<poem> To whom, as bursting sorrow gave the flow, The native heart-sprung eloquence of woe, The lovely captive thus:—O monarch, hear, If e'er to thee the name of man was dear, If prowling tigers, or the wolf's wild brood, Inspired by nature with the lust of blood, Have yet been moved the weeping babe to spare, Nor left, but tended with a nurse's care, As Rome's great founders to the world were given; Shalt thou, who wear'st the sacred stamp of heaven, The human form divine, shalt thou deny That aid, that pity, which e'en beasts supply! Oh, that thy heart were, as thy looks declare, Of human mould, superfluous were my prayer; Thou could'st not then a helpless damsel slay,
Whose sole offence in fond affection lay,[1]
- ↑ Whose sole offence in fond affection lay.—It has been observed by some critics, that Milton on every occasion is fond of expressing his admiration of music, particularly of the song of the nightingale, and the full woodland choir. If in the same manner we are to judge of the favourite taste of Homer, we shall find it of a less delicate kind. He is continually describing the feast, the huge chine, the savoury viands on the glowing coals, and the foaming bowl. The ruling passion of Camoëns is also strongly marked in his writings. One may venture to affirm, that there is no poem of equal length, which abounds with so many impassioned encomiums on the fair sex, and the power of their beauty, as the Lusiad. The genius of Camoëns seems never so pleased as when he is painting the variety of female charms; he feels all the magic of their allurements, and riots in his descriptions of the happiness and miseries attendant on the passion of love. As he wrote from his feelings, these parts of his works have been particularly honoured with the attention of the world. Tasso and Spenser have copied from his Island of Bliss, and three tragedies have been formed from this episode of the unhappy Inez. One in English, named Elvira; the other two are by M. de la Motte, a Frenchman, and Luis Velez de Guevara, a Spaniard. How these different writers have handled the same subject is not unworthy of the attention of the critic. The tragedy of M. de la Motte, from which Elvira is copied, is highly characteristic of the French drama. In the Lusiad, the beautiful victim expresses the strong emotions of genuine nature. She feels for what her lover will feel for her; the mother rises in her breast, she implores pity for her children; she feels the horrors of death, and would be glad to wander an exile with her babes, where her only solace would be the remembrance of her faithful passion. This, however, it appears, would not suit the taste of a Paris audience. On the French stage, the stern Roman heroes must be polite petit-maitres, and the tender Inez, a blustering amazon. Lee's Alexander cannot talk in a higher rant. She not only wishes to die herself, but desires that her children and her husband Don Pedro, may also be put to death.
Hé bien, seigneur, suivez vos barbares maximes,
On vous amene encor de nouvelles victimes,
Immolez sans remords, et pour nous punir mieux,
Ces gages d'un Hymen si coupable à vos yieux.
Ils ignorent le sang, dont le ciel les a fit naitre,
Par l'arrêt de leur mort faites les reconnaitre,
Consommez votre ouvrage, et que les mêmes coups
Rejoignent les enfans, et la femme, et l'epoux.The Spaniard, however, has followed nature and Camöens, and in point of poetical merit, his play is infinitely superior to that of the Frenchman. Don Pedro talks in the absence of his mistress with the beautiful simplicity of an Arcadian lover, and Inez implores the tyrant with the genuine tenderness of female affection and delicacy. The reader, who is acquainted with the Spanish tongue, will thank me for the following extracts:
Ines. A mis hijos me quitais?
Rey Don Alonso, senor,
Porque me quereis quitar
La vida de tantas vezes?
Advertid, senor mirad,
Que el coraçon a pedaços
Dividido me arancais.
Rey. Llevaldos, Alvar Gonçalez.
Ines. Hijos mios, donde vais?
Donde vais sin vuestra madre?
Falta en los hombres piedad?
Adonde vais luzes mais?
Como, que assi me dexais
En el mayor desconsuelo
En manos de la crueldad.
Nino Alson. Consuelate madre mia,
Y a Dios te puedas quedar,
Que vamos con nuestro abuelo,
Y no querrá hazernas mal.
Ines. Possible es, senor, Rey mio,
Padre, que ansi me cerreis
La puerta para el perdon?
* * * *
Aora, senor, aora,
Aora es tiempo de monstrar
El mucho poder que tiene
Vuestra real Magestad.
* * * *
Como, senor? vos os vais
Y a Alvar Gonçalez, y a Coello
Inhumanos me entregais?
Hijos, hijos de mi vida,
Dexad me los abraçar;
Alonso, mi vida hijo,
Dionis, a mores, tornad,
Tornad a ver vuestra madre:
Pedro mio, donde estas
Que ansi te olvidas de mi?
Possible es que en tanto mal
Me falta tu vista, esposo?
Quien te pudiera avisar
Del peligro en que afligida
Dona Ines tu esposa esta.The drama, from which these extracts are taken, is entitled, Reynar despues de morir. And as they are cited for the tenderness of the original expression, a translation of them is not attempted.
