa give his hand,
490 Shall do so and reason not.'

_R._ I have won the victory,
Felipa, come hither to me, my dear.

_F._ Away with thee, away, dost hear,
Thinkest thou this will profit thee?
495 Ne'er such a victory shalt thou see.

_G._ Draw thy lot now, Ferdinand,
Let's see what for thee is planned.

_F._ Here goes then in the name of Heaven;
Read, padre, what is written there.

_The hermit reads:_

500 'The sentence is already given
And its substance doth declare
That thou shalt Madanela wed.'

_M._ Well, Ferdinand, I do not care,
If it must be so, no more be said.

505 _F._ Many a day hast thou heard that from me
But thou e'er hadst me in disdain.

_C._ O Ferdinand, my uncle's swain,
Would that I might marry thee!

_G._ O Madanela, if only now
510 We had come together, I and thou.

_C._ Rather might I straight expire
Than that Ferdinand should stay there
So remote from my desire.
Yet I do not greatly care,
515 Since to thee I am inclined,
Gonçalo.

_G._ And even so,
Catalina, art thou to my mind,
But come away that I may know
What graces I in thee shall find.

520 _F._ Rodrigo, as I look upon thee
I begin to grow content.

_R._ If to that I have not won thee
By me no further prayers be spent.
For while I have courted thee
525 Daily hast thou flouted me.

_C._ Though from time to time I thus,
Rodrigo, behaved, truly
Very fond was I of thee.
And when most contemptuous
530 Thy wife I refused to be
'Twas not that I had no love
But, that I tested thee, to prove
The heart of thy audacity.

_Hermit._ Now I have a mind to say
535 What I came to look for here.
For my wish it is to stay
In a hermitage that may
Yield me plenty of good cheer.
Ready-made would I find it: ill
540 Could I all these joys fulfil
Worn out by toil and labour fell.
Wide not narrow be my cell
That I may dance therein at will;
Be it in a desert land
545 Yielding wine and wheat alway,
With a fountain near at hand
And contemplation far away.
Much fish and game in brake and pool
Must I have for my own preserve
550 And as for my house it must never swerve
From an even temperature, cool
In summer and in winter warm.
Yes, and a comfortable bed
Would not do me any harm,
555 All of it of cedar-wood,
A harpsichord hung at its head:
So do I find a monk's life good.
I would lie and take my rest
And sleep on far into the day
560 So that I could not my matins say
For noise of the whistling and the singing
Of shepherdesses' songs clear ringing.
On partridge would I sup and dine,
Of stockfish should my luncheon be
565 And of wine the very best.
And the Judge's daughter should make for me
The bed on which I would recline.
And even as my beads I tell
She should forget her flock of sheep
570 And embrace me in my cell
And bite my ears and make me weep:
Yes, even thus it would be well.
My brothers, since you know, I trow
The recesses of each vale and hill
575 Be good enough to tell me now
Where best I may so have my will
And this holy life fulfil.

_G._ Yonder, padre, there's a briar
All in flower, thick and green,
580 And its thorns are long and dire:
Naked laid thereon, I ween
You would soon lose your desire.
Go and make no further stay,
For the life you wish to live
585 The true God will never give
Howsoe'er for it you pray.

_Serra._ Come, my sons, now come away,
Each with his fair bride to-day,
That our Queen and Sovereign we
590 May go visit speedily,
And let none of you gainsay,
For you must go all together,
Since, if report say true, I ween
I as nurse must serve the Queen
595 And therefore do I go thither.
Such milk as mine you will not find
No, not in all Portugal,
So plentiful and such kind
As God has blessèd me withal:
600 Pure butter were not more refined.
And since she will be princess
Of such flocks and all this land,
No other nurse shall be to hand,
For the perfect shepherdess
605 My hill-sides alone command.

_G._ From every village, house and town
Great presents must with us come down.

_S._ The town of Sea of its store
Shall five hundred cheeses send
610 All home-made, and furthermore
Of calves will she send thrice five score
And of her merino sheep
A thousand, and lambs two hundred keep
So fat that on no hills you'll find
615 Any more unto your mind.
And two thousand sacks Gouvea
Of chestnuts that there abound
Of such size, so fine and round
That all men will wonder where
620 Things so excellent are found.
And Manteigas will prepare
A store of milk for years twice seven,
By Covilham much fine cloth be given
That is manufactured there.
625 From the houses in the heather
High upon the mountain-top,
For pillows shall be sent a crop
All of royal eagles' feather
That men there are wont to gather.
630 From the Penados vale below
And the hills where three roads meet
That through rough mountain country go
They will send as present meet
Three hundred ermines white as snow
635 As edging of brocades to show.
Mines of gold too I will bring
And give all I have within
If the Queen and if the King
Order it to be brought in:
640 Plenty is there there to win.

_G._ And with presents none the less
Will we in her honour sing
With great joy and revelling
That God hath willed the Queen to bless
645 For her people's happiness.

_Enter two players from Sardoal, Jorge and Lopo, and the Serra says:_

From Castille, brothers, do you hale
Or from down yonder in the vale?

_J._ Now in the devil's name, amen,
They would have us be Castilian men
650 A lizard I would rather be
By the Holy Gospels verily.

_S._ Well and from what land come you then?

_J._ From Sardoal, and by your leave
We are come hither to defy
655 The Serra our challenge to receive
With us in song and dance to vie.

_R._ 'Tis a proud challenge for your ill,
For shepherds are so many here
And their dancing of such skill
660 That of none need they have fear.

_L._ Many peasants come yonder too
From the hills for sustenance
And we watch them sing and dance
Even as up here they do:
665 Their way of it shall you see at a glance.

_Lopo sings and dances in imitation of the men of the Serra:_

Ah, should I lay my hand on you,
Love, fair my love.
A friend of mine, a friend of old,
Sends unto me apples of gold,
670 How fair is love!
A friend I loved, even my friend,
Apples, apples of gold doth send.
So fair is love!
Apples of gold he sends amain,
675 The best of them was cleft in twain,
So fair is love!
[Apples of gold he sends to me,
The best was cleft for all to see.
How fair is love!]

(_Spoken:_)

680 That I think is, well or ill,
How you dance on fell and hill.
_S._ But now I would have you sing
As in Sardoal they do.
_L._ That is quite another thing,
685 Wait then and I'll show it you:
Now no more my lady wills
That I speak with her alone.
How am I now woe-begone!
On a day my lady said
690 That she would fain speak with me,
Now I for my sins atone
Since she says it may not be.
How am I now woe-begone!
For to me my lady said
695 That she fain would speak with me,
Now I for my sins atone
Since me now she will not see.
How am I now woe-begone!
Now I for my sins atone
700 Since she says it may not be,
Through the world will I begone
Where'er fortune carry me.
How am I now woe-begone!

_The players sing this song, dancing together, and when it is finished Felipa says:_

I pray you go not away so,
705 But wait until the fiddle come,
O wait until you hear the drum,
Then how to move you'll scarcely know
So dead with dancing shall you go.

_C._ And meanwhile by my life I ween
710 'Twere well that we our dance and song
Should order here upon the green
And we will go with it along
To see the King and see the Queen.

_All these shepherds took their places in the dance after their custom, but its song was sung to the accompaniment of the organ and with the following words:_

O strike me not, mother,
715 The truth I'm confessing.
For, mother, a squire
Of our queen all on fire
With love came to woo me:
Of what he said to me
720 The truth I'm confessing.
He came for to woo me
And 'O,' said he to me,
'Were you in my power,
Alone without dower!'
725 The truth I'm confessing.

_And with this dance they went out and the play ended._

¶ LAUS DEO.

NOTES

AUTO DA ALMA

PAGE 1

The _Auto da Alma_, produced probably in 1518, which in some sense forms a Portuguese pendant to the _Recuerde el alma_ of Jorge Manrique (1440?-79), is a Passion play, corresponding to the modern _Stabat_ on the eve of Good Friday, and was suggested, perhaps, by Juan del Enzina's _Representacion a la muy bendita pasion y muerte de nuestro precioso Redentor._ It was not, however, acted in a convent or church, but in the new riverside palace which saw so many splendid _serões_ during King Manuel's reign (1495-1521). King Manuel was now in the full tide of prosperity. His sister, Queen Lianor or Eleanor (1458-1525), Gil Vicente's patroness, who so keenly encouraged Portuguese art and literature, was the widow (and first cousin) of his predecessor, King João II. The theme of the play, the contention of Angel and Devil for the possession of a human soul, was far from new. Its treatment, however, was original and the versification is clear-cut and well sustained throughout, while a deep sincerity and glowing fervour raise the whole play to the loftiest heights. The metre is mostly in verses of seven short (8848484) lines (_abcaabc_) with an occasional slight variation. There is a French version of the play, presumably in verse (see _Durendal_, No. 10: Oct. 1913: _Le Mystère de l'Âme_; tr. J. Vandervelden and Luis de Almeida Braga), but the difficult task of translating it would require, to be successful, the delicate precision of a Théophile Gautier. In his hands it might have become in French a thing of beauty and a joy for ever, as it is in the original Portuguese. As to the text, without emulating the pedantry of the critic who added a fourth season to Shelley's three, and thereby provoked a splendid outburst of wrath from Swinburne, we may assume that in passages where Vicente appears to have gone out of his way to avoid a required rhyme, this is merely a case of corruption repeated in successive editions. Thus in the _Auto Pastoril Portugues_, where _Catalina minha dama_ rhymes with _toucada_ we may perhaps substitute _fada_ for _dama_. (Cf. _Serra da Estrella_, l. 530: _amigo_ for _marido_.) So here verse 114 must read _tristeza_, not _tristura_, to rhyme with _crueza_. In 3 one of the _mantimentos_ should perhaps be _alimentos_: see Lucas Fernández, _Farsas_ (1867), p. 247 (cf. the two _vaydades_ in 14); in 26 _fortunas_ should probably read _farturas_ (cf. _essas farturas_ in the _Dialogo sobre a Ressurreiçam_); in 35 the words _mui fermosos_, or a single longer word, have evidently dropped out; in 54 _tendes_ was perhaps an alteration by some critic who did not realize that the Angel might naturally associate itself with the Church (or with the Soul) and say _temos_; the last line of 100 was perhaps the word _pecadora_ or _e senhora_ (cf. Fr. Luis de León, _Los Nombres de Cristo_, Bk I: _mi única abogada y señora_); in 108 also a line is missing and a rhyme required for _figura_ (_lavrado_ must go with _Deos_, _triste_ with _vereis_, omitting _seu_). On the other hand it is hardly necessary to alter 42 or 45 (although here _esmaltado_ is in the air) or 46 so as to make them exactly fit the metre.

1 _perigos dos immigos_, cf. _Os Trabalhos de Jesus_, 1665 ed. p. 94: _o caminho do Ceo he cercado de inimigos e perigos para o perder. Qualibus in tenebris vitae quantisque periclis Degitur hoc aevi quodcunque est!_

7 Cf. Newman, _The Dream of Gerontius_, l. 292 _et seq._:

O man, strange composite of heaven and earth,
Majesty dwarfed to baseness, fragrant flower, etc.

7-10 These exquisite verses have something of the scent and perfection of wild flowers, and that mystic rapture which is not to be found in Goethe's more worldly _Faust_. We may, if we like, call the _Auto da Alma_ (as also the witch-scene in the _Auto das Fadas)_ a 16th century _Faust_, but really no parallel can be drawn between the two plays. The ethereal beauty of Vicente's lyrical _auto_, carved in delicate ivory, is far less varied and human: it has scarcely a touch of the cynicism and not a touch of the coarseness of Goethe's splendid work cast in bronze. It can be compared at most with such lyrical passages as _Christ ist erstanden_ or _Ach neige, Du Schmerzenreiche, Dein Antlitz gnädig meiner Not_, and as a whole is a mere lily of the valley by the side of a purple hyacinth.

9 _Planta sois e caminheira_. Cf. the white-flowered 'wayfaring tree.'

16-17 This passage resembles those in the Spanish plays _Prevaricación de Adán_ and _La Residencia del Hombre_ quoted in the _Revista de Filología Española_, t. IV (1917), No. 1, p. 15-17.

17 Cf. _The Dream of Gerontius_, l. 280 _et seq._: 'Then was I sent from Heaven to set right, etc.'

18 _porá grosa_, attack, criticize, gloss. (= _glosar_. Cf. the modern 'to grouse.')

35 Cf. Antonio Prestes, _Auto dos Cantarinhos_ (_Obras_, 1871 ed. p. 457): _todo Valença em chapins_. The _chapim_ was rather a high-heeled shoe than a slipper. The reference is to the Spanish city Valencia del Cid. Cf. Fr. Juan de la Cerda ap. R. Altamira, _Historia de España_, III, 728: 'En una mujer ataviada se ve un mundo: mirando los chapines se verá a Valencia'; Alonso Jerónimo de Salas Barbadillo in _El Cortesano Descortés_ (1621) speaks of 'un presente de chapines valencianos'; and in _La Pícara Justina_ (1912 ed. vol. I, p. 70) we have 'un chapin valenciano.'

38 _marcante_. In the _Auto da Feira_ the Devil is similarly a _bufarinheiro_ (pedlar) and _mercante_.

43 _a for da corte_. _For_ = _foro_ (v. Gonçalvez Viana, _A postilas_, vol. I, p. 353).

58 Cf. Plato, _Respublica_, 365: ̃̓αδικητέον κὰι θυτέον ̓απ̀ο τ̑ων αδικημάτων, κ.τ.λ. Vicente in his plays often inculcates the need of something more than a formal religion.

_xiquer_. Cf. _Auto da Barca do Inferno_: _Isto hi xiquer irá_.

59-60 These two verses are in the true spirit of Goethe's Mephistopheles.

62 _esta peçonha_. Would Vicente have written thus (cf. 66 and _Obras_, III, 344, sermon addressed to Queen Lianor; and also Garcia de Resende, _Miscellanea_, 1917 ed. p. 50) of the soul had there been the slightest gossip or suspicion that his patroness, Queen Lianor, had poisoned her husband? (See the most interesting studies in _Critica e Historia_, por Anselmo Braamcamp Freire, vol. I. Lisbon, 1910.)

71 Cf. _The Dream of Gerontius_, l. 210-1:

Nor do I know my attitude,
Nor if I stand or lie or sit or kneel.

73 _day passada_ = _perdoai_, _dai licença_. Cf. Jorge Ferreira de Vasconcellos, _Eufrosina_, II, 5. 1616 ed. f. 79 v.

77 In Basque _pastorales_ one of the main attributes of the devils and the wicked is that they are never quiet on the stage. In the _Auto da Cananea_ (1534), a play in many ways resembling the _Auto da Alma_, the line _Como andas desosegado_ recurs, addressed by Belzebu to Satanas. It is the 'incessant pacing to and fro' of _The Dream of Gerontius_ (l. 446). In its beauty and intensity as a whole and in many details Cardinal Newman's _The Dream of Gerontius_ is strikingly similar to the _Auto da Alma_. But in it the strife is o'er, the battle won, and the sanctified soul, rising refreshed from sleep with a feeling of 'an inexpressive lightness and sense of freedom,' passes serenely, accompanied by its guardian angel, above the 'sullen howl' of the demons in the middle region. Cf. _Calte por amor de Deus, leixai-me, não me persigais_ with 'But hark! upon my sense Comes a fierce hubbub which would make me fear _Could I be frighted_' (l. 395-7).

80 Cf. Amador Arraez, _Dialogos_, No. 1, 1604 ed. f. lv.: _S. Jeronimo diz que é grande o reino, potencia e alçada das lagrimas...atormentam mais aos Demonios que a pena infernal_.

84 The author of the _Vexilla regis_ hymn was Venantius Fortunatus (530-600).

95 Cf. Antonio Feo, _Trattados Quadragesimais_ (1609), II f. 23: _assy na Cruz como no monte Oliueto chorou porque vio vir a quem ouuera de chorar_.

97 Cf. Gomez Manrique, _Fechas para la Semana Santa_ (ap. M. Pelayo, _Antología_, t. III, p. 92).

108 Cf. Juan del Enzina, _Teatro_ (1893), p. 39: _Veis aqui donde vereis Su figura figurada Del original sacada_.

116 _dais o seu a cujo he_, cf. _Triunfo do Inverno_: _Porque se devem de dar As cousas a cujas são_; _C. Res._ I (1910), p. 64: _dar o seu a cujo hee_.

121 Cf. Gomez Manrique, _Fechas_ (_Antolog._ t. III, p. 93):

Y vamos, vamos al huerto
Do veredes sepultado
Vuestro fijo muy prouado
De muy cruda muerte muerto.

EXHORTAÇAO DA GUERRA

PAGE 23

The expedition to capture from the Moors the important town of Azamor in N. W. Africa consisted of over 400 ships (Luis Anriquez in his poem in the _Cancioneiro Geral_ says 450) and a force of 18,000 soldiers, of which 3000 were provided by James, Duke of Braganza, who commanded the expedition. It set sail from Lisbon on the 17th of August, 1513. (Damião de Goes and Osorio say the 17th, Luis Anriquez the 15th, which was evidently the day (the Feast of the Assumption) fixed for departure.) It was entirely successful and the news of the fall of Azamor caused great rejoicings both at Lisbon and Rome. The play was evidently touched up afterwards, for it includes the sending of the elephant to Rome (1514) and the marriages of the princesses. It is barely possible that it was written after the victory, in which case the words _na partida_ would be retrospective and the date given in the 1st edition was not a slip. Parts of the play suit 1514 better than 1513. Tristão da Cunha's special mission (cf. lines 195-6) to the Pope (with Garcia de Resende for secretary) left early in 1514 and entered Rome on March 12. One of the objects of the mission was to obtain a grant of the tithes (ll. 194, 224) for the Crown to use for the war in Africa. (The request was granted but King Manuel subsequently renounced them in return for 150,000 gold coins.) The exhortations of l. 351 _et seq._, l. 514 _et seq._, l. 559 _et seq._ are better suited to a time when more men and money were needed actively to continue the war than when an army of 18,000 was equipped and ready to leave. The Pope in 1514 promised indulgences to all those who should contribute money for the African war and also granted King Manuel a portion of church property in Portugal (cf. ll. 475-84 and 535-48) for the same object (l. 546: _pera Africa conquistar_). The King's aim is now to build a cathedral in Fez (l. 573-4). There is no mention of Azamor. This was the first of the great patriotic outbursts (cf. the _Auto da Fama_ and other plays) in which Vicente appears not as a satirist or religious reformer but as an enthusiastic imperialist, and which still delight and stir his countrymen.

18 Prince Luis (1506-55), one of the most gallant, talented and interesting of Portuguese _infantes_, was no doubt present at the _serão_ and would be delighted by this reference. (The youngest princes, Afonso, born in 1509, and Henrique, born in 1512, are not mentioned. They both became Cardinals and the latter King of Portugal, 1578-80.) The princes are similarly addressed in the _Cortes de Jupiter_ in 1521.

46 Mercury opens the _Auto da Feira_ with a similar string of absurdities (suggested by Enzina's _perogrulladas_), e.g. _Que se o ceo fora quadrado Não fora redondo, Senhor; E se o sol fora azulado D'azul fora seu cor_. (If square the sky were found then it would not be round, and if the sun were blue then blue would be its hue.) _Os disparates de 'Joan de Lenzina'_ (Ferreira, _Ulys._ IV, 7) were well-known in Portugal.

94, 113, 129 No meaning is to be squeezed out of these cabbalistic words.

116 We have an even more detailed description in the _Sumario da Historia de Deos_:

A furna das trevas, ponte de navalhas,
o lago dos prantos, a horta dos dragos,
os tanques da ira, os lagos da neve,
os raios ardentes, sala dos tormentos,
varanda das dores, cozinha dos gritos,
Açougue das pragas, a torre dos pingos,
o valle das forcas.

125 Vicente was more tolerant than most contemporary writers who inveighed against the blindness and malice of the Jews.

132 The necromancer evokes spirits which he is unable to control. He calls them brothers but they answer in effect: 'Du gleich'st dem Geist den du begreif'st, nicht mir.'

151 The _almude_ = 12 gallons.

156 Cabrela e Landeira is a village near Montemôr-o-Novo. Cf. _Sum. da Hist. de Deos_:

_Satanas_: Sabes Rio-frio e toda aquela terra,
aldea Gallega, a Landeira e Ranginha
e de Lavra a Coruche? Tudo é terra minha.

157 Cartaxo, a small town in the district of Santarem.

158 The village of Lumiar is now connected with Lisbon by a tramway.

159 Mealhada, a parish in the district of Aveiro.

162 Cf. _uva terrantes_ (indigenous).

164 Ribatejo = the country along the river Tejo (Tagus). Cf. _Auto da Feira_: _Vai-te ao sino do Cranguejo, Signum Cancer, Ribatejo._

168 Arruda dos Vinhos and Caparica are villages in a vine-growing district on the left bank of the Tagus opposite Lisbon, near Almada.

173 _estrema_ = _marco_ (Sp. _mojon_). Cf. _Auto da Festa_, ed. Conde de Sabugosa (1906), p. 110: _Este he da pedra do estremo_.

174 _diadema_ is usually masculine, but Antonio Vieira has it both ways.

176 Seixal (2500-3000 inh.) in the district of Almada.

177 Almada, formerly Almadãa (Arab = the mine, but as Englishmen settled there in the 12th century it was later given the fanciful derivation All made or All made it), a town of 10,000 inh., opposite Lisbon on the left bank of the Tagus.

179 Tojal (= whin-moor, gorse-common), a small village near Olivaes (= olive groves), in the Lisbon district.

195 The impression produced by the arrival in Rome of King Manuel's elephant, panther and other magnificent gifts was vividly described by several writers. Cf. Damião de Goes, _Chron. de D. Manuel_, Pt 3, cap. 55, 56, 57 (1619 ed. f. 223 v.-227). According to Ulrich von Hutten the elephant 'fuit mirabile animal, habens longum rostrum in magna quantitate; et quando vidit Papam tunc geniculavit ei et dixit cum terribili voce _bar, bar, bar_' (apud Theophilo Braga, _Gil Vicente e as Origens do Theatro Nacional_ (1898), p. 191). Cf. also Manuel Bernardez, _Nova Floresta_, V, 93-4. The head of this celebrated elephant forms the background to a portrait of Tristão da Cunha (head of the embassy to the Pope) reproduced in Senhor Joaquim de Vasconcellos' edition of Francisco de Hollanda's _Da Pintura Antigva_ (Porto, 1918).

229 In 1517 among other exotic presents a rhinoceros was sent to the Pope. It was however shipwrecked and drowned on the way. It had the honour of being drawn by Albrecht Dürer.

238 Vicente seems to have coined this intensive of _bellisima_.

243-4 Cesar = King Manuel. Hecuba=his second wife, Queen Maria, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain.

249 Prince João, born in 1502, afterwards King João III (1521-57).