Sin orla de poéticos cabellos
Que hacen versos dulces, sonorosos
A los ejercitados en leerlos;
Pues como canto casos dolorosos,
Cuales los padecieron muchos dellos,
Parecióme decir la verdad pura
Sin usar de ficcion ni compostura.
The ease and variety of the lines indicate the natural poet, however, and even when form departs the sentences retain a certain elegance. The first part was published as Primera Parte de las Elegías, etc., Madrid, 1589, 4o, used by De Bry in his eighth part on America, and given in the fourth volume of Biblioteca de Autores Españoles, 1850. The second and third parts, provided with maps and plans, and dedicated, like the first, to King Philip, remained in manuscript in the library of the Marqués del Carpio—Pinelo, Epitome, ii. 590—till issued by Ariban, together with the first part, in 1857, as a special volume of the above Biblioteca. A fourth part, perhaps the best and most important, as it must have recorded the latest and freshest recollections of Castellanos, was used by Bishop Piedrahita for his history, and has since disappeared. He found the original with Consejero Prado, and refers to "las otras tres partes impressas." Hist. Conq. Granada, preface.
The three published parts are divided into elegies, eulogies, and histories, according to the theme, though Castellanos evidently stretches a point to obtain so many subjects under the first heading, inscribing them, as a rule, 'to the death' of some noted captain. The subdivision forms octave stanzas of the Italian form, undecasyllabic triple measure, in feminine rhyme, of triple alternating lines, with a finishing couplet. Toward the end a continuous and chiefly blank verse is used. The facility for versification in Spanish can hardly find a better illustration than these sustained triplets of double rhyme, which reflect no small credit on Castellanos' patience and power of expression. The usual faults of writers of his age are, of course, to be found; incredulity, pedantry, and contradiction, chiefly due to the readiness with which he accepted statements from chroniclers and from participants in the events related. His own versions may, Muñoz' slurs notwithstanding, be regarded as faithful recitals, so far, at least, as memory and military ardor permitted, while everywhere are to be found clear, vivid descriptions of battles, scenes, and people.
An ambition with the monks and missionaries who assisted to develop the conquest was to become chroniclers of general history, of expeditions, or of provinces, and as brethren of the hood abounded narratives were numerous enough to form the most perfect record of events that could be desired; but the deplorable fact remains that so few have been preserved, in print or manuscript. New Granada, which includes the southern part of the Isthmus, was long without a public chronicle. The conqueror Quesada had prepared one, and Medrano had left a history just begun, which Aguado completed in two volumes, but neither saw the light, and Castellanos' poetical record was published only in part. They existed in manuscript, however, and with them for guide, Pedro Simon was encouraged to undertake the task anew. Born at La Parilla in 1574 he had early joined the Franciscan order, and came to New Granada 30 years later as teacher and missionary, rising in 1623 to the office of provincial. The same year he began the history for which he had during several years been gathering material and experience. Three stout folio volumes were speedily completed, each divided into seven historiales; but of these only the Primera Parte de las Noticias historiales de las Conquistas de tierra firme, Cuenca, 1627, relating to Venezuela, came to be published; the other two, on Santa Marta, and on the region adjoining Darien, remaining in manuscript at Bogotá, whence Muñoz obtained a copy for the Madrid Academy. The published volume opens with a dissertation on geographic knowledge among the ancients, and on the origin of the Indians, and proceeds with the discovery and naming of America. The Isthmus receives at first considerable attention, as one of the earliest explored portions, but soon the narrative concentrates upon the conquest and settlement of Venezuela, devoting a considerable space to the custom and condition of the natives, but entering very little upon religious affairs. The work is decidedly the most important history of the province for the sixteenth century, and the failure to publish that of the other provinces is highly to be regretted. The simple, verbose style is that common to the convent chroniclers of the period, and the only serious fault is in giving too ready credence to statements.