Three helmsmen of the sacred barque; the pen,
That so these heavenly wardens doth enhance,—
No pen, but rather key of Fame's proud dome,
Opening her everlasting doors to men,—
Is no poor drudge recording things of chance,
Which paints her shadowy forms on trembling foam."
Still, when all allowance is made, it must be confessed that Góngora excels in hiding his meanings. By many his worst faults were extolled as beauties, and there was formed a school of disciples who agreed with Le Sage's Fabrice in holding the master for "le plus beau génie que l'Espagne ait jamais produit." But Góngora was not to conquer without a struggle. One illustrious writer was an early convert: Cervantes proclaimed himself an admirer of the Polifemo, which is among the most difficult of Góngora's works. Pedro de Valencia, one of Spain's best humanists, was the first to denounce Góngora's transpositions, licentious metaphors, and verbal inventions as manifested in the Soledades (Solitary Musings), round which the controversy raged hottest. Within twenty-five years of Góngora's death the first Soledad found an English translator in the person of Thomas Stanley (1651), who renders in this fashion:—
"'Twas now the blooming season of the year,
And in disguise Europa's ravisher
(His brow arm'd with a crescent, with such beams