[Page 69].—l. 17. Cf. the translation of this stanza in Ticknor, I, 445.
l. 30. quexaros, i.e., quejaros.
[GARCILASO DE LA VEGA]. This soldier-poet, a native of Toledo, took part in the battle of Pavia, distinguished himself in several succeeding campaigns, and was killed in an assault when but thirty-three years of age. A friend of Boscán, he represents the same Italianizing tendencies in Spanish literature. His verses, along with those of Boscán, were first published by the latter’s widow in 1543. The bulk of his poetry is small—some early villancicos, a few eclogues and elegies, an epistle, several canciones, and between thirty and forty sonnets—but it suffices to show him to be a greater poet than Boscán. But very little of his work is in the old Castilian manner; the Italians are his masters in the important part of his production, although the eclogues show also a Vergilian influence. Cf. Biblioteca de autores españoles, vols. 32 and 42, and see Baist in Gröber’s Grundriss, II, 2, p. 449; Ticknor, I, 446 ff.
[Page 71].—l. 34. de consuno, at the same time.
[Page 72].—l. 12. Tomando: if fe is the object of tomando, then it is by a poetical license that presupuesto is left invariable. If fe is the subject of tomando, the participle agrees with the idea in lo que no entiendo.
l. 17. nascí, i.e., nací.
[FERNANDO DE ACUÑA]. A member of the court of Charles V. In imitation of Garcilaso de la Vega, he adopted the Italian measures, and was particularly successful with the sonnet. Cf. his Varias poesías, Madrid, 1803-04, and see Ticknor I, 458 ff.
[GUTIERRE DE CETINA]. Another follower of Garcilaso. Like the latter he was a soldier, and distinguished himself in Italy. About 1550 he appears to have wandered as far as Mexico. Cetina cultivated the sonnet with great skill. His madrigals are famous. Cf. the ed. of his Obras, Seville, 1895; and see Salvi López, Un Petrarchista spagnuolo (1896); Ticknor I, 461 (with a verse translation of the first madrigal).
[DIEGO HURTADO DE MENDOZA]. Soldier, diplomat, historian, humanist, poet; one of the most illustrious figures in the history of Spain. His long sojourn in Italy acquainted him with the Italian verse methods, which he adopted, although he constantly recurred to the regular Spanish forms, such as the quintillas and the redondillas. His fame rests secure, despite the unfounded attribution to him of the picaresque novel Lazarillo de Tormes. There is an edition of his verse by Knapp (1877); cf. also Biblioteca de autores españoles, vol. 32, and see J. D. Fesenmair, Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, ein span. Humanist des 16. Jhs., Munich, 1882.
[Page 74].—l. 24. de medroso, through fear.