Os Lusiadas (The Lusiads), vol. 2 of 2

Chapter 17: Another Argument.

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About This Book

A long poetic narrative celebrates a seafaring nation’s maritime explorations, tracing perilous voyages to distant shores and rich port cities while blending mythological episodes and divine interventions with vivid geographical and cultural description. The cantos alternate stirring exhortations to Christian rulers, reflections on rivalries and moral duty in Europe, and detailed scenes of arrival, negotiation, and local custom along Indian coasts. Throughout, the verse examines glory, providence, and the human costs and rewards of discovery, moving between lyrical praise, political commentary, and epic storytelling in a sustained meditation on empire and navigation.

Another Argument.

Ás mesas de vivificos manjares,
Com as Nymphas os Lusos valerosos,
Ouvem de seus vindouros singulares
Façanhas, em accentos numerosos:
Mostra-lhes Tethys tudo quanto os mares,
E quanto os ceos rodeam luminosos,
A pegueno volume reduzido,
E torna a frota ao Tejo tão querido.

At tables spread with life-restoring food,	(1–74)
’Companied by their Nymphs, the Lusians bold
Hear of their Future singular and good,
And daring deeds in number’d verses told:
Tethys displays them all that Ocean-flood	(75–143)
Girdeth, and circleth Heaven’s luminous fold,	(75–143)
Dwarfed to a scanty volume; when the Fleet	(144–end)
Homewards her well-loved Tagus flies to greet.	(144–end)