History of Spanish and Portuguese Literature (Vol 2 of 2)

by Friedrich Bouterwek

BERNARDES.

Diogo Bernardes was the friend of Andrade Caminha, and like him an admirer and disciple of Ferreira. He was capable of receiving more lively impressions than Caminha, and he passed less tranquilly through life. At first he only endeavoured to distinguish himself as a poet, and he succeeded in gaining a degree of celebrity in his native town Ponte de Lima, whence he is called the poet of Lima. He then wished to become the historian of his native country, but in this undertaking he did not experience the support on which he had calculated. It is probable that he became intimately acquainted with Ferreira at the court of Lisbon. Desirous of entering upon a life of active occupation, he visited the court of Philip II. at Madrid, where he resided for some time in quality of secretary to the Portuguese embassy. Fate at length involved him in the unfortunate expedition of King Sebastian. After fighting valiantly in the battle of Alcacer Seguer in Africa, he was made prisoner by the victorious Moors. During his captivity he composed several elegies and spiritual songs. On recovering his freedom he returned to his native country where he lived until the year 1596. Since his death he has been the object of severe animadversion, owing particularly to the supposition, which has already been noticed, of his having appropriated to himself some poems of Camoens. But were there no reason to doubt the fact of this plagiarism, Bernardes has sufficiently suffered for it in the esteem of posterity, by the unjust depreciation of his poetic talent in the critical writings of some Portuguese authors of the seventeenth century, more particularly in those of Manoel de Faria e Sousa, with whom this tone of criticism originated. In the eighteenth century, however, justice was rendered both to him and to Ferreira.[198] Without striking out a new course in poetry, and indeed without paying any rigid regard to the distinction between poetry and prose, Bernardes evinces a far greater share of poetic feeling than Ferreira; and, as a poet, if not as an elegant versifier, he is far superior to Andrade Caminha. His spiritual poems are among the very best in the class to which they belong. The title which he gave them, namely:—“Miscellaneous poems to the good Jesus, and the glorious Virgin his mother, &c.”[199] is quite in the spirit of the poetry of the catholic religion. But Bernardes was not capable of viewing catholic Christianity on its only true poetic side, that is to say, the bold character of a miraculous working faith. He confined himself to the representation of the inconceivable grace of the Saviour, of the anguish of heart which the sinner should feel in the deep consciousness of his unworthiness, and of similar dogmata, which certainly may be expressed in poetic phrases, but which unavoidably fetter the imagination, and convert even hymns into litanies.[200] It is only through a pious childishness of feeling, to which catholic Christianity gives birth, that some portion of poetic life has been imparted to the spiritual songs, sonnets, and estancias of Bernardes. That feeling led him to introduce into his sonnets to the holy virgin, a mixture of romantic love; for example, when the poet complains to the virgin that he loves something beside herself;[201] or, when he admires her beauty in a picture, and reflects how beautiful she herself must be. The spiritual songs in the popular style, which are included among the works of Bernardes, are written in Spanish. The temporal songs, elegies, and sonnets of this poet, have the same soft and infantine character, and are therefore not inappropriately presented to the public as an appendix to his pictures of spiritual feeling.[202] A few elegies which he composed during his captivity among the Moors,[203] and some endechas in the old national style,[204] belong to this class. Bernardes has also left behind him eclogues, epistles, and numerous sonnets. His epistles shew the veneration he entertained for the critical judgment of Ferreira, whose cold style, however, certainly could not please him.[205] Many of his sonnets are expressive of the homage with which he submitted his poetry to the judgment of Ferreira, as he did his faith to the doctrines of the church. The elegy in which he laments the death of Ferreira may, therefore, be numbered among his sincerest effusions of the heart.[206]