His temples now let holy Ebro bind
With ivy evergreen and olive white,
And with acanthus golden, may he find
In joyous song his fame forever bright:
The fruitful Nile hath his renown resigned,
For Ebro's ancient worth to such a height
PEDRO DE LIÑÁN'S[142] subtle pen doth lift,
Sum of the bliss which is Apollo's gift.
I think upon the lofty soul and rare
By DON ALONSO DE VALDÉS[143] possessed,
And am spurred on to sing and to declare
That he excels the rarest and the best;
This hath he shown already, and more clear
By the elegance and grace wherewith his breast
He doth reveal, with bitter pangs distraught,
Praising the ill that cruel Love hath wrought.
Before an intellect in wonder bow,
Wherein all that the wish can ask is found.
An intellect, that though it liveth now
On earth, is with the pomp of Heaven crowned;
All that I see and hear and read and know
Of PEDRO DE PADILLA[144] the renowned,
Whether he treat of peace or war's alarm,
Brings fresh delight and wonder by its charm.
GASPAR ALFONSO,[145] thou who wingst thy flight
Unto the immortal realms, so orderest
That I can scarce thy praises all recite,
If I must praise thee as thou meritest;
The pleasing, fruitful plants that on the height
Of our renowned Parnassus find their nest,
All offer wealthy laurels for a crown
To circle and adorn thy brows alone.
Of CRISTOVAL DE MESA[146] I can say
That to your vale he will an honour be;
While he is living, nay, when life away
Hath fled, still ye can praise him fittingly;
His lofty weighty style can win to-day
Renown and honour, and the melody
Of his heroic verse, though silent fame
Remain, and I remember not his name.
DON PEDRO DE RIBERA[147] doth, ye know,
Wealth to your banks, and beauty, shepherds, bring,
Wherefore give him the honour that ye owe,
For I will be the first his praise to sing:
His virtue, his sweet muse doth clearly show
A noble subject, where, on noisy wing,
Fame, hundred thousand fames, their powers might spend
And strive his praises only to extend.
Thou, who didst bring the treasure manifold
Of verse in a new form the shores unto
Of the fair fruitful stream, whose bed of gold
Maketh it famous wheresoe'er it flow,
Thy glorious fame I promise to uphold
With the applause and reverence that we owe
To thee, CALDERA,[148] and thy peerless mind;
With laurel, ivy, I thy brows shall bind.
Let fame, and let the memory I possess,
For ever famous make the memory
Of him who hath transformed to loveliness
The glory of our Christian poesy;
The knowledge and the charm let all confess,
From the dayspring to where the day doth die,
Of great FRANCISCO DE GUZMÁN,[149] whose are
The arts of Phoebus as the arts of war.
Of the Captain SALCEDO[150] 'tis quite clear
That his celestial genius doth attain
Unto the point most lofty, keen and rare,
That can be fancied by the thought of man;
If I compare him, him I do compare
Unto himself—Comparisons, 'tis plain,
Are useless, and to measure worth so true,
All measures must be faulty, or askew.
By reason of the wit and curious grace
Of TOMÁS DE GRACIÁN,[151] I pray, permit
That I should choose within this vale a place
Which shall his virtue, knowledge, worth, befit;
And if it run with his deserts apace,
'Twill be so lofty and so exquisite
That few, methinks, may hope with him to vie,
His genius and his virtues soar so high.