[XIII.]—Page 370.
AD FERDINANDUM DE ACUÑA.
Dum reges, Fernande, canis, dum Cæsaris altam
Progeniem nostri, claraque facta Ducum,
Dum Hispanâ memoras fractas sub cuspide gentes,
Obstupuere homines, obstupuere Dii;
Extollensque caput sacri de vertice Pindi
Calliope blandis vocibus hæc retulit:
Macte puer, geminâ præcinctus tempora lauro
Qui nova nunc Martis gloria solus eras;
Hæc tibi dat Bacchusque pater, dat Phœbus Apollo,
Nympharumque leves, Castalidumque chori,
Ut, quos divino celebrâsti carmine Reges,
Teque simul curvâ qui canis alma lyrâ,
Sæpe legant, laudent, celebrent post fata nepotes,
Nullaque perpetuos nox fuget atra dies.
This is the only specimen extant of Garcilasso's Latin compositions, which are spoken of by several writers of his day as marked by extreme elegance, and amongst others by Tansillo: nor can I close my volume, written in the hope of placing in the clear light it deserves the merit of this amiable poet, with more propriety and grace, than by adopting the words of one who loved him for his virtues, and admired him for his genius.
Spirto gentil, che con la cetra al collo,
La spada al fianco, ogn'or la penna in mano,
Per sentier gite, che non pùr Hispano,
Ma Latin pie fra noi raro segnollo!
Felice voi, ch'or Marte, ed or Apollo,
Or Mercurio seguendo, fuor del piano,
V'andate a por del volgo si lontano,
Che man d'invidia non vi puo dar crollo,—
Tutte le chiuse vie, sassose, ed erte,
Che vanno al tempio, ove il morir si spregia,
Spianate innanzi a voi sono, ed aperte.
E perchè vadan per la strada egregia
Vostre virtù d'abito altier coverte,
Bellezza, e nobiltà l'adorna, e fregia.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] Tablas, in allusion to those celebrated calculations drawn up under the superintendence of this monarch, and called, after him, the Alphonsine Tables, a work truly extraordinary for the age.
[B] Some learned men question whether these two works do actually belong to the time and author to whom they are ascribed; and the improvement which the versification and language present, forms a very strong presumption in favour of this doubt.
"Again and yet again do I deplore
This injury; dissatisfied Castile
Has lost a treasure, whose rare worth, I feel,
The thoughtless nation never knew before.
She lost thy books, all unappreciated!
In funeral expiation some were thrown
To the devouring flames, and others strewn
About, in ruinous disorder spread.
Surely, in Athens, the false books of fled
Protagoras, esteemed so reprobate,
Were to the fire consigned with greater state,
When to the angry Senate they were read."
[D] Macías was a gentleman of the Grand Master's, Don Enrique de Villena. Among the ladies who attended on this nobleman was one with whose beauty our poet became captivated; and neither the seeing her married to another, the reproofs of the Grand Master, nor, in fact, the prison into which he ordered him to be consigned, could conquer his fatal attachment. The husband, fired with wrath, concerted with the alcaide of the tower in which his rival was imprisoned, and found means to dart at him, through a window, the lance he bore, and with it pierced him to the heart. Macías was at that moment singing one of the songs he had composed upon his mistress, and thus expired with her name and love upon his lips. The two qualities of troubadour and lover united in him, made him an object of celebrity, and almost of reverence, with the poets of the age. Most of them celebrated him, and his name, to which was joined the title of Enamorado, is still proverbial, as a designation for devoted lovers. The reader will not be displeased to see the verses which Mena devoted to him in the Laberinto: they may serve to show the character of that poet's fancy.