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Author: Various

Title: Modern Spanish Lyrics

Editor: Elijah Clarence Hills And S. Griswold Morley

Release Date: June 14, 2005 [EBook #16059]

Language: English

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MODERN SPANISH

LYRICS

EDITED WITH INTRODUCTION, NOTES AND VOCABULARY

BY

ELIJAH CLARENCE HILLS, PH. D., LITT.D. Professor of Romance Languages in Colorado College

AND

S. GRISWOLD MORLEY, PH. D. University of Colorado

NEW YORK HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY

1913

Page iii

PREFACE

The present volume aims to furnish American students of Spanish with a convenient selection of the Castilian lyrics best adapted to class reading. It was the intention of the editors to include no poem which did not possess distinct literary value. On the other hand, some of the most famous Spanish lyrics do not seem apt to awaken the interest of the average student: it is for this reason that scholars will miss the names of certain eminent poets of the siglo de oro. The nineteenth century, hardly inferior in merit and nearer to present-day readers in thought and language, is much more fully represented. No apology is needed for the inclusion of poems by Spanish-American writers, for they will bear comparison both in style and thought with the best work from the mother Peninsula.

The Spanish poems are presented chronologically, according to the dates of their authors. The Spanish-American poems are arranged according to countries and chronologically within those divisions. Omissions are indicated by rows of dots and are due in all cases to the necessity of bringing the material within the limits of a small volume. Three poems (the Fiesta de toros of Morat�n, the Castellano leal of Rivas and the Leyenda of Zorrilla) are more narrative than lyric. The romances selected are Page iv the most lyrical of their kind. A few songs have been added to illustrate the relation of poetry to music.

The editors have been constantly in consultation in all parts of the work, but the preparation of the Prosody, the Notes (including articles on Spanish-American literature) and the part of the Introduction dealing with the nineteenth century, was undertaken by Mr. Hills, while Mr. Morley had in charge the Introduction prior to 1800, and the Vocabulary. Aid has been received from many sources. Special thanks are due to Professor J.D.M. Ford and Dr. A.F. Whittem of Harvard University, Don Ricardo Palma of Peru, Don Rub�n Dar�o of Nicaragua, Don Rufino Blanco-Fombona of Venezuela, Professor Carlos Bransby of the University of California, and Dr. Alfred Coester of Brooklyn, N.Y.

E.C.H.

S.G.M.

Page v

CONTENTS

PREFACE INTRODUCTION: I. Spanish Lyric Poetry to 1800 II. Spanish Lyric Poetry of the Nineteenth Century III. Spanish Versification

ESPA�A

ROMANCES: Aben�mar Fonte-frida El conde Arnaldos La constancia El amante desdichado El prisionero VINCENTE (GIL) (1470-1540?) Canci�n TERESA DE JES�S (SANTA) (1515-1582) Letrilla (que llevaba por registro en su breviario) LE�N (FRAY LUIS DE) (1527-1591) Vida retirada AN�NIMO � Cristo crucificado VEGA (LOPE DE) (1562-1635) Canci�n de la Virgen Ma�ana QUEVEDO (FRANCISCO DE) (1580-1645) Ep�stola sat�rica al conde de Olivares Letrilla sat�rica VILLEGAS (ESTEBAN MANUEL DE) (1589-1669) Cantilena: De un pajarillo CALDER�N DE LA BARCA (PEDRO) (1600-1681) "Estas que fueron pompa y alegr�a," Consejo de Crespo � su hijo GONZ�LEZ (FRAY DIEGO) (1733-1794) El murci�lago alevoso page vi MORAT�N (NICOL�S F. DE) (1737-1780) Fiesta de toros en Madrid JOVELLANOS (GASPAR M. DE) (1744-1811) � Arnesto MEL�NDEZ VALD�S (JUAN) (1754-1817) Rosana en los fuegos QUINTANA (MANUEL JOS�) (1772-1857) Oda � Espa�a, despu�s de la revoluci�n de marzo SOL�S (DIONISIO) (1774-1834) La pregunta de la ni�a GALLEGO (JUAN NICASIO) (1777-1853) El Dos de Mayo MART�NEZ DE LA ROSA (FRANCISCO) (1787-1862) El nido RIVAS (DUQUE DE) (1791-1865) Un castellano leal AROLAS (PADRE JUAN) (1805-1849) "S� m�s feliz que yo" ESPRONCEDA (JOS� DE) (1808-1842) Canci�n del pirata � la patria ZORRILLA (JOS�) (1817-1893) Oriental Indecisi�n La fuente � buen juez, mejor testigo TRUEBA (ANTONIO DE) (1821-1889) Cantos de p�jaro La perejilera SELGAS (JOS�) (1821-1882) La modestia ALARC�N (PEDRO ANTONIO DE) (1833-1891) El Mont-Blanc El secreto B�CQUER (GUSTAVO A.) (1836-1870) Rimas: II VII LIII LXXIII page vii QUEROL (VINCENTE WENCESLAO) (1836-1889) En Noche-Buena CAMPOAMOR (RAM�N DE) (1817-1901) Proximidad del bien �Qui�n supiera escribir! El mayor castigo N��EZ DE ARCE (GASPAR) (1834-1903) �Excelsior! Tristezas �Sursum Corda! PALACIO (MANUEL DEL) (1832-1895) Amor oculto BARTRINA (JOAQU�N MAR�A) (1850-1880) Arabescos REINA (MANUEL) (1860-) La poes�a

ARGENTINA

ECHEVERR�A (O. ESTEBAN) (1805-1851) Canci�n de Elvira ANDRADE (OLEGARIO VICTOR) (1838-1882) Atl�ntida Prometeo OBLIGADO (RAFAEL) (1852-) En la ribera

COLOMBIA

ORTIZ (JOS� JOAQU�N) (1814-1892) Colombia y Espa�a CARO (JOS� EUSEBIO) (1817-1853) El cipr�s MARROQU�N (JOS� MANUEL) (1827-) Los cazadores y la perrilla CARO (MIGUEL ANTONIO) (1843-1909) Vuelta � la patria page viii ARRIETA (DI�GENES A.) (1848-) En la tumba de mi hijo GUTI�RREZ PONCE (IGNACIO) (1850-) Dolora GARAVITO A. (JOS� MAR�A) (1860-) Volver� ma�ana

CUBA

HEREDIA (JOS� MAR�A) (1803-1839) En el teocalli de Cholula El Ni�gara "PL�CIDO" (GABRIEL DE LA CONCEPCI�N VALD�S) (1809-1844) Plegaria � Dios AVELLANEDA (GERTRUDIS G�MEZ DE) (1814-1873) � W�shington Al partir

ECUADOR

OLMEDO (JOS� JOAQU�N) (1780-1847) La victoria de Jun�n

M�XICO

PESADO (JOS� JOAQU�N DE) (1801-1861) Serenata CALDER�N (FERNANDO) (1809-1845) La rosa marchita ACU�A (MANUEL) (1849-1873) Nocturno: � Rosario PEZA (JUAN DE DIOS) (1852-1910) Re�r llorando Fusiles y mu�ecas

NICARAGUA

DAR�O (RUB�N) (1864-) � Roosevelt page ix VENEZUELA

BELLO (ANDR�S) (1781-1865) � la victoria de Bail�n La agricultura de la zona t�rrida P�REZ BONALDE (JUAN ANTONIO) (1846-1892) Vuelta � la patria MART�N DE LA GUARDIA (HERACLIO) (1830-) Ultima ilusi�n

CANCIONES

La carcelera Riverana La cachucha La valenciana Canci�n devota La jota gallega El tr�gala Himno de Riego Himno nacional de M�xico Himno nacional de Cuba

NOTES

VOCABULARY[a]

[Transcriber's note a: The vocabulary section has not been submitted for transcription.}

INTRODUCTION page xi

I

SPANISH LYRIC POETRY TO 1800

It has been observed that epic poetry, which is collective and objective in its nature, always reaches its full development in a nation sooner than lyric poetry, which is individual and subjective. Such is certainly the case in Spain. Numerous popular epics of much merit existed there in the Middle Ages.[1] Of a popular lyric there are few traces in the same period; and the Castilian lyric as an art-form reached its height in the sixteenth, and again in the nineteenth, centuries. It is necessary always to bear in mind the distinction between the mysterious product called popular poetry, which is continually being created but seldom finds its way into the annals of literature, and artistic poetry. The chronicler of the Spanish lyric is concerned with the latter almost exclusively, though he will have occasion to mention the former not infrequently as the basis of some of the best artificial creations.

[Footnote 1: The popular epics were written in assonating lines of variable length. There were also numerous monkish narrative poems (mester de clere�ia) in stanzas of four Alexandrine lines each, all riming (cuaderna v�a).]

If one were to enumerate ab origine the lyric productions of the Iberian Peninsula he might begin with the vague references of Strabo to the songs of its primitive inhabitants, and then pass on to Latin page xii poets of Spanish birth, such as Seneca, Lucan and Martial. The later Spaniards who wrote Christian poetry in Latin, as Juvencus and Prudentius, might then be considered. But in order not to embrace many diverse subjects foreign to the contents of this collection, we must confine our inquiry to lyric production in the language of Castile, which became the dominating tongue of the Kingdom of Spain.

Such a restriction excludes, of course, the Arabic lyric, a highly artificial poetry produced abundantly by the Moors during their occupation of the south of Spain; it excludes also the philosophical and religious poetry of the Spanish Jews, by no means despicable in thought or form. Catalan poetry, once written in the Proven�al manner and of late happily revived, also lies outside our field.

Even the Galician poetry, which flourished so freely under the external stimulus of the Proven�al troubadours, can be included only with regard to its influence upon Castilian. The Galician dialect, spoken in the northwest corner of the Peninsula, developed earlier than the Castilian of the central region, and it was adopted by poets in other parts for lyric verse. Alfonso X of Castile (reigned 1252-1284) could write prose in Castilian, but he must needs employ Galician for his Cantigas de Santa Mar�a. The Portuguese nobles, with King Diniz (reigned 1279-1325) at their head, filled the idle hours of their bloody and passionate lives by composing strangely abstract, conventional poems of love and religion in the manner of the Proven�al canso, dansa, balada and pastorela, which had had such a luxuriant growth in Southern France in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. A highly elaborated metrical system mainly distinguishes these writers, but some of page xiii their work catches a pleasing lilt which is supposed to represent the imitation of songs of the people. The popular element in the Galician productions is slight, but it was to bear important fruit later, for its spirit is that of the serranas of Ruiz and Santillana, and of villancicos and eclogues in the sixteenth century.

It was probably in the neighborhood of 1350 that lyrics began to be written in Castilian by the cultured classes of Leon and Castile, who had previously thought Galician the only proper tongue for that use, but the influence of the Galician school persisted long after. The first real lyric in Castilian is its offspring. This is the anonymous Raz�n feyta d'amor or Aventura amorosa (probably thirteenth century), a dainty story of the meeting of two lovers. It is apparently an isolated example, ahead of its time, unless, as is the case with the Castilian epic, more poems are lost than extant. The often quoted C�ntica de la Virgen of Gonzalo de Berceo (first half of thirteenth century), with its popular refrain Eya velar, is an oasis in the long religious epics of the amiable monk of S. Mill�n de la Cogolla. One must pass into the succeeding century to find the next examples of the true lyric. Juan RUIZ, the mischievous Archpriest of Hita (flourished ca. 1350), possessed a genius sufficiently keen and human to infuse a personal vigor into stale forms. In his Libro de buen amor he incorporated lyrics both sacred and profane, Loores de Santa Mar�a and C�nticas de serrana, plainly in the Galician manner and of complex metrical structure. The serranas are particularly free and unconventional. The Chancellor Pero L�PEZ DE AYALA (1332-1407), wise statesman, brilliant historian and trenchant page xiv satirist, wrote religious songs in the same style and still more intricate in versification. They are included in the didactic poem usually called El rimado de palacio.

Poetry flourished in and about the courts of the monarchs of the Trastamara family; and what may be supposed a representative collection of the work done in the reigns of Henry II (1369-1379), John I (1379-1388), Henry III (1388-1406) and the minority of John II (1406-1454), is preserved for us in the Cancionero which Juan Alfonso de Baena compiled and presented to the last-named king. Two schools of versifiers are to be distinguished in it. The older men, such as Villasandino, S�nchez de Talavera, Mac�as, Jerena, Juan Rodr�guez del Padr�n and Baena himself, continued the artificial Galician tradition, now run to seed. In others appears the imitation of Italian models which was to supplant the ancient fashion. Francisco Imperial, a worshiper of Dante, and other Andalusians such as Ruy P�ez de Ribera, Pero Gonz�lez de Uceda and Ferr�n Manuel de Lando, strove to introduce Italian meters and ideas. They first employed the Italian hendecasyllable, although it did not become acclimated till the days of Bosc�n. They likewise cultivated the metro de arte mayor, which later became so prominent (see below, p. lxxv ff.). But the interest of the poets of the Cancionero de Baena is mainly historical. In spite of many an illuminating side-light on manners, of political invective and an occasional glint of imagination, the amorous platitudes and wire-drawn love-contests of the Galician school, the stiff allegories of the Italianates leave us cold. It was a transition period and the most talented were unable to master the undeveloped poetic language. page xv

The same may be said, in general, of the whole fifteenth century. Although the language became greatly clarified toward 1500 it was not yet ready for masterly original work in verse. Invaded by a flood of Latinisms, springing from a novel and undigested humanism, encumbered still with archaic words and set phrases left over from the Galicians, it required purification at the hands of the real poets and scholars of the sixteenth century. The poetry of the fifteenth is inferior to the best prose of the same epoch; it is not old enough to be quaint and not modern enough to meet a present-day reader upon equal terms.

These remarks apply only to artistic poetry. Popular poetry,--that which was exemplified in the Middle Ages by the great epics of the Cid, the Infantes de Lara and other heroes, and in songs whose existence can rather be inferred than proved,--was never better. It produced the lyrico-epic romances (see Notes, p. 253), which, as far as one may judge from their diction and from contemporary testimony, received their final form at about this time, though in many cases of older origin. It produced charming little songs which some of the later court poets admired sufficiently to gloss. But the cultured writers, just admitted to the splendid cultivated garden of Latin literature, despised these simple wayside flowers and did not care to preserve them for posterity.

The artistic poetry of the fifteenth century falls naturally into three classes, corresponding to three currents of influence; and all three frequently appear in the work of one man, not blended, but distinct. One is the conventional love-poem of the Galician school, seldom containing a fresh or personal note. Another is the stilted allegory with erotic or historical page xvi content, for whose many sins Dante was chiefly responsible, though Petrarch, he of the Triunfi, and Boccaccio cannot escape some blame. Third is a vein of highly moral reflections upon the vanity of life and certainty of death, sometimes running to political satire. Its roots may be found in the Book of Job, in Seneca and, nearer at hand, in the Proverbios morales of the Jew Sem Tob (ca. 1350), in the Rimado de Palacio of Ayala, and in a few poets of the Cancionero de Baena.

John II was a dilettante who left the government of the kingdom to his favorite, �lvaro de Luna. He gained more fame in the world of letters than many better kings by fostering the study of literature and gathering about him a circle of "court poets" nearly all of noble birth. Only two names among them all imperatively require mention. I�igo L�PEZ DE MENDOZA, MARQUIS OF SANTILLANA (1398-1458) was the finest type of grand seigneur, protector of letters, student, warrior, poet and politician. He wrote verse in all three of the manners just named, but he will certainly be longest remembered for his serranillas, the fine flower of the Proven�al-Galician tradition, in which the poet describes his meeting with a country lass. Santillana combined the freshest local setting with perfection of form and left nothing more to be desired in that genre. He also wrote the first sonnets in Castilian, but they are interesting only as an experiment, and had no followers. Juan de MENA (1411-1456) was purely a literary man, without other distinction of birth or accomplishment. His work is mainly after the Italian model. The Laberinto de fortuna, by which he is best known, is a dull allegory with much of Dante's apparatus. There are historical passages where the poet's patriotism leads him page xvii to a certain rhetorical height, but his good intentions are weighed down by three millstones: slavish imitation, the monotonous arte mayor stanza and the deadly earnestness of his temperament. He enjoyed great renown and authority for many decades.

Two anonymous poems of about the same time deserve mention. The Danza de la muerte, the Castilian representative of a type which appeared all over Europe, shows death summoning mortals from all stations of life with ghastly glee. The Coplas de Mingo Revulgo, promulgated during the reign of Henry IV (1454-1474), are a political satire in dialogue form, and exhibit for the first time the peculiar peasant dialect that later became a convention of the pastoral eclogues and also of the country scenes in the great drama.

The second half of the century continues the same tendencies with a notable development in the fluidity of the language and an increasing interest in popular poetry. G�mez Manrique (d. 1491?) was another warrior of a literary turn whose best verses are of a severely moral nature. His nephew JORGE MANRIQUE (1440-1478) wrote a single poem of the highest merit; his scanty other works are forgotten. The Coplas por la muerte de su padre, beautifully translated by Longfellow, contain some laments for the writer's personal loss, but more general reflections upon the instability of worldly glory. It is not to be thought that this famous poem is in any way original in idea; the theme had already been exploited to satiety, but Manrique gave it a superlative perfection of form and a contemporary application which left no room for improvement.

There were numerous more or less successful love-poets of the conventional type writing in page xviii octosyllabics and the inevitable imitators of Dante with their unreadable allegories in arte mayor. The repository for the short poems of these writers is the Cancionero general of Hernando de Castillo (1511). It was reprinted many times throughout the sixteenth century. Among the writers represented in it one should distinguish, however, Rodrigo de Cota. His dramatic Di�logo entre el amor y un viejo has real charm, and has saved his name from the oblivion to which most of his fellows have justly been consigned. The bishop Ambrosio Montesino (Cancionero, 1508) was a fervent religious poet and the precursor of the mystics of fifty years later.

The political condition of Spain improved immensely in the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella (1479-1516) and the country entered upon a period of internal homogeneity and tranquility which might be expected to foster artistic production. Such was the case; but literature was not the first of the arts to reach a highly refined state. The first half of the sixteenth century is a period of humanistic study, and the poetical works coming from it were still tentative. JUAN DEL ENCINA (1469-1533?) is important in the history of the drama, for his �glogas, representaciones and autos are practically the first Spanish dramas not anonymous. As a lyric poet Encina excels in the light pastoral; he was a musician as well as a poet, and his bucolic villancicos and glosas in stanzas of six-and eight-syllable lines are daintily written and express genuine love of nature. The Portuguese GIL VICENTE (1470-1540?) was a follower of Encina at first, but a much bigger man. Like most of his compatriots of the sixteenth century he wrote in both Portuguese and Castilian, though better in the former tongue. He was close to the people in his thinking and writing page xix and some of the songs contained in his plays reproduce the truest popular savor.

The intimate connection between Spain and Italy during the period when the armies of the Emperor Charles V (Charles I of Spain: reigned 1516-1555) were overrunning the latter country gave a new stimulus to the imitation of Italian meters and poets which we have seen existed in a premature state since the reign of John II. The man who first achieved real success in the hendecasyllable, combined in sonnets, octaves, terza rima and blank verse, was Juan BOSC�N ALMOGAVER (1490?-1542), a Catalan of wealth and culture. Bosc�n was handicapped by writing in a tongue not native to him and by the constant holding of foreign models before his eyes, and he was not a man of genius; yet his verse kept to a loftier ideal than had appeared for a long time and his effort to lift Castilian poetry from the slough of convention into which it had fallen was successful. During the rest of the century the impulse given by Bosc�n divided Spanish lyrists into two opposing hosts, the Italianates and those who clung to the native meters (stanzas of short, chiefly octosyllabic, lines, for the arte mayor had sunk by its own weight).

The first and greatest of Bosc�n's disciples was his close friend GARCILASO DE LA VEGA (1503-1536) who far surpassed his master. He was a scion of a most noble family, a favorite of the emperor, and his adventurous career, passed mostly in Italy, ended in a soldier's death. His poems, however (�glogas, canciones, sonnets, etc.), take us from real life into the sentimental world of the Arcadian pastoral. Shepherds discourse of their unrequited loves and mourn amid surroundings of an idealized Nature. page xx The pure diction, the Vergilian flavor, the classic finish of these poems made them favorites in Spain from the first, and their author has always been regarded as a master.

With Garcilaso begins the golden age of Spanish poetry and of Spanish literature in general, which may be said to close in 1681 with the death of Calder�n. It was a period of external greatness, of conquest both in Europe and beyond the Atlantic, but it contained the germs of future decay. The strength of the nation was exhausted in futile warfare, and virile thought was stifled by the Inquisition, supported by the monarchs. Hence the luxuriant literature of the time runs in the channels farthest from underlying social problems; philosophy and political satire are absent, and the romantic drama, novel and lyric flourish. But in all external qualities the poetry written during this period has never been equaled in Spain. Its polish, color and choiceness of language have been the admiration and model of later Castilian poets.

The superficial nature of this literature is exhibited in the controversy excited by the efforts of Bosc�n and Garcilaso to substitute Italian forms for the older Spanish ones. The discussion dealt with externals; with meters, not ideas. Both schools delighted in the airy nothings of the conventional love lyric, and it matters little at this distance whether they were cast in lines of eleven or eight syllables.

The contest was warm at the time, however. S� de Miranda (1495-1558), the chief exponent of the Italian school in Portugal, wrote effectively also in Castilian. Gutierre de Cetina (1518?-1572?) and Fernando de Acu�a (1500?-1580?) are two others who supported the new measures. One whose example had more influence is Diego Hurtado de page xxi Mendoza (1503-1575), a famous diplomat, humanist and historian. He entertained his idle moments with verse, writing cleverly in the old style but turning also toward the new. His sanction for the latter seems to have proved decisive.

Crist�bal de CASTILLEJO (1490-1556) was the chief defender of the native Spanish forms. He employed them himself in light verse with cleverness, clearness and finish, and also attacked the innovators with all the resources of a caustic wit. In this patriotic task he was for a time aided by an organist of the cathedral at Granada, Gregorio Silvestre (1520-1569), of Portuguese birth. Silvestre, however, who is noted for the delicacy of his poems in whatever style, was later attracted by the popularity of the Italian meters and adopted them.

This literary squabble ended in the most natural way, namely, in the co-existence of both manners in peace and harmony. Italian forms were definitively naturalized in Spain, where they have maintained their place ever since. Subsequent poets wrote in either style or both as they felt moved, and no one reproached them. Such was the habit of Lope de Vega, G�ngora, Quevedo and the other great writers of the seventeenth century.

A Sevillan Italianate was Fernando de HERRERA (1534?-1597), admirer and annotator of Garcilaso. Although an ecclesiastic, his poetic genius was more virile than that of his soldier master. He wrote Petrarchian sonnets to his platonic lady; but his martial, patriotic spirit appears in his canciones, especially in those on the battle of Lepanto and on the expedition of D. Sebastian of Portugal in Africa. In these stirring odes Herrera touches a sonorous, grandiloquent chord which rouses the page xxii reader's enthusiasm and places the writer in the first rank of Spanish lyrists. He is noteworthy also in that he made an attempt to create a poetic language by the rejection of vulgar words and the coinage of new ones. Others, notably Juan de Mena, had attempted it before, and G�ngora afterward carried it to much greater lengths; but the idea never succeeded in Castilian to an extent nearly so great as it did in France, for example; and to-day the best poetical diction does not differ greatly from good conversational language.

Beside Herrera stands a totally different spirit, the Salamancan monk Luis DE LE�N (1527-1591). The deep religious feeling which is one strong trait of Spanish character has its representatives in Castilian literature from Berceo down, but Le�n was the first to give it fine artistic expression. The mystic sensation of oneness with the divine, of aspiration to heavenly joys, breathes in all his writings. He was also a devoted student of the classics, and his poems (for which he cared nothing and which were not published till 1631) show Latin rather than Italian influence. There is nothing in literature more pure, more serene, more direct or more polished than La vida del campo, Noche serena and others of his compositions.

The other great mystics cared less for literature, either as a study or an accomplishment. The poems of Saint Theresa (1515-1582) are few and mostly mediocre. San Juan de la Cruz, the Ecstatic Doctor (1542-1591), wrote the most exalted spiritual poems in the language; like all the mystics, he was strongly attracted by the Song of Songs which was paraphrased by Pedro Mal�n de Chaide (1530-1596?). It is curious to note that the stanza adopted in the great mystical lyrics is one page xxiii invented by Garcilaso and used in his amatory fifth Canci�n. It has the rime-scheme of the Spanish quintilla, but the lines are the Italian eleven-and seven-syllable (cf. pp. 9-12). Religious poems in more popular forms are found in the Romancero espiritual (1612) of Jos� de Valdivielso, and in Lope de Vega's Rimas sacras (1614) and Romancero espiritual (1622).

There were numerous secular disciples of Garcilaso at about the same period. The names most deserving mention are those of Francisco de la Torre (d. 1594?), Luis Barahona de Soto (1535?-1595) and Francisco de Figueroa (1536?-1620), all of whom wrote creditably and sometimes with distinction in the Italian forms. Luis de Camoens (1524?-1580), author of the great Portuguese epic Os Lusiadas, employed Castilian in many verses with happy result.

These figures lead to the threshold of the seventeenth century which opened with a tremendous literary output in many lines. Cervantes was writing his various novels; the romance of roguery took on new life with Guzm�n de Alfarache (1599); the drama, which had been developing rather slowly and spasmodically, burst suddenly into full flower with Lope de Vega and his innumerable followers. The old meter of the romance was adopted as a favorite form by all sorts and conditions of poets and was turned from its primitive epic simplicity to the utmost variety of subjects, descriptive, lyric and satiric.

From out this flood of production--for every dramatist was in a measure a lyric poet, and dramatists were legion--we can select for consideration only the men most prominent as lyrists. First in the impulse which he gave to literature for more than a century following stands Luis de ARGOTE Y G�NGORA (1561-1627), a Cordovan page xxiv who chose to be known by his mother's name. His life was mainly that of a disappointed place-hunter. His abrupt change of literary manner has made some say that there were in him two poets, G�ngora the Good and G�ngora the Bad. He began by writing odes in the manner of Herrera and romances and villancicos which are among the clearest and best. They did not bring their author fame, however, and he seems deliberately to have adopted the involved metaphoric style to which Marini gave his name in Italy. G�ngora is merely the Spanish representative of the movement, which also produced Euphuism in England and pr�ciosit� in France. But he surpassed all previous writers in the extreme to which he carried the method, and his Soledades and Polifemo are simply unintelligible for the inversions and strained metaphors with which they are overloaded.

His influence was enormous. Gongorism, or culteranismo, as it was called at the time, swept the minor poets with it, and even those who fought the movement most vigorously, like Lope and Quevedo, were not wholly free from the contagion. The second generation of dramatists was strongly affected. Yet there are few lyric poets worth mentioning among G�ngora's disciples for the reason that such a pernicious system meant certain ruin to those who lacked the master's talent. The most important names are the Count of Villamediana (1580-1622), a satirist whose sharp tongue caused his assassination, and Paravicino y Arteaga (1580-1633), a court preacher.

Obviously, such an innovation could not pass without opposition from clear-sighted men. LOPE DE VEGA (1562-1635) attacked it whenever opportunity offered, and his verse seldom shows signs of corruption. It page xxv is impossible to consider the master-dramatist at length here. He wrote over 300 sonnets, many excellent eclogues, epistles, and, in more popular styles, glosses, letrillas, villancicos, romances, etc. Lope more than any other poet of his time kept his ear close to the people, and his light poems are full of the delicious breath of the country.

The other principal opponent of Gongorism was Francisco G�MEZ DE QUEVEDO Y VILLEGAS (1580-1645), whose wit and independence made him formidable. In 1631 he published the poems of Luis de Le�n and Francisco de la Torre as a protest against the baleful mannerism in vogue. But he himself adopted a hardly less disagreeable style, called conceptism, which is supposed to have been invented by Alonso de Ledesma (1552-1623). It consists in a strained search for unusual thoughts which entails forced paradoxes, antitheses and epigrams. This system, combined with local allusions, double meanings and current slang, in which Quevedo delighted, makes his poems often extremely difficult of comprehension. His romances de jaques, written in thieves' jargon, are famous in Spain. Quevedo wrote too much and carelessly and tried to cover too many fields, but at his best his caustic wit and fearless vigor place him high.

There were not lacking poets who kept themselves free from taint of culteranismo, though they did not join in the fight against it. The brothers Argensola (LUPERCIO LEONARDO DE ARGENSOLA, 1559-1613, BARTOLOM� LEONARDO DE ARGENSOLA, 1562-1631), of Aragonese birth, turned to Horace and other classics as well as to Italy for their inspiration. Their pure and dignified sonnets, odes and translations rank high. Juan MART�NEZ DE J�UREGUI page xxvi (1583-1641) wrote a few original poems, but is known mainly for his excellent translation of Tasso's Aminta. He too succumbed to Gongorism at times. The few poems of Francisco de RIOJA (1586?-1659) are famous for the purity of their style and their tender melancholy tone. A little apart is Esteban Manuel de VILLEGAS (1589-1669), an admirer of the Argensolas, "en versos cortos divino, insufrible en los mayores," who is known for his attempts in Latin meters and his successful imitations of Anacreon and Catullus.

His name closes the most brilliant era of Spanish letters. The decline of literature followed close upon that of the political power of Spain. The splendid empire of Charles V had sunk, from causes inherent in the policies of that over-ambitious monarch, through the somber bigotry of Philip II, the ineptitude of Philip III, the frivolity of Philip IV, to the imbecility of Charles II; and the death of the last of the Hapsburg rulers in 1700 left Spain in a deplorably enfeebled condition physically and intellectually. The War of the Succession (1701-1714) exhausted her internal strength still more, and the final acknowledgment of Philip V (reigned 1701-1746) brought hardly any blessing but that of peace. Under these circumstances poetry could not thrive; and in truth the eighteenth century in Spain is an age devoted more to the discussion of the principles of literature than to the production of it. At first the decadent remnants of page xxvii the siglo de oro still survived, but later the French taste, following the principles formulated by Boileau, prevailed almost entirely. The history of Spanish poetry in the eighteenth century is a history of the struggle between these two forces and ends in the triumph of the latter.

The lyrics of CALDER�N (1600-1681) are to be found mostly in his comedias and autos. There are passages which display great gifts in the realm of pure poetry, but too often they are marred by the impertinent metaphors characteristic of culteranismo.

The effects of Gongorism lasted long in Spain, which, with its innate propensity to bombast, was more fertile soil for it than other nations. Innumerable poetasters of the early eighteenth century enjoyed fame in their day and some possessed talent; but the obscure and trivial style of the age from which they could not free themselves deprived them of any chance of enduring fame. One may mention, as the least unworthy, Gabriel �lvarez de Toledo (1662-1714) and Eugenio Gerardo Lobo (1679-1750).

Some one has said that the poetry of Spain, with the exception of the romances and the drama of the siglo de oro, has always drawn its inspiration from some other country. Add to the exceptions the medieval epic and the statement would be close to the truth. First Provence through the medium of Galicia; then Italy and with it ancient Rome; and lastly France and England, on more than one occasion, have molded Spanish poetry. The power of the French classical literature, soon dominant in Europe, could not long be stayed by the Pyrenees; and Pope, Thomson and Young were also much admired. Philip V, a Frenchman, did not endeavor to crush the native spirit in his new home, but his influence could not but be felt. He established a Spanish Academy on the model of the French in 1714.

It was some time before the reaction, based on common sense and confined to the intellectuals, could take deep root, and, as was natural, it went too far and condemned much of the siglo de oro entire. The Diario page xxviii de los literatos, a journal of criticism founded in 1737, and the Po�tica of Ignacio de Luz�n, published in the same year, struck the first powerful blows. Luz�n (1702-1754) followed in general the precepts of Boileau, though he was able to praise some of the good points in the Spanish tradition. His own poems are frigid. The S�tira contra los malos escritores de su tiempo (1742) of Jorge Pitillas (pseudonym of Jos� Gerardo de Herv�s, d. 1742) was an imitation of Boileau which had great effect. Blas Antonio Nasarre (1689-1751), Agust�n Montiano (1697-1765) and Luis Jos� Vel�zquez (1722-1772) were critics who, unable to compose meritorious plays or verse themselves, cut to pieces the great figures of the preceding age.

Needless to say, the Gallicizers were vigorously opposed, but so poor were the original productions of the defenders of the national manner that their side was necessarily the losing one. Vicente Garc�a de la Huerta (1734-1787) was its most vehement partisan, but he is remembered only for a tragedy, Raquel.

Thus it is seen that during a century of social and industrial depression Spain did not produce a poet worthy of the name. The condition of the nation was sensibly bettered under Charles III (reigned 1759-1788) who did what was possible to reorganize the state and curb the stifling domination of the Roman Church and its agents the Jesuits and the Inquisition. The Benedictine Feij�o (1675-1764) labored faithfully to inoculate Spain, far behind the rest of Europe, with an inkling of recent scientific discoveries. And the budding prosperity, however deceitful it proved, was reflected in a more promising literary generation. page xxix

Nicol�s FERN�NDEZ DE MORAT�N (1737-1780) followed the French rules in theory and wrote a few mediocre plays in accordance with them; but he showed that at heart he was a good poet and a good Spaniard by his ode � Pedro Romero, torero insigne, some romances and his famous quintillas, the Fiesta de toros en Madrid. Other followers of the French, in a genre not, strictly speaking, lyric at all, were the two fabulists, Samaniego and Iriarte. F. Mar�a de SAMANIEGO (1745-1801) gave to the traditional stock of apologues, as developed by Phaedrus, Lokm�n and La Fontaine, a permanent and popular Castilian form. Tom�s de IRIARTE (1750-1791), a more irritable personage who spent much time in literary polemics, wrote original fables (F�bulas literarias, 1781) directed not against the foibles of mankind in general, but against the world of writers and scholars.

The best work which was done under the classical French influence, however, is to be found in the writers of the so-called Salamancan school, which was properly not a school at all. The poets who are thus classed together, Cadalso, Diego Gonz�lez, Jovellanos, Forner, Mel�ndez Vald�s, Cienfuegos, Iglesias, were personal friends thrown together in the university or town of Salamanca, but they were not subjected to a uniform literary training and possessed no similarity of style or aim as did the men of the later Sevillan school.

Jos� de CADALSO (1741-1782), a dashing soldier of great personal charm killed at the siege of Gibraltar, is sometimes credited with founding the school of Salamanca. He was a friend of most of the important writers of his time and composed interesting prose satires; his verse (Noches l�gubres, etc.) is not remarkable. FRAY DIEGO GONZ�LEZ (1733-1794) is one of the masters of page xxx idiomatic Castilian in the century. He admired Luis de Le�n and imitated him in paraphrases of the Psalms. The volume of his verse is small but unsurpassed in surety of taste and evenness of finish. The Murci�lago alevoso has passed into many editions and become a favorite in Spain. The pure and commanding figure of JOVELLANOS (1744-1811) dominated the whole group which listened to his advice with respect. It was not always sure, for he led Diego Gonz�lez and Mel�ndez Vald�s astray by persuading them to attempt philosophical poetry instead of the lighter sort for which they were fitted. He was in fact a greater man than poet, but his satires and Ep�stola al duque de Veragua are strong and dignified.

Juan MEL�NDEZ VALD�S (1754-1817) was on the contrary a greater poet than man. Brilliant from the first, he was petted by Cadalso and Jovellanos who strove to develop his talent. In 1780 he won a prize offered by the Academy for an eclogue. In 1784 his comedy Las bodas de Camacho, on a subject suggested by Jovellanos (from an episode in Don Quijote, II, 19-21), won a prize offered by the city of Madrid, but failed on the stage. His first volume of poems was published in 1785; later editions appeared in 1797 and 1820. He attached himself to the French party at the time of the invasion in 1808, incurred great popular odium and died in France. He is the most fluent, imaginative poet of the eighteenth century and is especially successful in the pastoral and anacreontic styles. Fresh descriptions of nature, enchanting pictures of love, form an oasis in an age of studied reasonableness. His language has been criticized for its Gallicisms. Jos� IGLESIAS DE LA CASA (1748-1791), a native of Salamanca and a priest, wrote much light satirical verse, epigrams, parodies page xxxi and letrillas in racy Castilian; he was less successful in the graver forms. Nicasio �LVAREZ DE CIENFUEGOS (1764-1809) passes as a disciple of Mel�ndez; he was a passionate, uneven writer whose undisciplined thought and habit of coining words lead to obscurity. Politically he opposed the French with unyielding vigor, barely escaped execution at their hands and died in exile. The verse of Cienfuegos prepared the way for Quintana. Differing from him in clarity and polish are Fr. S�nchez Barbero (1764-1819) and Leandro F. de Morat�n, the dramatist (1760-1828).

One curious result of rationalistic doctrines was the "prosaism" into which it led many minor versifiers. These poetasters, afraid of overstepping the limits of good sense, tabooed all imagination and described in deliberately prosy lines the most commonplace events. The movement reached its height at the beginning of the reign of Charles IV (1788-1808) and produced such efforts as a poem to the gout, a nature-poem depicting barn-yard sounds, and even Iriarte's La m�sica (1780), in which one may read in carefully constructed silvas the definition of diatonic and chromatic scales.

II

SPANISH LYRIC POETRY OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

Early in the nineteenth century the armies of Napoleon invaded Spain. There ensued a fierce struggle for the mastery of the Peninsula, in which the latent strength and energy of the Spaniards became once more evident. The page xxxii French devastated parts of the country, but they brought with them many new ideas which, together with the sharpness of the conflict, served to awaken the Spanish people from their torpor and to give them a new realization of national consciousness. During this period of stress and strife two poets, Quintana and Gallego, urged on and encouraged their fellow countrymen with patriotic songs.

Manuel Jos� QUINTANA (1772-1857) had pre�minently the "gift of martial music," and great was the influence of his odes Al armamento de las provincias contra los franceses and � Espa�a despu�s de la revoluci�n de marzo. He also strengthened the patriotism of his people by his prose Vidas de espa�oles c�lebres (begun in 1806): the Cid, the Great Captain (Gonzalo de C�rdoba), Pizarro and others of their kind. In part a follower of the French philosophers of the eighteenth century, Quintana sang also of humanity and progress, as in his ode on the invention of printing. In politics Quintana was a liberal; in religious beliefs, a materialist. Campoamor has said of Quintana that he sang not of faith or pleasures, but of duties. His enemies have accused him of stirring the colonies to revolt by his bitter sarcasm directed at past and contemporaneous Spanish rulers, but this is doubtless an exaggeration. It may be said that except in his best patriotic poems his verses lack lyric merit and his ideas are wanting in insight and depth; but his sincerity of purpose was in the main beyond question and he occasionally gave expression to striking boldness of thought and exaltation of feeling. In technique Quintana was a follower of the Salamancan school.

The cleric Juan Nicasio GALLEGO (1777-1853) rivaled Quintana as a writer of patriotic verses. A liberal in politics like Quintana, Gallego also took the page xxxiii side of his people against the French invaders and against the servile Spanish rulers. He is best known by the ode El dos de mayo, in which he exults over the rising of the Spanish against the French on the second of May, 1808; the ode � la defensa de Buenos Aires against the English; and the elegy � la muerte de la duquesa de Fr�as in which he shows that he is capable of deep feeling. Gallego was a close friend of Quintana, whose salon in Madrid he frequented. Gallego wrote little, but his works are more correct in language and style than those of Quintana. It is interesting that although the writings of these two poets evince a profound dislike and distrust of the French, yet both were in their art largely dominated by the influence of French neo-classicism. This is but another illustration of the relative conservatism of belles-lettres.

In the year 1793 there had been formed in Seville by a group of young writers an Academia de Letras Humanas to foster the cultivation of letters. The members of this academy were admirers of Herrera, the Spanish Petrarchist and patriotic poet of the sixteenth century, and they strove for a continuation of the tradition of the earlier Sevillan group. The more important writers of the later Sevillan school were Arjona, Blanco, Lista and Reinoso. Manuel Mar�a de ARJONA (1771-1820), a priest well read in the Greek and Latin classics, was an imitator of Horace. Jos� Mar�a BLANCO (1775-1841), known in the history of English literature as Blanco White, spent much time in England and wrote in English as well as in Castilian. Ordained a Catholic priest he later became an Unitarian. The best-known and most influential writer of the group was Alberto LISTA (1775-1848), an educator and page xxxiv later canon of Seville. Lista was a skilful artist and like Arjona an admirer and imitator of Horace; but his ideas lacked depth. His best-known poem is probably a religious one, � la muerte de Jes�s, which abounds in true poetic feeling. Lista exerted great influence as a teacher and his Lecciones de literatura espa�ola did much to stimulate the study of Spanish letters. F�lix Jos� REINOSO (1772-1814), also a priest, imitated Milton in octava rima. As a whole the influence of the Sevillan school was healthful. By insisting upon purity of diction and regularity in versification, the members of the school helped somewhat to restrain the license and improve the bad taste prevailing in the Spanish literature of the time. The Catalonian Manuel de CABANYES (1808-1833) remained unaffected by the warring literary schools and followed with passionate enthusiasm the precepts of the ancients and particularly of Horace.

In the third decade of the nineteenth century romanticism, with its revolt against the restrictions of classicism, with its free play of imagination and emotion, and with lyricism as its predominant note, flowed freely into Spain from England and France. Spain had remained pre�minently the home of romanticism when France and England had turned to classicism, and only in the second half of the eighteenth century had Spanish writers given to classicism a reception that was at the best lukewarm. Now romanticism was welcomed back with open arms, and Spanish writers turned eagerly for inspiration not only to Chateaubriand, Victor Hugo and Byron, but also to Lope de Vega and Calder�n. Spain has always worshiped the past, for Spain was once great, and the appeal of romanticism was page xxxv therefore the greater as it drew its material largely from national sources.

In 1830 a club known as the Parnasillo was formed in Madrid to spread the new literary theories, much as the C�nacle had done in Paris. The members of the Parnasillo met in a wretched little caf� to avoid public attention. Here were to be found Bret�n de los Herreros, Est�banez Calder�n, Mesonero Romanos, Gil y Z�rate, Ventura de la Vega, Espronceda and Larra. The influence of Spanish epic and dramatic poetry had been important in stimulating the growth of romanticism in England, Germany and France. In England, Robert Southey translated into English the poem and the chronicle of the Cid and Sir Walter Scott published his Vision of Don Roderick; in Germany, Herder's translation of some of the Cid romances and the Schlegel brothers' metrical version of Calder�n's dramas had called attention to the merit of the earlier Spanish literature; and in France, Abel Hugo translated into French the Romancero and his brother Victor made Spanish subjects popular with Hernani and Ruy Blas and the L�gendes des si�cles. But Spain, under the despotism of Ferdinand VII, the "Tyrant of Literature," remained apparently indifferent or even hostile to its own wonderful creations, and clung outwardly to French neo-classicism.[2] B�hl von Faber,[3] the German consul at Cadiz, who was influenced by the Schlegel brothers, had early called attention to the merit of the Spanish literature of the Golden Age and had even had some of Calder�n's plays performed at Cadiz. And in page xxxvi 1832 Dur�n published his epoch-making Romancero. In 1833 Ferdinand VII died and the romantic movement was hastened by the home-coming of a number of men who had fled the despotism of the monarch and had spent some time in England and France, where they had come into contact with the romanticists of those countries. Prominent amongst these were Mart�nez de la Rosa, Antonio Alcal� Galiano, the Duke of Rivas and Espronceda.

[Footnote 2: Cf. l'�pop�e castillane, Ram�n Men�ndez Pidal, Paris, 1910, pp. 249-252.]

[Footnote 3: The father of Fern�n Caballero.]

In this period of transition one of the first prominent men of letters to show the effects of romanticism was Francisco MART�NEZ DE LA ROSA (1787-1862). Among his earlier writings are a Po�tica and several odes in honor of the heroes of the War of Independence against the French. After his exile in Paris he returned home imbued with romanticism, and his two plays, Conjuraci�n de Venecia (1834) and Ab�n Humeya (1836: it had already been given in French at Paris in 1830), mark the first public triumph of romanticism in Spain. But Mart�nez de la Rosa lacked force and originality and his works merely paved the way for the greater triumph of the Duke of Rivas. �ngel de Saavedra, DUQUE DE RIVAS (1791-1865), a liberal noble, insured the definite triumph of romanticism in Spain by the successful performance of his drama Don �lvaro (1835). At first a follower of Morat�n and Quintana, he turned, after several years of exile in England, the Isle of Malta and France, to the new romantic school, and casting off all classical restraints soon became the acknowledged leader of the Spanish romanticists. Among his better works are the lyric Al faro de Malta, the legendary narrative poem El moro exp�sito and his Romances hist�ricos. The Romances are more sober in tone and less fantastic,--and it should be added, less popular to-day,--than the legends of page xxxvii Zorrilla. After a tempestuous life the Duke of Rivas settled quietly into the place of director of the Spanish Academy, which post he held till his death.

Jos� de ESPRONCEDA (1808-1842) was pre�minently a disciple of Byron, with Byron's mingling of pessimism and aspiration, and like him in revolt against the established order of things in politics and social organization. His passionate outpourings, his brilliant imagery and the music of his verse give to Espronceda a first place amongst the Spanish lyrical poets of the nineteenth century. Some of his shorter lyrics (e.g. Canto � Teresa) are inspired by his one-time passion for Teresa with whom after her marriage to another he eloped from London to Paris. The poet's best known longer works are the Diablo mundo and the Estudiante de Salamanca, which are largely made up of detached lyrics in which the subjective note is strikingly prominent. Espronceda was one of those fortunate few who shine in the world of letters although they work little. Both in lyric mastery and in his spirit of revolt, Espronceda holds the place in Spanish literature that is held in English by Byron. He is the chief Spanish exponent of a great revolutionary movement that swept over the world of letters in the first half of the nineteenth century.

Jos� ZORRILLA (1817-1893) first won fame by the reading of an elegy at the burial of Larra. Zorrilla was a most prolific and spontaneous writer of verses, much of which is unfinished in form and deficient in philosophical insight. But in spite of his carelessness and shallowness he rivaled Espronceda in popularity. His verses are not seldom melodramatic or childish, but they are rich in coloring and poetic fancy and they form a page xxxviii vast enchanted world in which the Spaniards still delight to wander. His versions of old Spanish legends are doubtless his most enduring work and their appeal to Spanish patriotism is not less potent to-day than when they were written. Zorrilla's dramatic works were successful on the stage by reason of their primitive vigor, especially Don Juan Tenorio, El Zapatero y el rey and Traidor, inconfeso y m�rtir. This "fantastic and legendary poet" went to Mexico in 1854 and he remained there several years. After that date he wrote little and the little lacked merit.

Gertrudis G�mez de AVELLANEDA (1814-1873) was born in Cuba but spent most of her life in Spain. Avellaneda was a graceful writer of lyrics in which there was feeling and melody but little depth of thought. With her the moving impulse was love, both human and divine. Her first volume of poems (1841) probably contains her best work. Her novels Sab and Espatolino were popular in their day but are now fallen into oblivion. Some of her plays, especially Baltasar and Munio, do not lack merit. Avellaneda is recognized as the foremost poet amongst the women of nineteenth-century Spain.

Two of the most successful dramatists of this period, Garc�a Guti�rrez and Hartzenbusch, were also lyric poets. Antonio GARC�A GUTI�RREZ (1813-1884), the author of El trovador, published two volumes of mediocre verses. Juan Eugenio HARTZENBUSCH (1806-1880) was, like Fern�n Caballero, the child of a German father and a Spanish mother. Though an eminent scholar and critic, he did not hesitate in his Amantes de Teruel to play to the popular passion for sentimentality. He produced some lyric verse of worth. Manuel BRET�N DE LOS HERREROS (1796-1873) was primarily a humorist and satirist, who turned from page xxxix lyric verse to drama as his best medium of expression. He delighted in holding up to ridicule the excesses of romanticism. Mention should be made here of two poets who had been, like Espronceda, pupils of Alberto Lista. The eclectic poet MARQU�S DE MOLINS (Mariano Roca de Togores: 1812-1889) wrote passively in all the literary genres of his time. VENTURA DE LA VEGA (1807-1865) was born in Argentina, but came to Spain at an early age. He was a well-balanced, cautious writer of mediocre verses that are rather neo-classic than romantic.

A marked reaction against the grandiose exaggerations of later romanticism appears in the works of Jos� SELGAS y Carrasco (1824-1882), a clever writer of simple, sentimental verses. At one time his poetry was highly praised and widely read, but for the most part it is to-day censured as severely as it was once praised. Among the contemporaries of Selgas were the writer of simple verses and one-time popular tales, Antonio de TRUEBA (1821-1889) and Eduardo BUSTILLO, the author of Las cuatro estaciones and El ciego de Buenavista. Somewhat of the tradition of the Sevillan school persisted in the verses of Manuel CA�ETE and Narciso CAMPILLO (1838-1900) and in those of the poet and literary critic Jos� AMADOR DE LOS R�OS.

The Sevillan Gustavo Adolfo B�CQUER (1836-1870) wrote perhaps the most highly polished Spanish verse of the nineteenth century. His Rimas are charged with true poetic fancy and the sweetest melody, but the many inversions of word-order that were used to attain to perfection of metrical form detract not a little from their charm. His writings are contained in three small volumes in which are found, together with the Rimas, a collection of prose legends. His prose work is page xl filled with morbid mysticism or fairy-like mystery. His dreamy prose is often compared to that of Hoffmann and his verses to those of Heine, although it is doubtful if he was largely influenced by either of these German writers. B�cquer sings primarily of idealized human love. His material life was wretched and it would seem that his spirit took flight into an enchanted land of its own creation. Most human beings love to forget at times their sordid surroundings and wander in dreamland; hence the enduring popularity of B�cquer's works and especially of the Rimas. B�cquer has been widely imitated throughout the Spanish-speaking world, but with little success. In this connection it should be noted that the Spanish poets who have most influenced the Spanish literature of the nineteenth century, both in the Peninsula and in America, are the Tyrtaean poet Quintana, the two leading romanticists Espronceda and Zorrilla and the mystic B�cquer.

Like most writers in Latin lands, Juan VALERA y Alcal� Galiano (1824-1905) and Marcelino MEN�NDEZ Y PELAYO (1856-1912) began their literary career with a volume or two of lyric verses. Valera's verses have perfect metrical form and evince high scholarship, but they are too learned to be popular. The lyrics of Men�ndez y Pelayo have also more merit in form than in inspiration and are lacking in human interest. Both authors turned soon to more congenial work: Valera became the most versatile and polished of all nineteenth century Spanish writers of essays and novels; and Men�ndez y Pelayo became Spain's greatest scholar in literary history. The popular novelist, Pedro Antonio de ALARC�N (1833-1891), wrote lyrics in which there is a curious blending of humor and skepticism. page xli The foremost Spanish poet of the closing years of the nineteenth century was Ram�n de CAMPOAMOR y Campoosorio (1817-1901) who is recognized as the initiator in Spain of a new type of verse in his Doloras and Peque�os poemas. The doloras are, for the most part, metrical fables or epigrams, dramatic or anecdotal in form, in which the author unites lightness of touch with depth of feeling. The peque�o poema is merely an enlarged dolora. Campoamor disliked Byron and he disliked still more the sonorous emptiness that is characteristic of too much Spanish poetry.[4] In philosophy he revered Thomas � Kempis; in form he aimed at conciseness and directness rather than at artistic perfection. His poetry lacks enthusiasm and coloring, but it has dramatic interest.

[Footnote 4: Men�ndez y Pelayo (Ant. Poetas Hisp.-Am., I, p. lv) says: "Al fin espa�oles somos, y � tal profusi�n de luz y � tal estr�pito de palabras sonoras no hay entre nosotros quien resista."]

The poets Manuel del PALACIO (1832-1895) and Federico BALART (1831-1905), though quite unlike in genius, won the esteem of their contemporaries. Palacio wrote excellent sonnets and epigrams. In his Leyendas y poemas he proved his mastery of Spanish diction; he had, moreover, the saving grace of humor which was so noticeably lacking in Zorrilla's legends. The poet and literary critic, Balart, achieved fame with his Dolores, in which he mourns with sincere grief the death of his beloved wife. Mention should also be made of the following poets who deserve recognition in this brief review of the history of Spanish lyric poetry: Vicente Wenceslao QUEROL (1836-1889), a Valencian, whose El eclipse, Cartas � Mar�a, and La fiesta de Venus, evince a remarkable technical skill and an unusual correctness of diction; Teodoro page xlii LLORENTE (cf. p. 279); Jos� GALIANO ALCAL� whose verses have delicate feeling and lively imagination; Emilio FERRARI (b. 1853), the author of Abelardo � Hipatia and Aspiraci�n; the pessimistic poets, Joaqu�n Mar�a de BARTRINA (1850-1880) and Gabino TEJADO; Salvador RUEDA (b. 1857), author of El bloque, En tropel and Cantos de la vendimia; and the poet and dramatist, Eduardo MARQUINA.

After the death of Campoamor in the first year of the twentieth century, the title of doyen of Spanish letters fell by universal acclaim to Gaspar N��EZ DE ARCE (1834-1903). N��ez de Arce was a lyric poet, a dramatist and a writer of polemics, but first of all a man of action. With him the solution of political and sociological problems was all-important, and his literary writings were mostly the expression of his sociological and political views. N��ez de Arce is best known for his Gritos del combate (1875), in which he sings of liberty but opposes anarchy with energy and courage. As a satirist he attacks the excesses of radicalism as well as the vices and foibles common to mankind.[5] As a poet he is neither original nor imaginative, and often his ideas are unduly limited; but he writes with a manly vigor that is rare amongst Spanish lyric poets, most of whom have given first place to the splendors of rhetoric.

[Footnote 5: Speaking of N��ez de Arce's satire, Juan Valera says humorously, in Florilegio de poes�as castellanas del siglo XIX, Madrid, 1902, Vol. I, p. 247: �Est� el poeta tan enojado contra la sociedad, contra nuestra descarriada civilizaci�n y contra los cr�menes y maldades de ahora, y nos pinta tan perverso, tan vicioso y tan infeliz al hombre de nuestros d�as, atormentado por dudas, remordimientos, codicias y otras viles pasiones, que, � mi ver, lejos de avergonzarse este hombre de descender del mono, debiera ser el mono quien se avergonzara de haberse humanado.�]

Most writers on the history of European literatures have page xliii called attention to the fact that at the beginning of the nineteenth century there was a great outpouring of lyricism, which infused itself into prose as well as verse. When this movement had exhausted itself there came by inevitable reaction a period of materialism, when realism succeeded romanticism and prose fiction largely replaced verse. And now sociological and pseudo-scientific writings threaten the very existence of idealistic literature. And yet through it all there has been no dearth of poets. Browning in England and Campoamor in Spain, like many before them, have given metrical form to the expression of their philosophical views. And other poets, who had an intuitive aversion to science, have taken refuge in pure idealism and have created worlds after their own liking. To-day prose is recognized as the best medium for the promulgation of scientific or political teachings, and those who are by nature poets are turning to art for art's sake. Poetry is less didactic than formerly, and it is none the less beautiful and inspiring.

The Notes to this volume contain historical sketches of the literatures of Argentina (p. 279), Colombia (p. 285), Cuba (p. 291), Ecuador and Peru (p. 296), Mexico (p. 307), and Venezuela (p. 315). It is to be regretted that lack of space has excluded an account of the literatures of other Spanish-American countries, and especially of Chile and Uruguay.

III

SPANISH VERSIFICATION

Spanish versification is subject to the following general laws:

(1) There must be a harmonious flow of syllables, in which harsh combinations of sounds are avoided. This page xliv usually requires that stressed syllables be separated by one or more unstressed syllables.[6]

[Footnote 6: By stress is meant secondary as well as primary syllabic stress. Thus, en nuestra vida has primary stress on vi-, and secondary stress on nues-.]

(2) Verse must be divided into phrases, each of which can be uttered easily as one breath-group. The phrases are normally of not less than four nor more than eight syllables, with a rhythmic accent on the next to the last syllable of each phrase.[7] Phrases of a fixed number of syllables must recur at regular intervals. There may or may not be a pause at the end of the phrase.

[Footnote 7: The unstressed syllable may be lacking, or there may be two unstressed syllables, after the rhythmic accent. See under Syllabication.]

(a) In the n-syllable binary line the phrases may recur at irregular intervals. In lines with regular ternary movement phrasing is largely replaced by rhythmic pulsation (cf. p. lxx).

(3) There must be rime of final syllables, or final vowels, recurring at regular intervals.

(a) In some metrical arrangements of foreign origin the rimes recur at irregular intervals, or there is no rime at all. See the silva and versos sueltos under Strophes.

Whether normal Spanish verse has, or ever had, binary movement, with the occasional substitution of a "troche" for an "iambic," or vice-versa, is in dispute.[8] That is, whether in Spanish verse, with the usual movement, (1) the alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables is essential, or whether (2) the mere balancing of page xlv certain larger blocks of syllables is sufficient. For instance, in this line of Luis de Le�n:

ya muestra en esperanza el fruto cierto,

is there regular rhythmic pulsation, much less marked than in English verse, doubtless,--but still an easily discernible alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables? If so, there must be secondary stress on es-. Or is ya muestra en esperanza one block, and el fruto cierto another, with no rhythmic stresses except those on -anza and cierto?

[Footnote 8: There are in Spanish certain types of verses in which there is regular ternary movement throughout. These are treated separately. Cf. p. lxx.]

The truth seems to be that symmetry of phrases (the balancing of large blocks of syllables) is an essential and important part of modern Spanish versification; but that, in musical verse of the ordinary type, there is also a subtle and varied binary movement, while in some recitative verse (notably the dramatic romance verse) the binary movement is almost or quite negligible.[9]

[Footnote 9: A count of Spanish verses (none from drama), by arbitrarily assuming three contiguous atonic syllables to be equal to-[/-]-(with secondary stress on the middle syllable), gave the following results (cf. Romanic Review, Vol. III, pp. 301-308):

Common syllabic arrangements of 8-syllable lines:

(1) / / / / (): Esta triste voz o�.

(2) / / / (): Llorando dicen as�.

(3) / / / (): Mi cama las duras pe�as.

Of 933 lines, 446 (nearly one-half) were in class (1); 257 in class (2); and 191 in class (3). The remaining lines did not belong to any one of these three classes.

Common syllabic arrangements of 11-syllable lines:

(1) / / / / / (): Ver�s con cu�nto amor llamar porf�a.

(2) / / / / / (): Cu�ntas veces el �ngel me dec�a.

(3) / / / / / (): Este matiz que al cielo desaf�a.

Of 402 lines, 216 (slightly more than one-half) were in class (1); 94 were in class (2); and 75 in class (3). The remaining lines did not belong to any one of these three classes. Note that, in these arrangements of the 11-syllable lines, the irregularities in rhythm are found only in the first four syllables.] page xlvi Some poets have used at times a quite regular binary movement in Spanish verse; but they have had few or no followers, as the effect was too monotonous to please the Spanish ear. Thus, Sol�s:

Siempre orillas de la fuente Busco rosas � mi frente, Pienso en �l y me sonr�o, Y entre m� le llamo m�o, Me entristezco de su ausencia, Y deseo en su presencia La m�s bella parecer. (p. 53, ll. 6-12)

The Colombian poet, Jos� Eusebio Caro, wrote much verse thus, under the influence of the English poets.

On the other hand, some recent "decadent" poets have written verses in which the principle of symmetry of phrases, or of a fixed number of syllables, is abandoned, and rhythm and rime are considered sufficient to make the lines musical. Thus, Leopoldo Lugones (born 1875?), of Argentina, in verses which he calls �libres� (cf. Lunario sentimental, Buenos Aires, 1909):

Luna, quiero cantarte �Oh ilustre anciana de las mitolog�as! Con todas las fuerzas de mi arte.

Deidad que en los antiguos d�as Imprimiste en nuestro polvo tu sandalia, No alabar� el lit�rgico furor de tus org�as Ni su er�tica didascalia, Para que alumbres sin mayores iron�as, Al pol�gloto elogio de las Gu�as, Noches sentimentales de mises en Italia. (Himno � la luna)

This is largely a harking back to primitive conditions, for in the oldest Castilian narrative verse the rule of "counted syllables" apparently did not prevail. Cf. the Cantar de m�o Cid, where there is great irregularity in the number of syllables. And, although in the page xlvii old romances the half-lines of eight syllables largely predominate, many are found with seven or nine syllables, and some with even fewer or more. The adoption of the rule of "counted syllables" in Spanish may have been due to one or more of several causes: to the influence of medieval Latin rhythmic songs;[10] to French influence; or merely to the development in the Spanish people of a feeling for artistic symmetry.

[Footnote 10: Such as:

Stabat Mater dolorosa Juxta crucem lachrymosa Dum pendebat filius.]

Other poets of to-day write verses in which the line contains a fixed number of syllables or any multiple of that number. Thus, Julio Sesto (Blanco y Negro, Nov. 5, 1911):

�C�mo desembarcan..., c�mo desembarcan esas pobres gentes...! Desde la escalera de la nave todo Nueva York abarcan de un vistazo: muelles, r�o, casas, puentes... Y despu�s que todos sus cinco sentidos ponen asombrados en ver la ciudad, como agradecidos, miran � la estatua de la Libertad. �Ella es la Madona, ella es la Madona, que de la Siberia saca � los esclavos, que � los regicidas la vida perdona, y que salva � muchos de contribuyentes, pobres, perseguidos, subditos y esclavos!...

(La tierra prometida)

Spanish poets have often tried to write verses in classical meters with the substitution of stress for quantity. Thus, Villegas in the following hexameters:

Seis veces el verde soto coron� su cabeza de nardo, de amarillo trebol, de morada vi�la, en tanto que el pecho fr�o de mi casta Licoris al rayo del ru�go m�o deshizo su hielo.[11]

[Footnote 11: Apparently trebol instead of tr�bol. These lines are quoted by Eugenio Mele, in La poesia barbara in Ispagna, Bari, 1910.] page xlviii Jos� Eusebio Caro wrote similar hexameters, and, strange to say, made alternate lines assonate:

�C�firo r�pido l�nzate! �r�pido emp�jame y vivo! �M�s redondas mis velas pon: del proscrito � los lados, haz que tus silbos susurren dulces y dulces suspiren! �Haz que pronto del patrio suelo se aleje mi barco! (En alta mar)

The number of these direct imitations is large; but few succeeded. They are, at best, foreign to the spirit of Castilian poetry.

In singing Spanish verses two facts are of especial interest: that, where the rules of prosody require synalepha, hiatus sometimes occurs (especially in opera), thus:

Rec�gete--ese pa�uelo. (Olmedo, Folk-lore de Castilla, p. 133)

Y el p�jaro--era verde. (Ledesma, Cancionero salmantino, p. 53)

And that musical accents do not necessarily coincide with syllabic stresses, even at the end of a phrase. Thus,

�Cu�ntas v�ces, vida m�a, Te asom�r�s al balc�n![12]

�Cuerpo bu�no, alma div�na, Qu� de f�tigas me cu�stas!

�Bendiga Dios ese cuerp�, Tan llen�simo de graci�! (Hern�ndez, Flores de Espa�a)

[Footnote 12: The grave accent mark (`) indicates a strong musical accent.] page xlix

SYLLABICATION

In most modern Spanish verse there is a fixed number of syllables in a line up to and including the last stressed syllable.[13] In counting these syllables consideration must be given to the following facts:

[Footnote 13: The number of unstressed syllables at the end of a line is not fixed. See p. lvi.

In order to have the correct number of syllables, poets sometimes (1) shorten a word or (2) shift the accent:

(1) �Ya qu� mi puro espirtu sucias carnes... (Cabanyes, � Cintio)

(2) Puede querer...? Abral�... (Zorrilla, Don Juan Tenorio, primeraa parte, III, 6) Deben de ser angeles. (Lope de Vega, El mejor alcalde el rey, II)

Note the artificial separation of lines in some dramatic romance-verse:

... Soy un cate- C�meno muy diligente. (Calder�n, El Jos� de las mujeres, II)

De una vil hermana, de un Falso amigo, de un infame Criado...

(Calder�n, No hay burlas con el amor, III)]

(1) SYNERESIS

Within a word two or three contiguous vowels usually combine to form a diphthong or a triphthong respectively (this is called "syneresis"): bai|le, rey, oi|go, ciu|dad, cui|da|do, es|tu|diar, es|tu|di�is, dien|te, lim|pio, gra|cio|so, muy, bien, pue|de, buey, etc. Exceptions:

(a) A stressed "weak" vowel (i, u) may not combine with a "strong" vowel (a, e, o) to form a diphthong: d�|a,r�|e, fr�|o, ra|�z, le|�|do, o|�|do, page l con|ti|n�|a, con|ti|n�|e, con|ti|n�|o, ba|�l, sa|b�|a, sa|br�|ais, ca|�|ais, etc.[14]

[Footnote 14: Note that in these combinations the weak vowel receives the accent mark. Some Spanish-American poets have sinned grievously, by reason of their local pronunciation, in diphthongizing a strong vowel with a following stressed weak vowel, as maiz, a|taud, oi|do, for ma|�z, a|ta|�d, o|�|do, respectively, etc.]

Exceptions are rare:

Su|pe | que | se|r�a | di|cho|so | (Calder�n, No hay burlas con el amor, III)

Cf. also rend�os, etc., where the o of os combines with the � by synalepha.

(b) u�, u�, are usually disyllabic, except after c, g, and j: a|d�|a|na, s�|a|ve; but cua|tro, san|ti|gu�, Juan, etc. Syneresis may occur: sua|ve.

(c) �i is usually disyllabic, except in muy: fl�|i|do.

(d) Two unstressed strong vowels, if they follow the stress, regularly form a diphthong; but if they precede they may form a diphthong or they may be dissyllabic, usually at the option of the poet.

Que | del | em|p�|r=eo e=n | el | ce|nit | fi|na|ba.[15] (p. 180, l. 11) Las | mar|m�|r=ea=s|, y aus|te|ras | es|cul|tu|ras. (p. 138, l. 22) La | ne|gra ad|ver|si|dad|, con | f�|rr=ea= | ma|no. (p. 144, l. 20) El | tiem|po en|tre | sus | plie|gues | r=o|e=|do|res. (p. 85, l. 24) page li Te | van | � ar|mar | do | c=a|e=|r�s | in|cau|ta. (p. 40, l. 24) La | f=e|a=l|dad | del vi|cio|; pe|ro hu|y�|se...[16] (p. 39, l. 14) En | tan | fr�|gil | r=ea=|li|dad. (p. 97, l. 18) La | sub|li|me | p=oe=|s�|a | re|ver|be|ra. (p. 149,1. 19)

[Footnote 15: Note that here poetic usage differs from the rules for syllabication that obtain in prose. Thus, in emp�reo the � receives the accent mark, since it is held to be in the antepenultimate syllable, but in verse emp�reo is regularly trisyllabic.]

[Footnote 16: The ea of fealdad is normally disyllabic by analogy with feo. Cf. (f) below.]

(e) Two strong vowels, if one is stressed, are usually disyllabic:

pa|se|a, re|cre|o, ca|no|a, etc.

A|rran|ca a|rran|ca|, Dios | m�|o, De | la | men|te | del | p=o|e=|ta Es|te | pen|sa|mien|to im|p�|o Que en | un | de|li|rio | cr=e|�=. (p. 83, ll. 7-10) �Qu� | se hi|cie|ron | tus | mu|ros | to|rr=e|a=|dos, Oh | mi | pa|tria | que|ri|da? �D�n|de | fue|ron | tus | h�|roes | es|for|za|dos, Tu es|pa|da | no | ven|ci|da? (p. 78, ll. 1-4) A|na|cr=e|o=n|te, el | vi|no y | la a|le|gr�|a. (p. 150, l. 4) S=a|e=|ta | que | vo|la|do|ra... (p. 121, l. 15) De o|ro | la | n=a|o= | ga|di|ta|na a|por|ta. (p. 39, l. 24) Y | no | se es|me|re en | l=o|a=r|la. (p. 43, l. 18) Don|de � | c=a|e=r | vol|ve|r�. (p. 121, l. 22) page lii Syneresis is rare, but may occur,--except in �a, �o and �a,--provided the second vowel does not receive a rhythmic accent:

Es|cri|ba|no al | c=ae=r | el | sol. (p. 109, l. 3) C=ae=n | es|ta|llan|do | de | los | fuer|tes | gon|ces. (p. 57, l. 19) Cual | na|ve | r=ea=l | en | triun|fo em|pa|ve|sa|da. (p. 40, l. 15)

(f) In some words vowels that would normally form a diphthong are usually disyllabic by analogy with other forms derived from the same stem: fi|�, fi|� (cf. f�|o), ri|�, ri|e|ron (cf. r�|o), con|ti|nu|� (cf. con|ti|n�|o), di|a|rio (cf. d�|a), bri|o|so (cf. br�|o), hu|�, hu|i|mos (cf. hu|yo), etc.

Syneresis is rare, but possible, as in brio|so for bri|o|so.

(g) Prefixes, except a-, usually form separate syllables: pre|in|ser|to, re|im|pri|mir, re|hu|sar; but aho|gar. If the syllable after a-is stressed, dieresis usually occurs:

� | los | que a|ho|ra a|cla|ma. (p. 220, l. 3) En | la | sub|li|me | so|le|dad | a|ho|ra... (p. 188, l. 3)

(2) DIERESIS

By poetic license vowels that normally form one syllable may often be dissolved into separate syllables (this is called "dieresis") at the will of the poet: glo|rio|so or glo|r�|o|so, rui|do or r�|i|do, etc.[17] See also (1), d, above.

[Footnote 17: Note that the dieresis mark is generally used in dieresis of two weak vowels, or of strong and weak vowels where the strong vowel is stressed.] page liii But dieresis is impossible if the diphthong is ie or ue from Latin [e] and [o] respectively, as in bien, siente, huevo, puedo.

(3) SYNALEPHA

The final vowel or diphthong of one word and the initial vowel or diphthong of an immediately following word in the same line usually combine to form one syllable (this is called "synalepha")[18] as in:

Cuan|do | re|cuer|do | la | pie|dad | sin|ce|ra Con | qu=e e=n | m=i e=|dad | pri|me|ra En|tra|b=a e=n | nues|tras | vie|jas | ca|te|dra|les. (p. 137, ll. 19-21) La | cien|c=ia au=|daz|, cuan|do | de | ti | s=e a=|le|ja. (p. 143, l. 16) ��s|t=a e=s | Es|pa|�=a! A=|t�|ni|t=a y= | mal|tre|cha... (p. 147, l. 3) Que | mi | can|tar | so|no|ro A|com|pa|�=� ha=s|t=a a=|qu�|; n=o a=|pri|sio|na|do... (p. 49, ll. 6-7)

[Footnote 18: Note that the union of vowels in separate words is called synalepha, while the union of vowels within a word is called syneresis. But synalepha may occur in combinations of vowels in which syneresis would be impossible. Compare te|n�|a and ca|no|a with:

A|s� al | man|ce|bo in|te|rrum|pe (p. 94, l. 13). Ni | la | mi|ra|da | que | lan|z� al | sos|la|yo (p. 219, l. 8).]

The vowels of three words may thus combine if the middle word is a (or ha) (see also (4), a):

Le | di|j=o �=s|t=e � u=|na | mu|jer. (p. 79, l. 15) Sal|v=a � e=s|ta | so|cie|dad | des|ven|tu|ra|da. (p. 143, l. 12) page liv (4) HIATUS

(a) Hiatus (i.e. the final vowel of one word and the initial vowel of the immediately following word form separate syllables)[19] is caused by the interposition of a weak unstressed vowel, as in:

En | sus | re|cuer|dos | de | hiel. (p. 84, l. 3) De | sus | �|la|mos | y | huer|tos. (p. 91, l. 8) Y hoy | en | sus | can|ta|res | llo|ra. (p. 84, l. 18)

[Footnote 19: Note that hiatus between words is equivalent to dieresis within a word.]

Note that, similarly, the vowels of three words may not combine, if the middle word is y, � (or he), � (or oh), �:

O|las| de | pla|ta y | a|zul. (p. 73, l. 12) Que | la al|ma | no|che | � el | bri|llan|te | di|a. (p. 180, l. 20) �Qui�n | cal|ma|r�, | �Oh Es|pa|�a! | tus | pe|sa|res? (p. 79, l. 7)

And in all such expressions as: o|cio|so � | i|rri|ta|do, Se|vi|lla | � O|vie|do, etc.

Except when a vowel is repeated:

Si he es|cu|cha|do | cuan|do ha|bla|bas. (Calder�n, No hay burlas con el amor, III)

In modern Spanish, h, being silent, has no effect, but in older Spanish, h for Latin f, being then pronounced, prevented synalepha, as in:

Por | el | mes | e|ra | de | ma|yo cuan|do | ha|ce | la | ca|lor. (p. 7, l. 1-2) page lv Hiatus was common in Old Spanish, except when the first of two words was the definite article, a personal pronoun-object or the preposition de; or when the vowels were the same.

(b) Hiatus is usual when the initial vowel of the second word has a strong accent (usually the rhythmic accent at the end of a line or phrase):

Pues | en | fin | me | de|j� | una (Calder�n). Ta|les | fue|ron | ya | �s|tos | cual | her|mo|so (Herrera). Tal | de | lo | al|to | tem|pes|tad | des|he|cha (Maury). No hay | pla|ce|res | en | su | al | ma. (p. 85, l. 4) Cuan|do | po|bre | de | a|�os | y | pe|sa|res (p. 221, l. 9) Con|ti|go | se | fu� | mi | hon|ra. (p. 103, l. 19) De | gra|na|das | es|pi|gas|; t� | la | u|va... (p. 215, l. 5) Por|que es | pa|ra el | ser | que | a|ma. (p. 84, l. 9) Muy | m�s | her|mo|sa | la | ha|llan (p. 44, l. 5) El | ne|va|do | cue|llo | al|za (p. 43, l. 4) Por|que | tam|bi�n | e|ra| u|so. (p. 115, l. 9) Que en | la | bo|ca, y | s�|lo | u|no. (p. 52, l. 26) Gen|te en | es|te | mon|te | an|da... Ya | que | de | tu | vis|ta | hu|ye. (Calder�n) Gi|gan|te | o|la | que el | vien|to...[20] (p. 121, l. 23)

[Footnote 20: Synalepha is usually to be avoided when it would bring together two stressed syllables as in gigante ola, querido hijo, etc.] page lvi But synalepha is possible (especially of de o-):

To|do e|le|va|ba | mi �|ni|mo in|tran|qui|lo. (p. 139, l. 22) Yo | le | da|r�|; mas | no en | el | ar|pa | de o|ro... (p. 49, l. 5)

And synalepha is the rule, if stress on the initial syllable is weak:

� o|tra per|so|na en | Ma|drid. (p. 36, l. 19) To|da, to|da e|res | per|fec|ta. (p. 44, l. 22)

If the vowels are the same, they usually combine into one:

Del | sol | en | la al|ta | cum|bre (p. 49, l. 13) Tem|blar | en | tor|no | de �l|: un | ar|co in|men|so... (p. 180, l. 10)

(5) FINAL SYLLABLES

In estimating the number of syllables in a Spanish verse-line one final unstressed syllable after the last stressed syllable is counted whether it be present or not; or, if there be two unstressed syllables at the end of the line, only one is counted.[21] Thus the following are considered 8-syllable lines although, in fact, one line has nine syllables and another has only seven:

La | sal|pi|ca | con | es|com|bros De | cas|ti|llos | y | de al|c�|za|res... Pa|ra | vol|ver | � | bro|tar...

[Footnote 21: In Spanish, a word stressed on the final syllable is called agudo; a word with one syllable after the stress is called grave or llano; one with two syllables after the stress, esdr�julo: farol, pluma, p�jaro.] page lvii This system of counting syllables obtains in Spanish because there is one and only one unstressed syllable at the end of most verse-lines. It would, perhaps, be more logical to stop the count with the last stressed syllable, as the French do. For instance, a Spanish 11-syllable line would be called a "feminine" 10-syllable line by the French; but the French language has only one vowel (e) that may occur in a final unstressed syllable, while in Spanish there are several (a, e, o, rarely i, u).

RIME

Spanish poetry may be in rimed verse or in blank verse. (1) Rimed verse may have "consonance," in which there is rime of the last stressed vowel and of any consonants and vowels that may follow in the line, as in:

En las presas Yo divido Lo cogido Por igual: S�lo quiero Por riqueza La belleza Sin rival. (p. 75, ll. 5-12)

Madre m�a, yo soy ni�a; No se enfade, no me ri�a, Si fiada en su prudencia Desahogo mi conciencia, (p. 51, ll. 10-13)

�Cu�n solitaria la naci�n que un d�a Poblara inmensa gente! �La naci�n cuyo imperio se extend�a Del ocaso al oriente! (p. 76, ll. 19-22) page lviii �Oh t�, que duermes en casto l=echo=, De sinsabores ajeno el p=echo=, Y � los encantos de la hermos=ura= Unes las gracias del coraz=�n=, Deja el descanso, doncella p=ura=, Y oye los ecos de mi canc=i�n=! (p. 199, ll. 1-6)

In a diphthong consisting of a strong and a weak vowel the weak vowel may be disregarded in rime. Cf. above: prudencia, conciencia; coraz�n, canci�n; igual, rival.

(2) Or rimed verse may have "assonance," in which there is rime of the last accented vowel and of any final vowel that may follow in the line, but not of consonants.[22]

[Footnote 22: Assonance is rare in popular English verse, but it occurs in some household rimes; e. g.:

Little Tommy Tucker, He cried for his supper. What shall little Tommy Tucker have for his supper? Black-eyed beans and bread and butter.

Here the assonance is �-er (final unstressed -er in standard present-day English represents vocalic r).]

Assonance of alternate lines is the usual rime of the romances, as in:

Cabellos de mi cabeza ll�ganme al corvej=�=n; los cabellos de mi barba por manteles tengo y=o=: las u�as de las mis manos por cuchillo tajad=o=r. (P. 7, ll. 15-20)

Here the assonance is o. page lix �Aben�mar, Aben�mar, moro de la morer=�a=, el d�a que t� naciste grandes se�ales hab=�a=! Estaba la mar en calma, la luna estaba crec=i=d=a=: moro que en tal signo nace, no debe decir ment=i=r=a=. (P. 1, 11. 1-8)

Here the assonance is �-a.[23]

[Footnote 23: The romances viejos were originally in lines of approximately sixteen syllables, and every line then had assonance.]

Del sal�n en el �ngulo obscuro, De su due�o tal vez olvid=a=d=a=, Silenciosa y cubierta de polvo Ve�ase el =a=rp=a=. �Cu�nta nota dorm�a en sus cuerdas, Como el p�jaro duerme en las r=a=m=a=s, Esperando la mano de nieve Qu� sabe arranc=a=rl=a=s! (P. 122, ll. 12-19)

Here the assonance is �-a.

The following rules for assonance should be noted:

(a) In modern Spanish a word stressed on the final syllable may not assonate with one stressed on a syllable preceding the final.[24]

[Footnote 24: In the old romances and in the medieval epic, � could assonate with �-a. In singing these old verses every line was probably made to end in an unstressed vowel by adding paragogic e to a final stressed syllable. Thus, son was sung as sone, dar as dare, tem� as tem�e, etc. Cf. Men. Pel., Ant. V, 65; XI, 86, 92; and Men. Pid., Cantar de m�o Cid, I, 65 f.]

(b) A word stressed on the penult may assonate with one page lx stressed on the antepenult. Vowels between the stressed syllable and the final syllable are disregarded, as in cruza, c�pula (�-a), ba�e, m�rgenes, �rabes (�-e).

(c) In stressed diphthongs and triphthongs only the vowels receiving the stress assonate, as in vale, aire (�-e), cabellos, suelo (�-o), envolviendo, aposento (�-o), guardias, alta (�-a), pleito, siento (�-o), mucho, triunfo (�-o).

(d) In unstressed diphthongs and triphthongs only the strong vowels assonate, as in turba, lluvia (�-a), licencia, quisierais (�-a), pido, continuo (�-o). Similarly, e or o, before another strong vowel, is disregarded in an unstressed diphthong, as in modo, err�neo (�-o), crece, h�roe (�-e).

(e) In final unstressed syllables, i and u (not in diphthongs) assonate with e and o, respectively, as in verde, d�bil (�-e), amante, f�cil (�-e), l�quido, esp�ritu (�-o).

(3) In Spanish blank verse (versos sueltos, libres, blancos) there is usually no rime; or if there be rime it is merely incidental. Blank verse usually consists of 11-syllable lines.

�Oh! �cu�nto rostro veo, � mi censura, De palidez y de rubor cubierto! �nimo, amigos, nadie tema, nadie, Su punzante aguij�n; que yo persigo En mi s�tira el vicio, no al vicioso. (P. 39, ll. 3-7)

Blank verse is little used in Spanish. It occurs chiefly in serious satirical or philosophical poems. But separate versos sueltos are introduced into some varieties of compositions, such as the romance, seguidilla, silva, etc.[25]

[Footnote 25: The versos sueltos are, with regard to the absence of rime, in imitation of classic Greek and Latin verse. They came into Spain by way of Italy during the Renaissance movement. Abjured by the romanticists, they were restored to favor by N��ez de Arce.]

page lxi VERSE-MEASURES

A. VERSE WITH BINARY MOVEMENT[26]

[Footnote 26: The term "binary" is used here to distinguish ordinary Spanish verse from that with regular ternary movement. Cf. p. lxx.]

In modern Spanish this verse is commonly found in lines of seven, eight or eleven syllables. It may occur in lines of any length; but in lines of five or six syllables the binary and ternary movements are generally mingled. In Old Spanish binary lines of approximately 8+8 and 7+7 syllables were common, and lines of 6+6, or of nine, syllables were then, as now, also occasionally used.[27]

[Footnote 27: Verses of three or four syllables are best treated as half-lines, with inner rime (versos leon�nos).]

The most popular measure, and the one of most importance in the history of Spanish verse, is the 8+8-syllable line of the old romances, which was later divided into two 8-syllable lines, and became the most common measure in the drama and in popular songs. This line usually has only one rhythmic accent, which falls on the seventh syllable.[28]

[Footnote 28: By "rhythmic accent" is meant the musical accent on the last stressed syllable of a phrase and not syllabic stresses that may occur within a phrase.]

Mis arreos son las armas, mi descanso el pelear, mi cama las duras pe�as, mi dormir siempre velar (p. 5, ll. 1-4) page lxii Rarely 8-syllable lines are written with a fixed accent on the third syllable (cf. p. 51, l. 10 f.).[29] There is then sometimes pie quebrado in alternate lines, as in:

Hijo m�o mucho amado, Para mientes; No contrastes � las gentes Mal su grado. Ama: � ser�s amado; Y podr�s Hazer lo que no har�s Desamado.[30]

[Footnote 29: They are less common in Spanish than in Italian:

Sai tu dirme, o fanciullino, In qual pasco gita sia La vezzosa Egeria mia Ch'io pur cerco dal mattino? (Paolo A. Rolli)]

[Footnote 30: Note the example of hiatus in this older Spanish.]

Next to the popular 8-syllable line the most important measure in modern Spanish verse is that of eleven syllables, with binary movement, which came to Spain from Italy in the fifteenth century, and was generally accepted by the writers of the Siglo de Oro. This 11-syllable line, though of foreign origin, has held the boards as the chief erudite measure in Spanish verse for four centuries, and taken all in all it is the noblest metrical form for serious poems in modern Spanish. A striking peculiarity of the line is its flexibility. It is not divided into hemistichs as were its predecessors, the 14-syllable Alexandrine and the 12-syllable arte mayor verse; but it consists of two phrases and the position of the inner rhythmic accent is usually variable. page lxiii A well constructed line of this type has a rhythmic accent on the sixth syllable, or a rhythmic accent on the fourth syllable (usually with syllabic stress on the eighth), beside the necessary accent in the tenth position. Generally the inner accent falls on the sixth syllable approximately twice as often as on the fourth.

Y con diversas fl�res va esparci�ndo... (Le�n) Y para envejec�rse floreci�ron... (Calder�n) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cuna y sep�lcro en un bot�n hall�ron... (Calder�n) Se mira al m�ndo � nuestros pies tend�do... (Zorrilla)

Logically, the close of the first phrase should coincide with the end of the word that receives the inner rhythmic accent, and this is usually so, as in:

�Qu� tengo y�, | que mi amistad proc�ras?... (Lope) Son la verdad y Di�s, | Dios verdad�ro... (Quevedo)

But in some lines the rhetorical and the rhythmic accents do not coincide, as in:

... pero huy�se El pudor � viv�r en las cab�nas... (Jovellanos) Del plectro sabiam�nte mene�do... (Le�n) Que � mi puerta, cubi�rto de roc�o... (Lope)

The 11-syllable line may be used alone. Cf. the sonnets of Lope de Vega (p. 14) and Calder�n (p. 18), the Ep�stola sat�rica of Quevedo (p. 15), the blank verse of Jovellanos (p. 38) and N��ez de Arce (p. 144), et al. The neo-classic poets of the eighteenth century and some of the earlier romanticists even used it in redondillas or assonated: page lxiv

En pago de este amor que, mal mi gr=ado=, Hasta el crimen me lleva en su del=irio=, Y � no verse por ti menospreci=ado= Mi virtud elevara hasta el mart=irio=...

�Por qu� de nuevo p�lida tristeza Tus rosadas mejillas descol=o=r=a=? �Por qu� tu rostro en l�grimas se inunda? �Por qu� suspiras, ni�a, y te acong=o=j=a=s? (Bret�n de los Herreros, �Qui�n es ella?)

But the poets of the Siglo de Oro and the neo-classic poets generally used it in combination with 7-syllable lines, as in Leon's verses:

�Qu� descansada vida la del que huye el mundanal r�ido, y sigue la escondida senda por donde han ido los pocos sabios que en el mundo han sido!

Strophes of three 11-syllable lines and one 5-syllable line (versos s�ficos) are not uncommon in highly lyric poems. Usually, in the long lines, the inner accent falls on the fourth syllable, with syllabic stress on the eighth, and with cesura after the fifth syllable. Thus:[31]

Dulce vecino de la verde selva, Hu�sped eterno del Abril florido, Vital aliento de la madre Venus, C�firo blando. (Villegas, Al c�firo)

[Footnote 31: Mele (op. cit) states that the Sapphic ode was introduced into Spain from Italy by Antonio Agust�n, bishop of Tarragona, in the first half of the sixteenth century, and quotes these lines by Agust�n:

J�piter torna, como suele, rico: Cuerno derrama Jove copi�so, Ya que bien puede el pegaseo monte Verse y la cumbre. page lxv The romanticists used the versos s�ficos with rime. Thus, Zorrilla:

Huye la fuente al manantial ingrata, El verde musgo en derredor lamiendo, Y el agua limpia en su cristal retrata Cuanto va viendo. (p. 86, ll. 3-6)

In the Sapphic strophe of Francisco de la Torre (d. 1594), the short line has seven syllables, and the long line may have inner rhythmic accent on the sixth, or on the fourth syllable. Thus:

El fr�o B�reas y el helado Noto Apoderados de la mar insana Anegaron agora en este puerto Una dichosa nave. (�Tirsi, Tirsi! vuelve y endereza)

The Sapphic strophe of Francisco de la Torre has been not infrequently imitated. Thus, B�cquer:

Volver�n las obscuras golondrinas En tu balc�n sus nidos � colgar, Y, otra vez, con el ala � sus cristales Jugando llamar�n. (p. 122, l. 24-p. 123, l. 2)[32]

[Footnote 32: These long lines are especially cantabile, as most are accented on the third and sixth syllables. Only one is accented on the fourth and eighth.]

The 7-syllable line is commonly used in combination with those of eleven syllables (see above). In the seventeenth century, particularly, the 7-syllable line was used in anacreontics, artistic romances, quintillas, page lxvi etc., in imitation of the Italian settenario, as in Villegas' Cantilena beginning:

Yo vi sobre un tomillo Quejarse un pajarillo, Viendo su nido amado, De quien era caudillo, De un labrador robado.

In present-day songs the 7-syllable line is rather rare, except in combination with lines of five syllables, as in:

Camino de Valencia, Camino largo...

And:

� la puerta del cielo Venden zapatos...

In these lines there is no fixed inner rhythmic accent.

The Old Spanish Alexandrine verse-line was composed of two 7-syllable half-lines. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries numerous monkish narrative poems (mester de clere��a) were written in this measure:

En el nonbre del Padre,--que fizo toda cosa, E de don Jhesu Christo,--Fijo dela Gloriosa, Et del Spiritu Sancto,--que egual dellos posa, De un confessor sancto--quiero fer vna prosa... (Gonzalo de Berceo)

The old Alexandrine fell before the rising popularity of the arte mayor verse early in the fifteenth century. In the eighteenth century a 13-syllable Alexandrine appears in Spanish in imitation of the classic French line. This later Spanish Alexandrine is not composed of two distinct half-lines. It also has, like its French page lxvii prototype, alternate couplets of masculine and feminine lines (versos agudos and versos llanos or graves). Thus, Iriarte:

En cierta catedral una campana hab�a Que s�lo se tocaba alg�n solemne d�a Con el m�s recio son, con pausado comp�s, Cuatro golpes � tres sol�a dar, no m�s.

There is an inner rhythmic accent on the sixth syllable. Iriarte also revived the older Alexandrine, but without hiatus:

Cuando veo yo algunos,--que de otros escritores � la sombra se arriman,--y piensan ser autores...

Recent poets have revived the old Alexandrine.[33] Thus, Rub�n Dar�o uses it, even retaining the hiatus between the half-lines; but instead of grouping the lines in quatrains with monorime, as the old monks did, he uses assonance in alternate lines, which is, so far as I know, without precedent:

Es con voz de la Biblia--� verso de Withman Que habr�a que llegar--hasta ti, �cazador! Primitivo y moderno,--sencillo y complicado, Con un algo de W�shington--y mucho de Nemrod... (p. 211, ll. 1-4)

[Footnote 33: For their use of this line with ternary movement, see p. lxxix.]

Lines of five or six syllables usually have a mingled binary and ternary movement:

Una barquera Hall� bizarra, De pocos a�os Y muchas gracias. (N. Morat�n) page lxviii Sal� � las diez � ver � Clori (No lo acert�): Horas menguadas Debe de haber... (L. Morat�n)

Lines of 5+5 syllables (versos asclepiadeos) are occasionally written:

Id en las alas--del raudo c�firo, Humildes versos,--de las floridas Vegas que di�fano--fecunda el Arlas, Adonde lento--mi patrio r�o Ve los alc�zares--de Mantua excelsa. (L. Morat�n)

The Mexican poet Pesado used the same line in his Serenata:

�Oh t� que duermes--en casto lecho, De sinsabores--ajeno el pecho, Y � los encantos--de la hermosura Unes las gracias--del coraz�n, Deja el descanso,--doncella pura, Y oye los ecos--de mi canci�n! (P. 199, ll. 1-6)

The same measure appears in a patriotic song, Himno de Riego:

En las cabezas--�l proclam� La suspirada--constituci�n, Y enarbolando--marcial pend�n, � los leales--acaudill�...[34]

[Footnote 34: It should be noted that these latter verses, like most Spanish patriotic songs, are sung with ternary movement, thus:

�n las cab�zas--�l proclam�...] page lxix This 10-syllable measure is cantabile, and its phrases are too short and too regular to make good recitative verse.

Versos alcaicos differ from the asclepiadeos in that the former have, in a strophe, two lines of 5 + 5, one of nine, and one of ten syllables. Thus, in these lines of Victorio Giner (who probably introduced this strophe into Spain in the second half of the nineteenth century):

Y si los nautas, cantando el pi�lago, Con remos hieren y espumas alzan, Se aduerme � los ecos sus penas Y � los ecos su batel avanza.

Juan Luis Estelrich (Poes�as, 1900) uses versos alcaicos with the first two lines of each strophe esdr�julo, in imitation of Carducci:

Carmen, tu nombre trae al esp�ritu Vuelo de aromas, susurro de �rboles, Los p�os consorcios del cielo, Y el cantar melodioso del Lacio.

(� Carmen Valera.)[35]

[Footnote 35: Cf. Mele, op. cit.]

Romances in lines of 6 + 6 (or 6 + 5) syllables occur in popular Spanish verse, as in the Asturian romance of Don Bueso, beginning:

Camina don Bueso--ma�anita fr�a � tierra de moros--� buscar amiga...

(Men. Pel., Ant. X, 56: cf. also Ant. XI, 102)

This measure was also used in endechas, as in Los comendadores de C�rdoba (fifteenth century), beginning:

�Los comendadores,--por mi mal os vi! Yo vi � vosotros,--vosotros � m�... page lxx The 9-syllable line was not well received in Spain, and it has been little used. Iriarte, in his desire to vary the metrical constructions of his fables, used it at least once:

Sobre una mesa, cierto d�a, Dando estaba conversaci�n � un Abanico y � un Manguito Un Paraguas � Quitasol...

There is certainly no fixed inner rhythmic accent in these lines. The fact seems to be that the 9-syllable line is too long to be uttered comfortably in one phrase, or breath-group, and it is too short to be regularly divided into parts by cesura.

B. VERSE WITH TERNARY MOVEMENT

Verse with regular ternary movement may occur in lines of any length, but it is commonly found only in lines of ten, eleven or twelve syllables. Many ternary lines of five and six syllables are found, but they are almost invariably mingled with binary lines. This rondel antiguo (Nebrija, quoted by Men. Pel., Ant. V. 66) is ternary throughout, it would seem:

Despide plazer y pone tristura; crece en querer vuestra hermosura.

For mixed movements, see the serranilla on p. 45, l. 9 f.

In lines with regular ternary movement, properly speaking, every primary stress receives a rhythmic accent, and these accents are always separated by two page lxxi atonic syllables, as in:

Yo no s� como b�ilan aqu�, Que en mi ti�rra no b�ilan ans�...

Rarely one finds 6-syllable and 9-syllable lines with regular ternary movement, and these are probably never of popular origin. Thus:

Ser�na la l�na Al�mbra en el ci�lo, Dom�na en el su�lo Prof�nda quiet�d...

(Espronceda, El reo de muerte, II)

Y lu�go el estr�pito cr�ce Conf�so y mezcl�do en un s�n, Que r�nco en las b�vedas h�ndas Tron�ndo furi�so zumb�...

(Espronceda, Estudiante de Salamanca)

Formerly the Spanish 10-syllable line occurred usually in combination with other lines, as in:

En la calle de At�cha, �lit�n! Que v�ve mi d�ma; Yo me ll�mo Bart�lo, �lit�n! Lit�que, vit�que, y[36] �lla Cat�nla. --En la c�lle del S�rdo, �lit�n! Que v�ve mi m�zo, Pues � cu�nto le p�do, �lit�n! Lit�que, vit�que, que si�mpre est� s�rdo.

[Footnote 36: There is hiatus here.]

(Qui�ones de Benavente, Entremeses, bailes, loas y sainetes, quoted by Mil� y Fontanals, Obras completas, Vol. V, p. 324 f.) page lxxii Calder�n used it in the Vi�a del Se�or:

� la v��a, � la v��a, zag�les; Zag�les, ven�d, ven�d � la v��a. � la v��a, � la v��a, zag�les, Y v�ya de j�ra, de b�lla y de b�ile. Zag�les, ven�d, ven�d � la v��a, Y v�ya de b�ile, de b�lla y de j�ra.

A recent number of the Ilustraci�n Espa�ola y Americana (15 Enero, 1911) contains lines of similar construction by Don Rafael Torrom�:

Al mir�r su car�ta sonri�nte, Tan d�lce y tan bu�na, Siempre obs�rvo que mi �lma presi�nte, Con du�lo y con p�na, Que m�s t�rde este m�ndo inclem�nte Trocar� en sentimi�ntos de hi�na Los p�ros af�ctos de su �lma inoc�nte.

Iriarte did not hesitate to write fables in these 10-syllable lines alone:

De sus h�jos la t�rpe Avet�rda El pes�do vol�r conoc�a...

And the romanticists of the nineteenth century used it not infrequently:

Con inm�vil, ir�nica mu�ca Inclin�ron form�ndo en red�r...

(Espronceda, Est. de Sal.)

Del sal�n en el �ngulo obsc�ro, De su du��o tal v�z olvid�da, Silenci�sa y cubi�rta de p�lvo, Ve�ase el �rpa. (B�cquer, Rima VII) page lxiii In the nineteenth century this line came to be popular in patriotic songs which are sung by the multitude, while the crash of the drum marks the rhythmic accents:

Enton�mos fest�vos cant�res, Pues el d�a fel�z ha lleg�do, Que del y�go serv�l alivi�do Goza y� el Espa��l libert�d.

(La Constituci�n)

Al comb�te corr�d, Bayam�ses, Que la p�tria os cont�mpla orgull�sa; No tem�is una mu�rte glori�sa, Que mor�r por la p�tria es viv�r.

(Cuban national hymn, cf. p. 251)

The commoner form of verse with 11-syllable ternary lines is that popularly called "de gaita gallega" (Men. Pel., Ant., V, p. cxcv; X, 141. Cf. also Mil�, op. cit.), the assumption being that this verse is intimately related to that type of popular Galician poetry known as the mui�eira, which was sung to the music of the bagpipe. These lines are typical of the "endecas�labos de gaita gallega":

T�nto bail� � la pu�rta del c�ra, T�nto bail� que me di� calent�ra; T�nto bail� � la pu�rta del h�rno, T�nto bail� que me di�ron un b�llo.[37]

[Footnote 34: Many Galician mui�eiras have been collected: cf. Mil�, op. cit.; Carolina Micha�lis de Vasconcellos, Cancioneiro de Ajuda, Vol. II, Halle, 1904; Jos� P�rez Ballesteros, Cancionero popular gallego, Madrid, 1885.] page lxxiv Men�ndez y Pelayo (Ant. X, 141) gives, in his collection of Romances tradicionales de Asturias, the following one in ternary 11-syllable lines:

=La tentaci�n=

--��y, probe Xu�na de cu�rpo garrido! ��y, probe Xu�na de cu�rpo gal�no! �D�nde le d�xas al t� buen amigo? �D�nde le d�xas al t� buen am�do? --�Mu�rto le d�xo � la or�lla del r�o, mu�rto le d�xo � la or�lla del v�do! --�Cu�nto me d�s, volver�telo v�vo? �Cu�nto me d�s, volver�telo s�no? --D�yte las �rmas y d�yte el roc�no, d�yte las �rmas y d�yte el cab�llo. --No h� menest�r ni arm�s ni roc�no, no h� menest�r ni arm�s ni cab�llo...

It should be noted that this poem has assonance of the odd and of the even lines. Men. Pel. says of this popular 11-syllable romance that �su aparici�n en la poes�a popular castellana es un fen�meno singular, aun en Asturias misma, y hasta ahora no se ha presentado m�s ejemplo que �ste.� Note the apparent shifting of stress in armas. Iriarte and L. Moratin did not scorn to use this line.

Iriarte:

Ci�rta cri�da la c�sa barr�a C�n una esc�ba muy s�cia y muy vi�ja...

Moratin (in the chorus of Padres del Limbo):

H�yan los ��os con r�pido vu�lo; G�ce la ti�rra dur�ble consu�lo; M�re � los h�mbres piad�so el Se��r... page lxxv The 11-syllable line of ternary movement has had less vogue in artistic verse than those of ten and twelve syllables.[38]

[Footnote 38: In Las hijas del Cid E. Marquina has used a flexible 11-syllable ternary line beginning with either [\-] - - [\-] or - [\-] - [\-]:

Sus n�mbres j�ntos los ll�vo en el alma, J�ntos los gu�rda tambi�n mi mem�ria.

These are blank verses with occasional assonance.]

The Spanish ternary 12-syllable line was formerly used chiefly in combination with lines of ten or eleven syllables. Some examples of mingled 10-and 12-syllable lines have already been given above. Another is:

Manceb�to, perd�ne las h�mbras, Que c�men y b�ben y no tienen r�ntas. --Pues, moc�tas, mald�tas sean �llas, � c�san � l�bren � c�iganse mu�rtas.

A song of mingled 11-and 12-syllable lines begins thus:

Al p�sar la b�rca, me d�jo el barqu�ro: M�za bon�ta no p�ga dinero.[39]

[Footnote 39: Cf. Mil�, op. cit. In singing pasar, there is apparently a shifting of stress which is not uncommon in songs.]

Efforts have been made from time to time to use the ternary movements in erudite verse, but these, for the most part, have proven futile. The most serious and the most successful attempt appears in the use of the copla de arte mayor in the fifteenth century. The copla (metro, versos) de arte mayor consists of mingled 12-and 11-syllable lines arranged in strophes of eight lines, each with consonantal rime according to some definite scheme. The arte mayor verse attained to its most perfect form and its greatest popularity in page lxxvi El laberinto de la fortuna (1444?), by Juan de Mena, of which the following is a strophe:

Amores me dieron corona de amores porque mi nombre por m�s bocas ande; enton�es no era mi mal menos grande, quando me dauan plazer sus dolores; ven�en el seso sus dul�es errores, mas non duran sienpre, segund luego plazen; pues me fizieron del mal que vos fazen, sabed al amor desamar, amadores.

(Strophe 106)

The old arte mayor verse has these distinguishing characteristics:

The line is divided into hemistichs, each of which may have four, five or six syllables, thus:

(1) (-) - - - [/-] (-) | (-) - - - [/-] (-),

except that the final syllable of the first hemistich and the initial syllable of the second may not both be lacking. These arrangements may also occur (the third is rare):

(2) (-) - - - [/-] - - | - - - [/-] (-)

(3) (-) - - - [/-] | - - - - - [/-] (-).

Examples of types:

(1) Las grandes faza�as | de nuestros mayores... (Str. 4) Vayan de gente | sabidos en gente... (Str. 3) Reconocer�n | maguer que feroce... (Str. 274) Ass� que qualquiera | cuerpo ya muerto... (Str. 244) Cuya virtud | maguer que reclama... Sufren que passen | males e vi�ios... (Str. 232)

(2) E v� � Pit�goras | que defend�a... (Str. 118) Bien como m�dico | mucho famoso... (Str. 178)

(3) Quando el se�or | es en ne�essidad... (Str. 258) page lxxvii The initial unstressed syllable of the first hemistich is lacking in approximately one-third of the lines of the Laberinto. These lines resemble the 11-syllable gaita gallega verse, and the others resemble the popular Galician 12-syllable ternary line, for in both the final unstressed syllable of the first hemistich may fall,[40] which seems to indicate that the appearance of the arte mayor verse in Castilian was due to Galician influence.

[Footnote 40: Cf. these Galician mui�eiras, cited by Mil� y Fontanals (Roman�a, VI, p. 47 f.):

C�ndo te v�xo | na b�ira do r�o, Qu�da o meu c�rpo | tembr�ndo de fr�o; C�ndo te v�xo | d'o m�nte n'alt�ra, A t�do o mon c�rpo | lle d� calent�ra. �sca d'ah� | gal��a mald�ta, �sca d'ah� | non me m�te la p�ta; �sca d'ah� | gal��a ladr�na, �sca d'ah� | pra c�s de tua d�na.]

Again, as in many Galician songs of this type, the ternary movement of the old arte mayor verse is not strictly regular. Approximately nine-tenths of the lines in the Laberinto may be read with regular ternary movement:

(-) [/-] - - [/-] (-) | (-) [/-] - - [/-] (-),

by giving a rhythmic accent to a syllable with secondary stress or to a middle syllable in a group of atonics, in a not inconsiderable number of lines, as in:

P�r las alt�ras, | coll�dos y c�rros... Ass� que tu �res | la g�vernad�ra...

In the remaining lines the commonest movement is:

(-) - [/-] - [/-] (-) | (-) - [/-] - [/-] (-),

as in:

Aquel claro padre, aquel dulce fuente... page lxxviii

In the second half of the sixteenth century and in the seventeenth century, the arte mayor verse was out of fashion, although it appeared occasionally, as in these lines of Lope de Vega (a variety of the Sapphic strophe), with inner rime:

Amor poderoso en cielo y en tierra, dulc�sima guerra de nuestros sentidos, �oh, cu�ntos perdidos con vida inqui�ta tu imperio sujeta!

(From first act of Dorotea)

In the nineteenth century it was restored to favor by the romanticists.[41] Good examples are: Espronceda, El templario; Avellaneda, Las siete palabras; and Zorrilla, � un torre�n (part). Some writers used it even in the drama (cf. Gil y Z�rate, Guzm�n el bueno). The modern arte mayor verse is written in 12-syllable lines, usually with regular ternary movement. Thus:

�Oh Ant�lla dich�sa! | �qu� m�gicos s�nes, Qu� l�z inef�ble, | qu� extr��a alegr�a, Del ci�lo desti�rran los n�gros cresp�nes, Prest�ndo � esta n�che | la p�mpa del d�a?

�Por qu� tan uf�na, | tan b�lla la l�na Con f�z refulg�nte | comi�nza su g�ro, Y no h�y leve s�mbra | que cr�ce import�na Su tr�no esmalt�do | de pl�ta y zaf�ro?

(Avellaneda, Serenata de Cuba)

[Footnote 41: Iriarte, of course, had written a fable or two in arte mayor verse. Cf. F�bula XXXIX.] page lxxix Sold�dos, la P�tria | nos ll�ma � la l�d; Jur�mos por �lla | venc�r � mor�r; Ser�nos, al�gres, | vali�ntes, os�dos, Cant�mos, sold�dos, | el h�mno � la l�d: Ya nu�stros ac�ntos | el �rbe se adm�re, Y en n�sotros[42] m�re | los h�jos del C�d; Ya nu�stros ac�ntos | el �rbe se adm�re, Y en n�sotros m�re | los h�jos del C�d. (Himno de Riego: cf. p. 242)

[Footnote 42: Note in nosotros the shifting of stress, which the musical notation indicates clearly.]

Lines of fourteen and fifteen syllables with ternary movement are never popular, and in artistic verse they are exceedingly rare. Avellaneda used these measures in Soledad del alma:

S�le la aur�ra risu��a, de fl�res vest�da, D�ndole al ci�lo y al c�mpo vari�do col�r; T�do se an�ma sinti�ndo brot�r nueva v�da, C�ntan las �ves, y el �ura susp�ra de am�r.

Huy�ron vel�ces--cual n�bes que el vi�nto arreb�ta-- Los br�ves mom�ntos de d�cha que el ci�lo me di�... �Por qu� mi exist�ncia, ya in�til, su c�rso dil�ta, Si el t�rmino ansi�do � su esp�lda perd�do dej�?

Some recent poets have attempted to write ternary Alexandrine verse. Thus, the Peruvian poet, Jos� S. Chocano (1867-):

Los Estados Unidos, como argolla de bronce, contra un clavo sujetan de la Am�rica un pie; y la Am�rica debe, si pretende ser libre, imitarles primero, � igualarles despu�s. page lxxx Imitemos �oh Musa! las crujientes estrofas que en el Norte se arrastran con la gracia de un tren, y que giren las rimas como ruedas veloces y que caigan los versos como varas de riel. (La epopeya del Pac�fico)

STROPHES

There are certain conventional combinations of line and rime known by special names. Those used in modern Spanish may best be considered under the heads (I) Assonance, (II) Consonantal Rime, and (III) No Rime.

I. (1) The romance is the most characteristic and national of all Spanish meters. The proper romance consists of 8-syllable lines with assonance in alternate lines[43] (cf. pp. 1-8, 42, etc.). The structure of the romance line has already been treated (p. lxi). In the old romances there was no division into stanzas, but poets from the end of the sixteenth century on regularly employ a pause after every fourth line, thereby creating a series of quatrains (pp. 42, 60, etc.), except in the drama (p. 19).

[Footnote 43: Historically, of i6-syllable lines, all assonating.]

(2) Alternate assonance may be employed with lines of any length. With 11-syllable lines the verse is called romance heroico or real. Lines of seven syllables make versos anacre�nticos. The name endecha is given to some assonated verse of either six (p. 124) or seven syllables. When the first three lines of a stanza are of seven syllables and the last of eleven, the verse is called endecha real. For examples of alternate assonance in lines of various lengths, see pp. 122 (2 examples), 123, 137, 160, 177.

An estribillo, or refrain, may be used in any assonating verse (p. 45). page lxxxi (3) The use of alternate assonance in lines of fourteen syllables (pp. 211, 212) is a none too happy device of the author.

(4) The seguidilla is usually a stanza of seven lines of seven and five syllables in length, in this order: 7, 5, 7, 5; 5, 7, 5. There is usually a pause after the fourth line; lines 2 and 4 have one assonance and lines 5 and 7 another. The assonances change from one stanza to another. See pp. 112 and 120. In some seguidillas the stanzas consist only of the first four lines described.

II. The native Spanish strophes are usually combinations of 8-syllable or shorter lines. The 11-syllable line, itself an importation from Italy, brought with it many well-known Italian strophes. In none of the pure Italian forms are lines ending in agudos or esdr�julos permissible.

(1) The redondilla mayor consists of four 8-syllable lines with the rime-scheme abba (pp. 149, 167), or, less commonly, abab (p. 136). It is a common and characteristic Spanish meter. The redondilla menor has the same form expressed in lines of less than eight syllables. The same rime-schemes are found with lines of seven or of eleven (pp. 117, 207) syllables, and with combinations of eleven and seven (p. 134), or eleven and five (p. 86) syllables; but they are not properly called redondillas.

(2) The quintilla is a 5-line strophe, usually of 8-syllable lines. Only two rimes are used in one stanza, and not more than two lines having the same rime should stand together (pp. 26, 114). Quintillas are sometimes written with lines of other lengths. Examples with eleven and seven syllables are found on pp. 128, 133 and 148. The stanza used in Vida retirada (p. 9) is termed lira: cf. Introduction, p. xxiii. page lxxxii (3) The d�cima (or espinela) is a 10-line strophe of 8-syllable lines which may be considered as two quintillas; but there should be a pause after the fourth line, and the rime-scheme is usually as follows: abbaaccddc.

(4) The arte mayor line has already been described (p. lxxv). The copla de arte mayor is a stanza of eight such lines, usually having the rime-scheme abbaacca.

(5) The octava rima (Ital. ottava rima) is an Italian form. Each stanza has eight 11-syllable lines with the rime-scheme abababcc. Examples are found of octaves employing short lines. A variety of the octava rima is the octava bermudina with the rime-scheme abbcdeec, the lines in c ending in agudos.

(6) The soneto (sonnet) is formed of fourteen 11-syllable lines. In the Siglo de Oro it appears as a much stricter form than the English sonnet of the corresponding period. The quatrains have the regular construction abba, and the tiercets almost always follow one of two types: either cde, cde, or cdcdcd. See pp. 14, 18, 148, etc.

(7) Tercetos (Italian terza rima), the verse used by Dante in the Divina Commedia, are formed of 11-syllable lines in groups of three, with the rime-scheme aba, bcb, cdc, etc., ending yzyz. See p. 15.

(8) The term canci�n, which means any lyrical composition, is also applied specifically to a verse form in which the poet invents a typical strophe, with a certain length of line and order of rimes, and adheres to this type of stanza throughout the whole poem. The lines are of eleven and seven syllables,--the Italian structure. Of such nature are the poems on pp. 8, 20, 71, 137 (bottom), 174, 190.

The same procedure is employed with lines of any length, page lxxxiii but the poem is not then called canci�n. For strophes in 10-syllable lines, see p. 199; in 8-syllable lines, pp. 16, 51, 83, 151; in 7-syllables, p. 202.

(9) The silva is a free composition of 11-and 7-syllable lines. Most of the lines rime, but without any fixed order, and lines are often left unrimed. See pp. 46, 54, 152, 214 (bottom), etc. A similar freely riming poem in lines of seven syllables is Villegas' Cantilena (p. 17).

(10) The Asclepiadean verse (p. lxviii) and the Sapphic (p. lxiv) and Alcaic (p. lxix) strophes have already been described. These may be rimed, or in blank verse.

(11) Numerous conventional names are given to poems for some other characteristic than their metrical structure. Thus a glosa (gloss) is a poem "beginning with a text, a line of which enters into each of the stanzas expounding it." A letra may be a short gloss. The name letrilla is applied sometimes to a little poem in short lines which may be set to music (p. 9), and sometimes to a strophic poem with a refrain (p. 16). A madrigal is a short silva upon a light topic, an expanded conceit. The term cantilena is given to any short piece of verse intended to be set to music (p. 17). Serranillas, in which is described the meeting of a gentleman with a rustic maiden, are famous for the examples written by Juan Ruiz and the Marquis of Santillana. A villancico is a popular poem with a refrain, usually dealing with an episode celebrated in a church festival (p. 13).

III. Versos sueltos, libres or blancos (blank verse) are formed, as in English, of 11-syllable lines, with occasionally a shorter line thrown in. There is no rime, but sometimes a couplet may mark the close of an idea. See pp. 38 and 144, and cf. also p. lx.

Page 1

ROMANCES

ABEN�MAR

�Aben�mar, Aben�mar, moro de la morer�a, el d�a que t� naciste grandes se�ales hab�a! 5 Estaba la mar en calma, la luna estaba crecida: moro que en tal signo nace, no debe decir mentira.-- All� respondiera el moro, 10 bien oir�is lo que dec�a: --Yo te la dir�, se�or, aunque me cueste la vida, porque soy hijo de un moro y una cristiana cautiva; 15 siendo yo ni�o y muchacho mi madre me lo dec�a: que mentira no dijese, que era grande villan�a: por tanto pregunta, rey, page 2 que la verdad te dir�a. --Yo te agradezco, Aben�mar aquesa tu cortes�a. �Qu� castillos son aqu�llos? 5 �Altos son y reluc�an! --El Alhambra era, se�or, y la otra la mezquita; los otros los Alixares, labrados � maravilla. 10 El moro que los labraba cien doblas ganaba al d�a, y el d�a que no los labra otras tantas se perd�a. El otro es Generalife, 15 huerta que par no ten�a; el otro Torres Bermejas, castillo de gran val�a.-- All� habl� el rey don Juan, bien oir�is lo que dec�a: 20 --Si t� quisieses, Granada, contigo me casar�a; dar�te en arras y dote � C�rdoba y � Sevilla. --Casada soy, rey don Juan, 25 casada soy, que no viuda; el moro que � m� me tiene muy grande bien me quer�a. page 3 Fonte-frida, fonte-frida, fonte-frida y con amor, do todas las avecicas van tomar consolaci�n, 5 sino es la tortolica que est� viuda y con dolor. Por all� fuera � pasar el traidor de ruise�or: las palabras que le dice 10 llenas son de traici�n: --Si t� quisieses, se�ora, yo ser�a tu servidor. --Vete de ah�, enemigo, malo, falso, enga�ador, 15 que ni poso en ramo verde, ni en prado que tenga flor; que si el agua hallo clara, turbia la beb�a yo; que no quiero haber marido, 20 porque hijos no haya, no: no quiero placer con ellos, ni menos consolaci�n. �D�jame, triste enemigo, malo, falso, mal traidor, que no quiero ser tu amiga, 25 ni casar contigo, no. page 4

EL CONDE ARNALDOS

�Qui�n hubiese tal ventura sobre las aguas del mar, como hubo el conde Arnaldos la ma�ana de San Juan! 5 Con un falc�n en la mano la caza iba � cazar, vi� venir una galera que � tierra quiere llegar. Las velas tra�a de seda, 10 la jarcia de un cendal, marinero que la manda diciendo viene un cantar que la mar fac�a en calma, los vientos hace amainar, 15 los peces que andan nel hondo arriba los hace andar, las aves que andan volando nel m�stel las faz posar. All� fabl� el conde Arnaldos, 20 bien oir�is lo que dir�: --Por Dios te ruego, marinero, d�gasme ora ese cantar.-- Respondi�le el marinero, tal respuesta le fu� � dar: 25 --Yo no digo esta canci�n sino � quien conmigo va. page 5

LA CONSTANCIA

Mis arreos son las armas, mi descanso el pelear, mi cama las duras pe�as, mi dormir siempre velar. 5 Las manidas son escuras, los caminos por usar, el cielo con sus mudanzas ha por bien de me da�ar, 10 andando de sierra en sierra por orillas de la mar, por probar si en mi ventura hay lugar donde avadar. Pero por vos, mi se�ora, todo se ha de comportar.

EL AMANTE DESDICHADO

15 En los tiempos que me vi m�s alegre y placentero, yo me partiera de Burgos para ir � Valladolid: encontr� con un Palmero, 20 quien me habl�, y dijo as�: --�D�nde vas t�, el desdichado? �D�nde vas? �triste de ti! �Oh persona desgraciada, en mal punto te conoc�! 25 Muerta es tu enamorada, page 6 muerta es, que yo la vi; las andas en que la llevan de negro las vi cubrir, los responsos que le dicen 5 yo los ayud� � decir: siete condes la lloraban, caballeros m�s de mil, llor�banla sus doncellas, llorando dicen as�: 10 --�Triste de aquel caballero que tal p�rdida pierde aqu�!-- Desque aquesto o�, mezquino, en tierra muerto ca�, y por m�s de doce horas 15 no tornara, triste, en m�. Desque hube retornado, � la sepultura fu�, con l�grimas de mis ojos llorando dec�a as�: 20 --Ac�geme, mi se�ora, ac�geme � par de ti.-- Al cabo de la sepultura esta triste voz o�: --Vive, vive, enamorado, 25 vive, pues que yo mor�: Dios te d� ventura en armas, y en amor otro que s�, que el cuerpo come la tierra, y el alma pena por ti.-- page 7

EL PRISIONERO

Por el mes era de mayo cuando hace la calor, cuando canta la calandria, y responde el ruise�or, 5 cuando los enamorados van � servir al amor, sino yo, triste, cuitado, que vivo en esta prisi�n, que ni s� cu�ndo es de d�a 10 ni cu�ndo las noches son, sino por un avecilla que me cantaba al albor. Mat�mela un ballestero, �d�le Dios mal galard�n! 15 Cabellos de mi cabeza ll�ganme al corvej�n; los cabellos de mi barba por manteles tengo yo: las u�as de las mis manos 20 por cuchillo tajador. Si lo hac�a el buen rey, h�celo como se�or: si lo hace el carcelero, h�celo como traidor. 25 Mas �qui�n ahora me diese un p�jaro hablador, siquiera fuese calandria, page 8 � tordico � ruise�or: criado fuese entre damas y avezado � la raz�n, que me lleve una embajada 5 � mi esposa Leonor, que me env�e una empanada, no de truchas ni salm�n, sino de una lima sorda y de un pico tajador: la lima para los hierros, 10 y el pico para el torre�n!-- O�dolo hab�a el rey, mand�le quitar la prisi�n.

DON GIL VICENTE

CANCI�N

Muy graciosa es la doncella: 15 �c�mo es bella y hermosa! Digas t�, el marinero que en las naves viv�as, si la nave � la vela � la estrella es tan bella. 20 Digas t�, el caballero que las armas vest�as, si el caballo � las armas � la guerra es tan bella. Digas t�, el pastorcico page 9 que el ganadico guardas, si el ganado � los valles, � la sierra es tan bella.

SANTA TERESA DE JES�S

LETRILLA QUE LLEVABA POR REGISTRO EN SU BREVIARIO

Nada te turbe; 5 nada te espante; todo se pasa; Dios no se muda, la paciencia todo lo alcanza. Quien � Dios tiene, 10 nada le falta. Solo Dios basta.

FRAY LUIS DE LE�N

VIDA RETIRADA

�Qu� descansada vida la del que huye el mundanal r�ido, y sigue la escondida 15 senda por donde han ido los pocos sabios que en el mundo han sido! Que no le enturbia el pecho de los soberbios grandes el estado, page 10 ni del dorado techo se admira, fabricado del sabio moro, en jaspes sustentado. No cura si la fama 5 canta con voz su nombre pregonera, ni cura si encarama la lengua lisonjera lo que condena la verdad sincera. �Qu� presta � mi contento 10 si soy del vano dedo se�alado? si en busca de este viento ando desalentado con ansias vivas, y mortal cuidado? �Oh campo, oh monte, oh r�o! 15 �oh secreto seguro deleitoso! roto casi el nav�o, � vuestro almo reposo huyo de aqueste mar tempest�oso. Un no rompido sue�o, 20 un d�a puro, alegre, libre quiero; no quiero ver el ce�o vanamente severo de quien la sangre ensalza � el dinero. Despi�rtenme las aves 25 con su cantar s�ave no aprendido, no los cuidados graves de que es siempre seguido quien al ajeno arbitrio est� atenido. Vivir quiero conmigo, page 11 gozar quiero del bien que debo al cielo, � solas sin testigo, libre de amor, de celo, de odio, de esperanzas, de recelo. 5 Del monte en la ladera por mi mano plantado tengo un huerto que con la primavera de bella flor cubierto ya muestra en esperanza el fruto cierto. 10 Y como codiciosa de ver y acrecentar su hermosura, desde la cumbre airosa una fontana pura hasta llegar corriendo se apresura. 15 Y luego sosegada el paso entre los �rboles torciendo, el suelo de pasada de verdura vistiendo, y con diversas flores va esparciendo. 20 El aire el huerto orea, y ofrece mil olores al sentido, los �rboles menea con un manso r�ido que del oro y del cetro pone olvido. 25 T�nganse su tesoro los que de un flaco le�o se conf�an: no es m�o ver el lloro de los que desconf�an cuando el cierzo y el �brego porf�an. page 12 La combatida antena cruje, y en ciega noche el claro d�a se torna, al cielo suena 5 confusa vocer�a, y la mar enriquecen � porf�a. � m� una pobrecilla mesa de amable paz bien abastada me baste, y la vajilla de fino oro labrada 10 sea de quien la mar no teme airada. Y mientras miserable- mente se est�n los otros abrasando en sed insaciable del no durable mando, 15 tendido yo � la sombra est� cantando; � la sombra tendido de yedra y lauro eterno coronado, puesto el atento o�do al son dulce acordado 20 del plectro sabiamente meneado.

AN�NIMO

� CRISTO CRUCIFICADO

No me mueve, mi Dios, para quererte El cielo que me tienes prometido, Ni me mueve el infierno tan temido Para dejar por eso de ofenderte. page 13 T� me mueves, Se�or; mu�veme el verte Clavado en una cruz y escarnecido; Mu�veme ver tu cuerpo tan herido; Mu�venme tus afrentas y tu muerte. 5 Mu�veme, al fin, tu amor, y en tal manera, Que aunque no hubiera cielo, yo te amara. Y aunque no hubiera infierno, te temiera. No me tienes que dar porque te quiera; Pues aunque lo que espero no esperara. 10 Lo mismo que te quiero te quisiera.

DON LOPE F�LIX DE VEGA CARPIO

CANCI�N DE LA VIRGEN

Pues and�is en las palmas, �ngeles santos, Que se duerme mi ni�o, Tened los ramos. 15 Palmas de Bel�n Que mueven airados Los furiosos vientos, Que suenan tanto, No le hag�is ruido, 20 Corred m�s paso; Que se duerme mi ni�o, Tened los ramos. El ni�o divino, Que est� cansado page 14 De llorar en la tierra, Por su descanso Sosegar quiere un poco Del tierno llanto; 5 Que se duerme mi ni�o, Tened los ramos. Rigurosos hielos Le est�n cercando, Ya veis que no tengo 10 Con que guardarlo: �ngeles divinos, Que vais volando, Que se duerme mi ni�o, Tened los ramos.

MA�ANA

15 �Qu� tengo yo, que mi amistad procuras? �Qu� inter�s se te sigue, Jes�s m�o, Que � mi puerta, cubierto de roc�o, Pasas las noches del invierno escuras? �Oh cu�nto fueron mis entra�as duras, 20 Pues no te abr�! �Qu� extra�o desvar�o, Si de mi ingratitud el hielo fr�o Sec� las llagas de tus plantas puras! �Cu�ntas veces el �ngel me dec�a: �Alma, as�mate agora � la ventana; 25 Ver�s con cu�nto amor llamar porf�a!� Y �cu�ntas, hermosura soberana, page 15 �Ma�ana le abriremos,� respond�a! Para lo mismo responder ma�ana.

DON FRANCISCO DE QUEVEDO

EP�STOLA SAT�RICA Y CENSORIA

Contra las costumbres presentes de los castellanos, escrita al Conde-Duque de Olivares.

No he de callar, por m�s que con el dedo, Ya tocando la boca, � ya la frente, 5 Silencio avises � amenaces miedo. �No ha de haber un esp�ritu valiente? �Siempre se ha de sentir lo que se dice? �Nunca se ha de decir lo que se siente? Hoy sin miedo que libre escandalice 10 Puede hablar el ingenio, asegurado De que mayor poder le atemorice. En otros siglos pudo ser pecado Severo estudio y la verdad desnuda, Y romper el silencio el bien hablado. 15 Pues sepa quien lo niega y quien lo duda Que es lengua la verdad de Dios severo Y la lengua de Dios nunca fu� muda. Son la verdad y Dios, Dios verdadero: Ni eternidad divina los separa, 20 Ni de los dos alguno fu� primero. page 16

LETRILLA SAT�RICA

Poderoso caballero Es don Dinero. Madre, yo al oro me humillo: �l es mi amante y mi amado, 5 Pues de puro enamorado, De contino anda amarillo; Que pues, dobl�n � sencillo, Hace todo cuanto quiero, Poderoso caballero 10 Es don Dinero. Nace en las Indias honrado, Donde el mundo le acompa�a; Viene � morir en Espa�a Y es en G�nova enterrado. 15 Y pues quien le trae al lado Es hermoso, aunque sea fiero, Poderoso caballero Es don Dinero. Es gal�n y es como un oro, 20 Tiene quebrado el color, Persona de gran valor, Tan cristiano como moro; Pues que da y quita el decoro Y quebranta cualquier fuero, 25 Poderoso caballero Es don Dinero. Son sus padres principales page 17 Y es de nobles descendiente, Porque en las venas de Oriente Todas las sangres son reales: Y pues es quien hace iguales 5 Al duque y al ganadero, Poderoso caballero Es don Dinero.

DON ESTEBAN MANUEL DE VILLEGAS

CANTILENA: DE UN PAJARILLO

Yo vi sobre un tomillo Quejarse un pajarillo, 10 Viendo su nido amado, De quien era caudillo, De un labrador robado. Vile tan congojado Por tal atrevimiento 15 Dar mil quejas al viento, Para que al cielo santo Lleve su tierno llanto, Lleve su triste acento. Ya con triste armon�a, 20 Esforzando el intento, Mil quejas repet�a; Ya cansado callaba, Y al nuevo sentimiento page 18 Ya sonoro volv�a. Ya circular volaba, Ya rastrero corr�a, Ya pues de rama en rama 5 Al r�stico segu�a; Y saltando en la grama, Parece que dec�a: �Dame, r�stico fiero, Mi dulce compa��a�; 10 Y que le respond�a El r�stico: �No quiero.�

DON PEDRO CALDER�N DE LA BARCA

SONETO

Estas que fueron pompa y alegr�a Despertando al albor de la ma�ana, � la tarde ser�n l�stima vana 15 Durmiendo en brazos de la noche fr�a. Este matiz que al cielo desaf�a, Iris listado de oro, nieve y grana, Ser� escarmiento de la vida humana: �Tanto se emprende en t�rmino de un d�a! 20 � florecer las rosas madrugaron, Y para envejecerse florecieron: Cuna y sepulcro en un bot�n hallaron. Tales los hombres sus fortunas vieron: En un d�a nacieron y expiraron; 25 Que pasados los siglos, horas fueron. page 19

CONSEJO DE CRESPO A SU HIJO EL ALCALDE DE ZALAMEA (11, 21)

Por la gracia de Dios, Juan, Eres de linaje limpio M�s que el sol, pero villano: Lo uno y lo otro te digo, 5 Aquello, porque no humilles Tanto tu orgullo y tu br�o, Que dejes, desconfiado, De aspirar con cuerdo arbitrio � ser m�s; lo otro, porque 10 No vengas, desvanecido, � ser menos: igualmente Usa de entrambos designios Con humildad; porque siendo Humilde, con recto juicio 15 Acordar�s lo mejor; Y como tal, en olvido Pondr�s cosas que suceden Al rev�s en los altivos. �Cu�ntos, teniendo en el mundo 20 Alg�n defecto consigo, Le han borrado por humildes! Y �a cu�ntos, que no han tenido Defecto, se le han hallado, Por estar ellos mal vistos! 25 S� cort�s sobremanera, S� liberal y esparcido; page 20 Que el sombrero y el dinero Son los que hacen los amigos; Y no vale tanto el oro Que el sol engendra en el indio 5 Suelo que conduce el mar, Como ser uno bienquisto. No hables mal de las mujeres: La m�s humilde, te digo Que es digna de estimaci�n, 10 Porque, al fin, dellas nacimos.

FRAY DIEGO GONZ�LEZ

EL MURCI�LAGO ALEVOSO

INVECTIVA

Estaba Mirta bella Cierta noche formando en su aposento, Con gracioso talento, Una tierna canci�n, y porque en ella 15 Satisfacer � Delio meditaba, Que de su fe dudaba, Con vehemente expresi�n le encarec�a El fuego que en su casto pecho ard�a. Y estando divertida, 20 Un murci�lago fiero, �suerte insana! Entr� por la ventana; Mirta dej� la pluma, sorprendida, page 21 Temi�, gimi�, dio voces, vino gente; Y al querer diligente Ocultar la canci�n, los versos bellos De borrones llen�, por recogellos. 5 Y Delio, noticioso Del caso que en su da�o hab�a pasado, Justamente enojado Con el fiero murci�lago alevoso, Que hab�a la canci�n interrumpido, 10 Y � su Mirta afligido, En c�lera y furor se consum�a, Y as� � la ave funesta maldec�a: �Oh monstruo de ave y bruto, Que cifras lo peor de bruto y ave, 15 Visi�n nocturna grave, Nuevo horror de las sombras, nuevo luto, De la luz enemigo declarado, Nuncio desventurado De la tiniebla y de la noche fr�a, 20 �Qu� tienes t� que hacer donde est� el d�a? �Tus obras y figura Maldigan de com�n las otras aves, Que c�nticos s�aves Tributan cada d�a � la alba pura; 25 Y porque mi ventura interrumpiste, Y � su autor afligiste, Todo el mal y desastre te suceda Que � un murci�lago vil suceder pueda. �La lluvia repetida, page 22 Que viene de lo alto arrebatada, Tan s�lo reservada � las noches, se oponga � tu salida; � el rel�mpago pronto reluciente 5 Te ciegue y amedrente; � soplando del Norte recio el viento, No permita un mosquito � tu alimento. �La due�a melindrosa, Tras el tapiz do tienes tu manida, 10 Te juzgue, inadvertida, Por telara�a sucia y asquerosa, Y con la escoba al suelo te derribe; Y al ver que bulle y vive, Tan fiera y tan rid�cula figura, 15 Suelte la escoba y huya con presura. �Y luego sobrevenga El juguet�n gatillo bullicioso, Y primero medroso Al verte, se retire y se contenga, 20 Y bufe y se espeluce horrorizado, Y alce el rabo esponjado, Y el espinazo en arco suba al cielo, Y con los pies apenas toque el suelo. �Mas luego recobrado, 25 Y del primer horror convalecido, El pecho al suelo unido, Traiga el rabo del uno al otro lado, Y cosido en la tierra, observe atento; Y cada movimiento page 23 Que en ti llegue � notar su perspicacia, Le provoque al asalto y le d� audacia. �En fin sobre ti venga, Te acometa y ultraje sin recelo, 5 Te arrastre por el suelo, Y � costa de tu da�o se entretenga; Y por caso las u�as afiladas En tus alas clavadas, Por echarte de s� con sobresalto, 10 Te arroje muchas veces � lo alto �Y acuda � tus chillidos El muchacho, y convoque � sus iguales, Que con los animales Suelen ser com�nmente desabridos; 15 Que � todos nos dot� naturaleza De entra�as de fiereza, Hasta que ya la edad � la cultura Nos dan humanidad y m�s cordura. �Entre con algazara 20 La pueril tropa, al da�o prevenida, Y lazada oprimida Te echen al cuello con fiereza rara; Y al oirte chillar alcen el grito Y te llamen maldito; 25 Y crey�ndote al fin del diablo imagen, Te abominen, te escupan y te ultrajen. �Luego por las telillas De tus alas te claven al postigo, Y se burlen contigo, page 24 Y al hocico te apliquen candelillas, Y se r�an con duros corazones De tus gestos y acciones, Y � tus tristes querellas ponderadas 5 Correspondan con fiesta y carcajadas. �Y todos bien armados De piedras, de navajas, de aguijones, De clavos, de punzones, De palos por los cabos afilados 10 (De diversi�n y fiesta ya rendidos), Te embistan atrevidos, Y te quiten la vida con presteza, Consumando en el modo su fiereza. �Te puncen y te sajen, 15 Te tundan, te golpeen, te martillen, Te piquen, te acribillen, Te dividan, te corten y te rajen, Te desmiembren, te partan, te deg�ellen, Te hiendan, te desuellen, 20 Te estrujen, te aporreen, te magullen, Te deshagan, confundan y aturrullen. �Y las supersticiones De las viejas creyendo realidades, Por ver curiosidades, 25 En tu sangre humedezcan algodones, Para encenderlos en la noche obscura, Creyendo sin cordura Que ver�n en el aire culebrinas Y otras tristes visiones peregrinas. page 25 �Muerto ya, te dispongan El entierro, te lleven arrastrando, Gori, gori, cantando, Y en dos filas delante se compongan, 5 Y otros, fingiendo voces lastimeras, Sigan de pla�ideras, Y dirijan entierro tan gracioso Al muladar m�s sucio y asqueroso; �Y en aquella basura 10 Un hoyo hondo y capaz te faciliten, Y en �l te depositen, Y all� te den debida sepultura; Y para hacer eterna tu memoria, Compendiada tu historia 15 Pongan en una losa duradera, Cuya letra dir� de esta manera:

Epitafio

�Aqu� yace el murci�lago alevoso, Que al sol horroriz� y ahuyent� el d�a, De pueril sa�a triunfo lastimoso, 20 Con cruel muerte pag� su alevos�a: No sigas, caminante, presuroso, Hasta decir sobre esta losa fr�a: Acontezca tal fin y tal estrella � aquel que mal hiciere � Mirta bella.� page 26

DON NICOL�S F. DE MORAT�N

FIESTA DE TOROS EN MADRID

Madrid, castillo famoso Que al rey moro alivia el miedo, Arde en fiestas en su coso Por ser el natal dichoso 5 De Alimen�n de Toledo. Su bravo alcaide Aliatar, De la hermosa Zaida amante, Las ordena celebrar Por si la puede ablandar 10 El coraz�n de diamante. Pas�, vencida � sus ruegos, Desde Aravaca � Madrid; Hubo pandorgas y fuegos, Con otros nocturnos juegos 15 Que dispuso el adalid. Y en adargas y colores, En las cifras y libreas, Mostraron los amadores, Y en pendones y preseas, 20 La dicha de sus amores. Vinieron las moras bellas De toda la cercan�a, Y de lejos muchas de ellas: Las m�s apuestas doncellas 25 Que Espa�a entonces ten�a. page 27 Aja de Jetafe vino, Y Zahara la de Alcorc�n, En cuyo obsequio muy fino Corri� de un vuelo el camino 5 El moraicel de Alcab�n; Jarifa de Almonacid, Que de la Alcarria en que habita Llev� � asombrar � Madrid Su amante Audalla, adalid 10 Del castillo de Zorita. De Adamuz y la famosa Meco llegaron all� Dos, cada cual m�s hermosa, Y F�tima la preciosa, 15 Hija de Al� el alcad�. El ancho circo se llena De multitud clamorosa, Que atiende � ver en la arena La sangrienta lid dudosa, 20 Y todo en torno resuena. La bella Zaida ocup� Sus dorados miradores Que el arte afiligran�, Y con espejos y flores 25 Y damascos adorn�. A�afiles y atabales, Con militar armon�a, Hicieron salva, y se�ales De mostrar su valent�a page 28 Los moros m�s principales. No en las vegas de Jarama Pacieron la verde grama Nunca animales tan fieros, 5 Junto al puente que se llama, Por sus peces, de Viveros, Como los que el vulgo vi� Ser lidiados aquel d�a; Y en la fiesta que goz�, 10 la popular alegr�a Muchas heridas cost�. Sali� un toro del toril Y � Tarfe tir� por tierra, Y luego � Benalguacil; 15 Despu�s con Hamete cierra El temer�n de Conil. Tra�a un ancho list�n Con uno y otro matiz Hecho un lazo por air�n, 20 Sobre la inhiesta cerviz Clavado con un arp�n. Todo gal�n pretend�a Ofrecerle vencedor � la dama que serv�a: 25 Por eso perdi� Almanzor El potro que m�s quer�a. El alcaide muy zambrero De Guadalajara, huy� Mal herido al golpe fiero, page 29 Y desde un caballo overo El moro de Horche cay�. Todos miran � Aliatar, Que, aunque tres toros ha muerto, 5 No se quiere aventurar, Porque en lance tan incierto El caudillo no ha de entrar. Mas viendo se culpar�a, Va � pon�rsele delante: 10 La fiera le acomet�a, Y sin que el rej�n la plante Le mat� una yegua p�a. Otra monta acelerado: Le embiste el toro de un vuelo, 15 Cogi�ndole entablerado; Rod� el bonete encarnado Con las plumas por el suelo. Di� vuelta hiriendo y matando � los de � pie que encontrara, 20 El circo desocupando, Y emplaz�ndose, se para, Con la vista amenazando. Nadie se atreve � salir: La plebe grita indignada, 25 Las damas se quieren ir, Porque la fiesta empezada No puede ya proseguir. Ninguno al riesgo se entrega Y est� en medio el toro fijo, page 30 Cuando un portero que llega De la puerta de la Vega, Hinc� la rodilla, y dijo: Sobre un caballo alazano, 5 Cubierto de galas y oro, Demanda licencia urbano Para alancear � un toro Un caballero cristiano. Mucho le pesa � Aliatar; 10 Pero Zaida di� respuesta Diciendo que puede entrar, Porque en tan solemne fiesta Nada se debe negar. Suspenso el concurso entero 15 Entre dudas se embaraza, Cuando en un potro ligero Vieron entrar en la plaza Un bizarro caballero, Sonrosado, albo color, 20 Belfo labio, juveniles Alientos, inquieto ardor, En el florido verdor De sus lozanos abriles. Cuelga la rubia guedeja 25 Por donde el almete sube, Cual mirarse tal vez deja Del sol la ardiente madeja Entre cenicienta nube; Gorguera de anchos follajes, page 31 De una cristiana primores; En el yelmo los plumajes Por los visos y celajes Vergel de diversas flores; 5 En la cuja gruesa lanza, Con recamado pend�n, Y una cifra � ver se alcanza, Que es de desesperaci�n, � � lo menos de venganza. 10 En el arz�n de la silla Ancho escudo reverbera Con blasones de Castilla, Y el mote dice � la orilla: Nunca mi espada venciera. 15 Era el caballo gal�n, El bruto m�s generoso, De m�s gallardo adem�n: Cabos negros, y brioso, Muy tostado, y alaz�n, 20 Larga cola recogida En las piernas descarnadas, Cabeza peque�a, erguida, Las narices dilatadas, Vista feroz y encendida. 25 Nunca en el ancho rodeo Que da Betis con tal fruto Pudo fingir el deseo M�s bella estampa de bruto, Ni m�s hermoso paseo. page 32 Di� la vuelta al rededor; Los ojos que le ve�an Lleva prendados de amor: �Al� te salve! dec�an, 5 �D�te el Profeta favor! Causaba l�stima y grima Su tierna edad floreciente: Todos quieren que se exima Del riesgo, y �l solamente 10 Ni recela ni se estima. Las doncellas, al pasar, Hacen de �mbar y alcanfor Pebeteros exhalar, Vertiendo pomos de olor, 15 De jazmines y azahar. Mas cuando en medio se para, Y de m�s cerca le mira La cristiana esclava Aldara, Con su se�ora se encara, 20 Y as� la dice, y suspira: --Se�ora, sue�os no son; As� los cielos, vencidos De mi ruego y aflicci�n, Acerquen � mis o�dos 25 Las campanas de Le�n, Como ese doncel, que ufano Tanto asombro viene � dar � todo el pueblo africano, Es Rodrigo de Bivar, page 33 El soberbio castellano.-- Sin descubrirle qui�n es, La Zaida desde una almena Le habl� una noche cort�s, 5 Por donde se abri� despu�s El cubo de la Almudena; Y supo que, fugitivo De la corte de Fernando, El cristiano, apenas vivo, 10 Est� � Jimena adorando Y en su memoria cautivo. Tal vez � Madrid se acerca Con frecuentes correr�as Y todo en torno la cerca; 15 Observa sus saet�as, Arroyadas y ancha alberca. Por eso le ha conocido: Que en medio de aclamaciones, El caballo ha detenido 20 Delante de sus balcones, Y la saluda rendido. La mora se puso en pie Y sus doncellas detr�s: El alcaide que lo ve, 25 Enfurecido adem�s, Muestra cu�n celoso est�. Suena un rumor placentero Entre el vulgo de Madrid: No habr� mejor caballero, page 34 Dicen, en el mundo entero, Y algunos le llaman Cid. Crece la algazara, y �l, Torciendo las riendas de oro, 5 Marcha al combate cr�el: Alza el galope, y al toro Busca en sonoro tropel. El bruto se le ha encarado Desde que le vi� llegar, 10 De tanta gala asombrado, Y al rededor le ha observado Sin moverse de un lugar. Cual flecha se dispar� Despedida de la cuerda, 15 De tal suerte le embisti�; Detr�s de la oreja izquierda La aguda lanza le hiri�. Brama la fiera burlada; Segunda vez acomete, 20 De espuma y sudor ba�ada, Y segunda vez la mete Sutil la punta acerada. Pero ya Rodrigo espera Con heroico atrevimiento, 25 El pueblo mudo y atento: Se engalla el toro y altera, Y finje acometimiento. La arena escarba ofendido, Sobre la espalda la arroja page 35 Con el hueso retorcido; El suelo huele y le moja En ardiente resoplido. La cola inquieto menea, 5 La diestra oreja mosquea, Vase retirando atr�s, Para que la fuerza sea Mayor, y el �mpetu m�s. El que en esta ocasi�n viera 10 De Zaida el rostro alterado, Claramente conociera Cuanto le cuesta cuidado El que tanto riesgo espera. Mas �ay, que le embiste horrendo 15 El animal espantoso! Jam�s pe�asco tremendo Del C�ucaso cavernoso Se desgaja, estrago haciendo, Ni llama as� fulminante 20 Cruza en negra obscuridad Con rel�mpagos delante, Al estr�pito tronante De sonora tempestad, Como el bruto se abalanza 25 Con terrible ligereza; Mas rota con gran pujanza La alta nuca, la fiereza Y el �ltimo aliento lanza. La confusa vocer�a page 36 Que en tal instante se oy� Fu� tanta, que parec�a Que honda mina revent�, � el monte y valle se hund�a. 5 � caballo como estaba Rodrigo, el lazo alcanz� Con que el toro se adornaba: En su lanza le clav� Y � los balcones llegaba. 10 Y alz�ndose en los estribos, Le alarga � Zaida, diciendo: --Sultana, aunque bien entiendo Ser favores excesivos, Mi corto don admitiendo; 15 Si no os dign�redes ser Con �l benigna, advertid Que � m� me basta saber Que no le debo ofrecer � otra persona en Madrid.-- 20 Ella, el rostro placentero, Dijo, y turbada:--Se�or, Yo le admito y le venero, Por conservar el favor De tan gentil caballero.-- 25 Y besando el rico don, Para agradar al doncel, Le prende con afici�n Al lado del coraz�n Por brinqui�o y por joyel. page 37 Pero Aliatar el caudillo De envidia ardiendo se ve, Y, tr�mulo y amarillo, Sobre un tremec�n rosillo 5 Lozane�ndose fu�. Y en ronca voz:--Castellano, Le dice, con m�s decoros Suelo yo dar de mi mano, Si no penachos de toros, 10 Las cabezas del cristiano. Y si vinieras de guerra Cual vienes de fiesta y gala, Vieras que en toda la tierra, Al valor que dentro encierra 15 Madrid, ninguno se iguala.-- --As�, dijo el de Bivar, Respondo--; y la lanza al ristre Pone, y espera � Aliatar; Mas sin que nadie administre 20 Orden, tocaron � armar. Ya fiero bando con gritos Su muerte � prisi�n ped�a, Cuando se oy� en los distritos Del monte de Leganitos 25 Del Cid la trompeter�a. Entre la Monclova y Soto Tercio escogido embosc�, Que, viendo como tard�, Se acerca, oy� el alboroto, page 38 Y al muro se abalanz�. Y si no vieran salir Por la puerta � su se�or, Y Zaida � le despedir, 5 Iban la fuerza � embestir: Tal era ya su furor. El alcaide, recelando Que en Madrid tenga partido, Se templ� disimulando, 10 Y por el parque florido Sali� con �l razonando. Y es fama que, � la bajada, Jur� por la cruz el Cid De su vencedora espada 15 De no quitar la celada Hasta que gane � Madrid.

DON GASPAR MELCHOR DE JOVELLANOS

� ARNESTO

�Quis tam patiens ut teneat se? JUVENAL

D�jame, Arnesto, d�jame que llore Los fieros males de mi patria, deja Que su r�ina y perdici�n lamente; 20 Y si no quieres que en el centro obscuro De esta prisi�n la pena me consuma, D�jame al menos que levante el grito Contra el desorden: deja que � la tinta page 39 Mezclando miel y ac�bar, siga ind�cil Mi pluma el vuelo del buf�n de Aquino. �Oh! �cu�nto rostro veo, � mi censura, De palidez y de rubor cubierto! 5 �nimo, amigos, nadie tema, nadie, Su punzante aguij�n; que yo persigo En mi s�tira el vicio, no al vicioso.

Ya la notoriedad es el m�s noble Atributo del vicio, y nuestras Julias, 10 M�s que ser malas quieren parecerlo. Hubo un tiempo en que andaba la modestia Dorando los delitos; hubo un tiempo En que el recato t�mido cubr�a La fealdad del vicio; pero huy�se 15 El pudor � vivir en las caba�as.

�Oh infamia! �oh siglo! �oh corrupci�n! Matronas Castellanas, �qui�n pudo vuestro claro Pundonor eclipsar? �Qui�n de Lucrecias En La�s os volvi�? �Ni el proceloso 20 Oc�ano, ni, lleno de peligros, El Lilibeo, ni las arduas cumbres De Pirene pudieron guareceros Del contagio fatal? Zarpa pre�ada De oro la nao gaditana, aporta 25 � las orillas g�licas, y vuelve Llena de objetos f�tiles y vanos; page 40 Y entre los signos de extranjera pompa Ponzo�a esconde y corrupci�n, compradas Con el sudor de las iberas frentes; Y t�, m�sera Espa�a, t� la esperas 5 Sobre la playa, y con af�n recoges La pestilente carga, y la repartes Alegre entre tus hijos. Viles plumas, Gasas y cintas, flores y penachos 10 Te trae en cambio de la sangre tuya; De tu sangre �oh bald�n! y acaso, acaso De tu virtud y honestidad. Repara Cual la liviana juventud los busca. Mira cual va con ellos engre�da La impudente doncella; su cabeza, 15 Cual nave real en triunfo empavesada, Vana presenta del favonio al soplo La mies de plumas y de airones, y anda Loca, buscando en la lisonja el premio De su indiscreto af�n. �Ay triste! guarte, 20 Guarte, que est� cercano el precipicio. El astuto amador ya en asechanza Te atisba y sigue con lascivos ojos; La adulaci�n y la caricia el lazo Te van � armar, do caer�s incauta, 25 En �l tu oprobio y perdici�n hallando. �Ay cu�nto, cu�nto de amargura y lloro Te costar�n tus galas! �Cu�n tard�o Ser� y est�ril tu arrepentimiento! Ya ni el rico Brasil, ni las cavernas page 41 Del nunca exhausto Potos� no bastan � saciar el hidr�pico deseo, La ansiosa sed de vanidad y pompa. Todo lo agotan: cuesta un sombrerillo 5 Lo que antes un Estado, y se consume5 En un fest�n la dote de una infanta; Todo lo tragan; la riqueza unida Va � la indigencia; pide y pordiosea El noble, enga�a, empe�a, malbarata, 10 Quiebra y perece, y el logrero goza Los ping�es patrimonios, premio un d�a Del generoso af�n de altos abuelos. �Oh ultraje! �oh mengua! todo se trafica: Parentesco, amistad, favor, influjo, 15 Y hasta el honor, dep�sito sagrado, � se vende � se compra. Y t�, belleza, Don el m�s grato que di� al hombre el cielo, No eres ya premio del valor, ni paga Del peregrino ingenio; la florida 20 Juventud, la ternura, el rendimiento Del constante amador ya no te alcanzan. Ya ni te das al coraz�n, ni sabes De �l recibir adoraci�n y ofrendas. R�ndeste al oro. La vejez hedionda, 25 La sucia palidez, la faz adusta, Fiera y terrible, con igual derecho Vienen sin susto � negociar contigo. Daste al barato, y tu rosada frente, Tus suaves besos y tus dulces brazos, page 42 Corona un tiempo del amor m�s puro, Son ya una vil y torpe mercanc�a.

DON JUAN MEL�NDEZ VALD�S

ROSANA EN LOS FUEGOS

Del sol llevaba la lumbre, Y la alegr�a del alba, 5 En sus celestiales ojos La hermos�sima Rosana, Una noche que � los fuegos Sali� la fiesta de Pascua Para abrasar todo el valle 10 En mil amorosas ansias. Por do quiera que camina Lleva tras s� la ma�ana, Y donde se vuelve rinde La libertad de mil almas. 15 El c�firo la acaricia Y mansamente la halaga, Los Amores la rodean Y las Gracias la acompa�an. Y ella, as� como en el valle 20 Descuella la altiva palma Cuando sus verdes pimpollos Hasta las nubes levanta; � cual vid de fruto llena Que con el olmo se abraza, page 43 Y sus v�stagos extiende Al arbitrio de las ramas; As� entre sus compa�eras El nevado cuello alza, 5 Sobresaliendo entre todas Cual fresca rosa entre zarzas. Todos los ojos se lleva Tras s�, todo lo avasalla; De amor mata � los pastores 10 Y de envidia � las zagalas. Ni las m�sicas se atienden, Ni se gozan las lumbradas; Que todos corren por verla Y al verla todos se abrasan. 15 �Qu� de suspiros se escuchan! �Qu� de vivas y de salvas! No hay zagal que no la admire Y no se esmere en loarla. Cual absorto la contempla 20 Y � la aurora la compara Cuando m�s alegre sale Y el cielo en albores ba�a; Cual al fresco y verde aliso Que crece al margen del agua, 25 Cuando m�s pomposo en hojas En su cristal se retrata; Cual � la luna, si muestra Llena su esfera de plata, Y asoma por los collados page 44 De luceros coronada. Otros pasmados la miran Y mudamente la alaban, Y cuanto m�s la contemplan 5 Muy m�s hermosa la hallan. Que es como el cielo su rostro Cuando en la noche callada Brilla con todas sus luces Y los ojos embaraza. 10 �Ay, qu� de envidias se encienden! �Ay, qu� de celos que causa En las serranas del Tormes Su perfecci�n sobrehumana! Las m�s hermosas la temen, 15 Mas sin osar murmurarla; Que como el oro m�s puro No sufre una leve mancha. Bien haya tu gentileza, Una y mil veces bien haya, 20 Y abrase la envidia al pueblo, Hermos�sima aldeana. Toda, toda eres perfecta, Toda eres donaire y gracia, El amor vive en tus ojos 25 Y la gloria est� en tu cara. La libertad me has robado, Yo la doy por bien robada, Mas recibe el don benigna Que mi humildad te consagra. page 45 Esto un zagal la dec�a Con razones mal formadas, Que sali� libre � los fuegos Y volvi� cautivo � casa. 5 Y desde entonces perdido El d�a � sus puertas le halla; Ayer le cant� esta letra Ech�ndole la alborada: Linda zagaleja 10 De cuerpo gentil, Mu�rome de amores Desde que te vi. Tu talle, tu aseo, Tu gala y donaire, 15 No tienen, serrana, Igual en el valle. Del cielo son ellos Y t� un seraf�n: Mu�rome de amores 20 Desde que te vi. De amores me muero, Sin que nada baste � darme la vida Que all� te llevaste, 25 Si ya no te dueles, Benigna, de m�; Que muero de amores Desde que te vi. page 46

DON MANUEL JOS� QUINTANA

ODA � ESPA�A, DESPU�S DE LA REVOLUCI�N DE MARZO

�Qu� era, decidme, la naci�n que un d�a Reina del mundo proclam� el destino, La que � todas las zonas extend�a Su cetro de oro y su blas�n divino? 5 Vol�base � occidente, Y el vasto mar Atl�ntico sembrado Se hallaba de su gloria y su fortuna. Do quiera Espa�a: en el preciado seno 10 De Am�rica, en el Asia, en los confines Del �frica, all� Espa�a. El soberano Vuelo de la atrevida fantas�a Para abarcarla se cansaba en vano; La tierra sus mineros le rend�a, Sus perlas y coral el Oceano, 15 Y donde quier que revolver sus olas �l intentase, � quebrantar su furia Siempre encontraba costas espa�olas. Ora en el cieno del oprobio hundida, Abandonada � la insolencia ajena, 20 Como esclava en mercado, ya aguardaba La ruda argolla y la servil cadena. �Qu� de plagas! �oh Dios! Su aliento impuro, La pestilente fiebre respirando, Infest� el aire, emponzo�� la vida; page 47 La hambre enflaquecida Tendi� sus brazos l�vidos, ahogando Cuanto el contagio perdon�; tres veces De Jano el templo abrimos, 5 Y � la trompa de Marte aliento dimos; Tres veces �ay! Los dioses tutelares Su escudo nos negaron, y nos vimos Rotos en tierra y rotos en los mares. �Qu� en tanto tiempo viste 10 Por tus inmensos t�rminos, oh Iberia? �Qu� viste ya sino funesto luto, Honda tristeza, sin igual miseria, De tu vil servidumbre acerbo fruto? As� rota la vela, abierto el lado, 15 Pobre bajel � naufragar camina, De tormenta en tormenta despe�ado, Por los yermos del mar; ya ni en su popa Las guirnaldas se ven que antes le ornaban, Ni en se�al de esperanza y de contento 20 La fl�mula r�endo al aire ondea. Ces� en su dulce canto el pasajero, Ahog� su vocer�a El ronco marinero, Terror de muerte en torno le rodea, 25 Terror de muerte silencioso y fr�o; Y �l va � estrellarse al �spero baj�o. Llega el momento, en fin; tiende su mano El tirano del mundo al occidente, Y fiero exclama: �El occidente es m�o.� page 48 B�rbaro gozo en su ce�uda frente Resplandeci�, como en el seno obscuro De nube tormentosa en el est�o Rel�mpago fugaz brilla un momento 5 Que a�ade horror con su fulgor sombr�o. Sus guerreros feroces Con gritos de soberbia el viento llenan; Gimen los yunques, los martillos suenan, Arden las forjas. �Oh verg�enza! �Acaso 10 Pens�is que espadas son para el combate Las que mueven sus manos codiciosas? No en tanto os estim�is: grillos, esposas, Cadenas son que en vergonzosos lazos Por siempre amarren tan inertes brazos. 15 Estremeci�se Espa�a Del indigno rumor que cerca o�a, Y al grande impulso de su justa sa�a Rompi� el volc�n que en su interior herv�a. Sus d�spotas antiguos 20 Consternados y p�lidos se esconden; Resuena el eco de venganza en torno, Y del Tajo las m�rgenes responden: ��Venganza!� �D�nde est�n, sagrado r�o, Los colosos de oprobio y de verg�enza 25 Que nuestro bien en su insolencia ahogaban; Su gloria fu�, nuestro esplendor comienza; Y t�, orgulloso y fiero, Viendo que aun hay Castilla y castellanos, Precipitas al mar tus rubias ondas, page 49 �Oh triunfo! �Oh gloria! �Oh celestial momento! �Con que puede ya dar el labio m�o El nombre augusto de la patria al viento? 5 Yo le dar�; mas no en el arpa de oro Que mi cantar sonoro Acompa�� hasta aqu�; no aprisionado En estrecho recinto, en que se apoca El numen en el pecho 10 Y el aliento fat�dico en la boca. Desenterrad la lira de Tirteo, Y el aire abierto � la radiante lumbre Del sol, en la alta cumbre Del riscoso y pin�fero Fuenfr�a, 15 All� volar� yo, y all� cantando Con voz que atruene en rededor la sierra, Lanzar� por los campos castellanos Los ecos de la glor�a y de la guerra. �Guerra, nombre tremendo, ahora sublime, 20 �nico asilo y sacrosanto escudo Al �mpetu sa�udo Del fiero Atila que � occidente oprime! �Guerra, guerra, espa�oles! En el Betis Ved del Tercer Fernando alzarse airada 25 La augusta sombra; su divina frente Mostrar Gonzalo en la imperial Granada; Blandir el Cid su centelleante espada, Y all� sobre los altos Pirineos, Del hijo de Jimena page 50 Animarse los miembros giganteos. En torvo ce�o y desde�osa pena Ved como cruzan por los aires vanos; Y el valor exhalando que se encierra 5 Dentro del hueco de sus tumbas fr�as, En fiera y ronca voz pronuncian: ��Guerra! �Pues qu�! �Con faz serena Vierais los campos devastar opimos, Eterno objeto de ambici�n ajena, 10 Herencia inmensa que afanando os dimos? Despertad, raza de h�roes: el momento Lleg� ya de arrojarse � la victoria; Que vuestro nombre eclipse nuestro nombre, Que vuestra glor�a humille nuestra gloria. 15 No ha sido en el gran d�a 15 El altar de la patria alzado en vano Por vuestra mano fuerte. Juradlo, ella os lo manda: �Antes la muerte Que consentir jam�s ning�n tirano!� 20 S�, yo lo juro, venerables sombras; Yo lo juro tambi�n, y en este instante Ya me siento mayor. Dadme una lanza, Ce�idme el casco fiero y refulgente; Volemos al combate, � la venganza; 25 Y el que niegue su pecho � la esperanza, Hunda en el polvo la cobarde frente. Tal vez el gran torrente De la devastaci�n en su carrera Me llevar�. �Qu� importa? �Por ventura page 51 No se muere una vez? �No ir�, expirando, � encontrar nuestros �nclitos mayores? ��Salud, oh padres de la patria m�a, Yo les dir�, salud! La heroica Espa�a 5 De entre el estrago universal y horrores Levanta la cabeza ensangrentada, Y vencedora de su mal destino, Vuelve � dar � la tierra amedrentada

DON DIONISIO SOL�S

LA PREGUNTA DE LA NI�A

10 Madre m�a, yo soy ni�a; No se enfade, no me ri�a, Si fiada en su prudencia Desahogo mi conciencia, Y contarle solicito 15 Mi desdicha � mi delito, Aunque muerta de rubor. Pues Blasillo el otro d�a, Cuando mismo anochec�a, Y cantando descuidada 20 Conduc�a mi manada, En el bosque, por acaso, Me sali� solito al paso, M�s hermoso que el amor. Se me acerca temeroso, page 52 Me saluda cari�oso, Me repite que soy linda, Que no hay pecho que no rinda, Que si r�o, que si lloro, 5 � los hombres enamoro, Y que mato con mirar. Con estilo cortesano Se apodera de mi mano, Y entre dientes, madre m�a, 10 No s� bien qu� me ped�a; Yo entend� que era una rosa, Pero �l dijo que era otra cosa, Que yo no le quise dar. �Sabe usted lo que dec�a 15 El taimado que quer�a? Con verg�enza lo confieso, Mas no hay duda que era un beso Y fue tanto mi sonrojo, Que irritada de su arrojo, 20 No s� como no mor�. Mas mi pecho enternecido De mirarle tan rendido, Al principio resistiendo, �l instando, yo cediendo, 25 Fue por fin tan importuno, Que en la boca, y s�lo uno, Que me diera permit�. Desde entonces, si le miro, Yo no s� por qu� suspiro, page 53 Ni por qu� si � Clori mira Se me abrasa el rostro en ira; Ni por qu�, si con cuidado Se me pone junto al lado, 5 Me estremezco de placer. Siempre orillas de la fuente Busco rosas � mi frente, Pienso en �l y me sonr�o, Y entre m� le llamo m�o, 10 Me entristezco de su ausencia, Y deseo en su presencia La m�s bella parecer. Confundida, peno y dudo, Y por eso � usted acudo; 15 D�game, querida madre, Si sent�a por mi padre Este pl�cido tormento, Esta dulce que yo siento Deliciosa enfermedad. 20 Diga usted con qu� se cura � mi amor, � mi locura, Y si puede por un beso, Sin que pase � m�s exceso, Una ni�a enamorarse, 25 Y que trate de casarse � los quince de su edad. page 54

DON JUAN NICASIO GALLEGO

EL DOS DE MAYO

Noche, l�brega noche, eterno asilo Del miserable que, esquivando el sue�o, En tu silencio pavoroso gime: No desde�es mi voz; letal bele�o 5 Presta � mis sienes, y en tu horror sublime Empapada la ardiente fantas�a, Da � mi pincel fat�dicos colores Con que el tremendo d�a Trace al furor de vengadora tea, 10 Y el odio irrite de la patria m�a, Y esc�ndalo y terror al orbe sea. �D�a de execraci�n! La destructora Mano del tiempo le arroj� al averno; Mas �qui�n el sempiterno 15 Clamor con que los ecos importuna La madre Espa�a en enlutado arreo Podr� atajar? Junto al sepulcro fr�o, Al p�lido lucir de opaca luna, Entre cipreses f�nebres la veo: 20 Tr�mula, yerta, desce�ido el manto, Los ojos moribundos Al cielo vuelve, que le oculta el llanto; Roto y sin brillo el cetro de dos mundos Yace entre el polvo, y el le�n guerrero 25 Lanza � sus pies rugido lastimero. page 55 �Ay, que cual d�bil planta Que agota en su furor h�rrido viento, De v�ctimas sin cuento Llor� la destrucci�n Mantua afligida! 5 Yo vi, yo vi su juventud florida Correr inerme al hu�sped ominoso. �Mas qu� su generoso Esfuerzo pudo? El p�rfido caudillo En quien su honor y su defensa f�a, 10 La conden� al cuchillo. �Qui�n �ay! la alevos�a, La horrible asolaci�n habr� que cuente, Que, hollando de amistad los santos fueros, Hizo furioso en la indefensa gente 15 Ese tropel de tigres carniceros? Por las henchidas calles Gritando se despe�a La infame turba que abrig� en su seno, Rueda all� rechinando la cure�a, 20 Ac� retumba el espantoso trueno, All� el joven lozano, El mendigo infeliz, el venerable Sacerdote pac�fico, el anciano Que con su arada faz respeto imprime, 25 Juntos amarra su dogal tirano. En balde, en balde gime, De los duros sat�lites en torno, La triste madre, la afligida esposa. Con doliente clamor, la pavorosa page 56 Fatal descarga suena, Que � luto y llanto eterno la condena. �Cu�nta escena de muerte! �cu�nto estrago! �Cu�ntos ayes doquier! Despavorido 5 Mirad ese infelice Quejarse al adalid empedernido De otra cuadrilla atroz. ��Ah! �Qu� te hice?� Exclama el triste en l�grimas deshecho: �Mi pan y mi mansi�n part� contigo, 10 Te abr� mis brazos, te ced� mi lecho, Templ� tu sed, y me llam� tu amigo; �Y ahora pagar podr�s nuestro hospedaje Sincero, franco, sin doblez ni enga�o, Con dura muerte y con indigno ultraje?� 15 �Perdido suplicar! �in�til ruego! El monstruo infame � sus ministros mira, Y con tremenda voz gritando: ��fuego!� Tinto en su sangre el desgraciado expira. Y en tanto �d� se esconden? 20 �D� est�n �oh cara patria! tus soldados, Que � tu clamor de muerte no responden? Presos, encarcelados Por jefes sin honor, que, haciendo alarde De su perfidia y dolo, 25 � merced de los v�ndalos te dejan, Como entre hierros el le�n, forcejean Con in�til af�n. Vosotros s�lo, Fuerte Daoiz, intr�pido Velarde, Que osando resistir al gran torrente page 57 Dar supisteis en flor la dulce vida Con firme pecho y con serena frente; Si de mi libre musa 5 Jam�s el eco adormeci� � tiranos, Ni vil lisonja emponzo�� su aliento, All� del alto asiento, Al que la acci�n magn�nima os eleva, El himno oid que � vuestro nombre entona, Mientras la fama al�gera le lleva 10 Del mar de hielo � la abrasada zona. Mas �ay! que en tanto sus funestas alas Por la opresa metr�poli tendiendo, La yerma asolaci�n sus plazas cubre, Y al �spero silbar de ardientes balas, 15 Y al ronco son de los pre�ados bronces, Nuevo fragor y estr�pito sucede. �O�s c�mo, rompiendo De moradores t�midos las puertas, Caen estallando de los fuertes gonces? 20 �Con qu� espantoso estruendo Los due�os buscan, que medrosos huyen! Cuanto encuentran destruyen, Bramando, los atroces forajidos, Que el robo infame y la matanza ciegan. 25 �No veis cu�l se despliegan, Penetrando en los hondos aposentos, De sangre y oro y l�grimas sedientos? Rompen, talan, destrozan Cuanto se ofrece � su sangrienta espada. page 58 Aqu�, matando al due�o, se alborozan, Hieren all� su esposa acongojada; La familia asolada Yace expirando, y con feroz sonrisa 5 Sorben voraces el fatal tesoro. Suelta, � otro lado, la madeja de oro, Mustio el dulce carm�n de su mejilla, Y en su frente marchita la azucena, Con voz turbada y anhelante lloro, 10 De su verdugo ante los pies se humilla T�mida virgen, de amargura llena; Mas con furor de hiena, Alzando el corvo alfanje damasquino, Hiende su cuello el b�rbaro asesino. 15 �Horrible atrocidad!... Treguas �oh musa! Que ya la voz rehusa Embargada en suspiros mi garganta. Y en ignominia tanta, �Ser� que rinda el espa�ol bizarro 20 La ind�mita cerviz � la cadena? No, que ya en torno suena De Palas fiera el sanguinoso carro, Y el l�tigo estallante Los caballos flam�geros hostiga. 25 Ya el duro peto y el arn�s brillante Visten los fuertes hijos de Pelayo. Fuego arroj� su ruginoso acero: ��Venganza y guerra!� reson� en su tumba; ��Venganza y guerra!� repiti� Moncayo; page 59 Y al grito heroico que en los aires zumba, ��Venganza y guerra!� claman Turia y Duero. Guadalquivir guerrero Alza al b�lico son la regia frente, 5 Y del Patr�n valiente Blandiendo altivo la nudosa lanza, Corre gritando al mar: ��Guerra y venganza!� �Oh sombras infelices 10 De los que aleve y b�rbara cuchilla Rob� � los dulces lares! �Sombras inultas que en fugaz gemido Cruz�is los anchos campos de Castilla! La heroica Espa�a, en tanto que al bandido Que � fuego y sangre, de insolencia ciego, 15 Brind� felicidad, � sangre y fuego Le retribuye el don, sabr� piadosa Daros solemne y noble monumento. All� en padr�n cruento De oprobio y mengua, que perpetuo dure, 20 La vil traici�n del d�spota se lea, Y altar eterno sea Donde todo Espa�ol al monstruo jure Rencor de muerte que en sus venas cunda, Y � cien generaciones se difunda. page 60

DON FRANCISCO MART�NEZ DE LA ROSA

EL NIDO

�D�nde vas, zagal cruel, D�nde vas con ese nido, Riyendo t� mientras p�an Esos tristes pajarillos? 5 Su madre los dej� solos En este momento mismo, Para buscarles sustento Y d�rselo con su pico... M�rala cu�n azorada 10 Echa menos � sus hijos, Salta de un �rbol en otro, Va, torna, vuela sin tino: Al cielo favor demanda Con acento dolorido; 15 Mientras ellos en tu mano Baten el ala al oirlo... �T� tambi�n tuviste madre, Y la perdiste aun muy ni�o, Y te encontraste en la tierra 20 Sin amparo y sin abrigo!-- Las l�grimas se le saltan Al cuitado pastorcillo, Y vergonzoso y confuso Deja en el �rbol el nido. page 61

DON �NGEL DE SAAVEDRA, DUQUE DE RIVAS

UN CASTELLANO LEAL

ROMANCE PRIMERO

�Hol�, hidalgos y escuderos De mi alcurnia y mi blas�n, Mirad como bien nacidos De mi sangre y casa en pro. 5 �Esas puertas se defiendan; Que no ha de entrar, vive Dios, Por ellas, quien no estuviere M�s limpio que lo est� el sol. �No profane mi palacio 10 Un fementido traidor Que contra su Rey combate Y que � su patria vendi�. �Pues si �l es de Reyes primo, Primo de Reyes soy yo; 15 Y conde de Benavente Si �l es duque de Borb�n; �Llev�ndole de ventaja Que nunca jam�s manch� La traici�n mi noble sangre, 20 Y haber nacido espa�ol.�

As� atronaba la calle Una ya cascada voz, page 62 Que de un palacio sal�a Cuya puerta se cerr�; Y � la que estaba � caballo Sobre un negro pisador, 5 Siendo en su escudo las lises M�s bien que timbre bald�n, Y de pajes y escuderos Llevando un tropel en pos Cubiertos de ricas galas, 10 El gran duque de Borb�n: El que lidiando en Pav�a, M�s que valiente, feroz, Goz�se en ver prisionero � su natural se�or; 15 Y que � Toledo ha venido, Ufano de su traici�n, Para recibir mercedes Y ver al Emperador.

ROMANCE SEGUNDO

En una anchurosa cuadra 20 Del alc�zar de Toledo, Cuyas paredes adornan Ricos tapices flamencos, Al lado de una gran mesa, Que cubre de terciopelo 25 Napolitano tapete Con borlones de oro y flecos; Ante un sill�n de respaldo page 63 Que entre bordado arabesco Los timbres de Espa�a ostenta Y el �guila del imperio, De pie estaba Carlos Quinto, 5 Que en Espa�a era primero, Con gallardo y noble talle, Con noble y tranquilo aspecto.

De brocado de oro y blanco Viste tabardo tudesco, 10 De rubias martas orlado, Y desabrochado y suelto, Dejando ver un justillo De raso jalde, cubierto Con primorosos bordados 15 Y costosos sobrepuestos, Y la excelsa y noble insignia Del Tois�n de oro, pendiendo De una preciosa cadena En la mitad de su pecho. 20 Un birrete de velludo Con un blanco air�n, sujeto Por un joyel de diamantes Y un antiguo camafeo, Descubre por ambos lados, 25 Tanta majestad cubriendo, Rubio, cual barba y bigote, Bien atusado el cabello. Apoyada en la cadera page 64 La potente diestra ha puesto, Que aprieta dos guantes de �mbar Y un primoroso mosquero, Y con la siniestra halaga 5 De un mast�n muy corpulento, Blanco y las orejas rubias, El ancho y carnoso cuello.

Con el Condestable insigne, Apaciguador del reino, 10 De los pasados disturbios Acaso est� discurriendo; � del trato que dispone Con el Rey de Francia preso, � de asuntos de Alemania 15 Agitada por Lutero; Cuando un tropel de caballos Oye venir � lo lejos Y ante el alc�zar pararse, Quedando todo en silencio. 20 En la antec�mara suena Rumor impensado luego, �brese al fin la mampara Y entra el de Borb�n soberbio, Con el semblante de azufre 25 Y con los ojos de fuego, Bramando de ira y de rabia Que enfrena mal el respeto; Y con balbuciente lengua, page 65 Y con mal borrado ce�o, Acusa al de Benavente, Un desagravio pidiendo.

Del espa�ol Condestable 5 Lati� con orgullo el pecho, Ufano de la entereza De su esclarecido deudo. Y aunque advertido procura Disimular cual discreto, 10 � su noble rostro asoman La aprobaci�n y el contento. El Emperador un punto Qued� indeciso y suspenso, Sin saber qu� responderle 15 Al franc�s, de enojo ciego. Y aunque en su interior se goza Con el proceder violento Del conde de Benavente, De altas esperanzas lleno 20 Por tener tales vasallos, De noble lealtad modelos, Y con los que el ancho mundo Ser� � sus glorias estrecho, Mucho al de Borb�n le debe 25 Y es fuerza satisfacerlo: Le ofrece para calmarlo Un desagravio completo. Y, llamando � un gentil-hombre, page 66 Con el semblante severo Manda que el de Benavente Venga � su presencia presto.

ROMANCE TERCERO

Sostenido por sus pajes 5 Desciende de su litera El conde de Benavente Del alc�zar � la puerta. Era un viejo respetable, Cuerpo enjuto, cara seca, 10 Con dos ojos como chispas, Cargados de largas cejas, Y con semblante muy noble, Mas de gravedad tan seria Que veneraci�n de lejos 15 Y miedo causa de cerca. Eran su traje unas calzas De p�rpura de Valencia, Y de recamado ante Un coleto � la leonesa: 20 De fino lienzo gallego Los pu�os y la gorguera, Unos y otra guarnecidos Con randas barcelonesas: Un birret�n de velludo 25 Con su cintillo de perlas, Y el gab�n de pa�o verde Con alamares de seda. page 67 Tan s�lo de Calatrava La insignia espa�ola lleva; Que el Tois�n ha despreciado Por ser orden extranjera.

5 Con paso tardo, aunque firme, Sube por las escaleras, Y al verle, las alabardas Un golpe dan en la tierra; Golpe de honor, y de aviso 10 De que en el alc�zar entra Un Grande, � quien se le debe Todo honor y reverencia. Al llegar � la antesala, Los pajes que est�n en ella 15 Con respeto le saludan Abriendo las anchas puertas. Con grave paso entra el conde Sin que otro aviso preceda, Salones atravesando 20 Hasta la c�mara regia.

Pensativo est� el Monarca, Discurriendo como pueda Componer aquel disturbio Sin hacer � nadie ofensa. 25 Mucho al de Borb�n le debe, Aun mucho m�s de �l espera, Y al de Benavente mucho page 68 Considerar le interesa. Dilaci�n no admite el caso, No hay quien dar consejo pueda Y Villalar y Pav�a 5 � un tiempo se le recuerdan. En el sill�n asentado Y el codo sobre la mesa, Al personaje recibe, Que comedido se acerca.

10 Grave el conde le saluda Con una rodilla en tierra, Mas como Grande del reino Sin descubrir la cabeza. El Emperador benigno 15 Que alce del suelo le ordena, Y la pl�tica dif�cil Con sagacidad empieza. Y entre severo y afable Al cabo le manifiesta 20 Que es el que � Borb�n aloje Voluntad suya resuelta. Con respeto muy profundo, Pero con la voz entera, Resp�ndele Benavente, 25 Destocando la cabeza: �Soy, se�or, vuestro vasallo, Vos sois mi rey en la tierra, � vos ordenar os cumple page 69 De mi vida y de mi hacienda. �Vuestro soy, vuestra mi casa, De m� disponed y de ella, Pero no toqu�is mi honra 5 Y respetad mi conciencia. �Mi casa Borb�n ocupe Puesto que es voluntad vuestra, Contamine sus paredes, Sus blasones envilezca; 10 �Que � m� me sobra en Toledo Donde vivir, sin que tenga Que rozarme con traidores, Cuyo solo aliento infesta. Y en cuanto �l deje mi casa, 15 Antes de tornar yo � ella, Purificar� con fuego Sus paredes y sus puertas.� Dijo el conde, la real mano Bes�, cubri� su cabeza, 20 Y retir�se bajando � do estaba su litera. Y � casa de un su pariente Mand� que le condujeran, Abandonando la suya 25 Con cuanto dentro se encierra. Qued� absorto Carlos Quinto De ver tan noble firmeza, Estimando la de Espa�a M�s que la imperial diadema. page 70 ROMANCE CUARTO

Muy pocos d�as el duque Hizo mansi�n en Toledo, Del noble conde ocupando Los honrados aposentos. 5 Y la noche en que el palacio Dej� vac�o, partiendo, Con su s�quito y sus pajes, Orgulloso y satisfecho, Turb� la apacible luna 10 Un vapor blanco y espeso Que de las altas techumbres Se iba elevando y creciendo: � poco rato torn�se En humo confuso y denso 15 Que en nubarrones obscuros Ofuscaba el claro cielo; Despu�s en ardientes chispas, Y en un resplandor horrendo 20 Que iluminaba los valles Dando en el Tajo reflejos, Y al fin su furor mostrando En embravecido incendio Que devoraba altas torres Y derrumbaba altos techos. 25 Resonaron las campanas, Conmovi�se todo el pueblo, De Benavente el palacio page 71 Presa de las llamas viendo. El Emperador confuso Corre � procurar remedio, En atajar tanto da�o 5 Mostrando tenaz empe�o. En vano todo: trag�se Tantas riquezas el fuego, � la lealtad castellana Levantando un monumento. 10 Aun hoy unos viejos muros Del humo y las llamas negros Recuerdan acci�n tan grande En la famosa Toledo.

PADRE JUAN AROLAS

S� M�S FELIZ QUE YO

Sobre pupila azul, con sue�o leve, 15 Tu p�rpado cayendo amortecido, Se parece � la pura y blanca nieve Que sobre las violetas repos�: Yo el sue�o del placer nunca he dormido: S� m�s feliz que yo. 20 Se asemeja tu voz en la plegaria Al canto del zorzal de indiano suelo Que sobre la pagoda solitaria Los himnos de la tarde suspir�: page 72 Yo s�lo esta oraci�n dirijo al cielo: S� m�s feliz que yo. Es tu aliento la esencia m�s fragante De los lirios del Arno caudaloso 5 Que brotan sobre un junco vacilante Cuando el c�firo blando los meci�: Yo no gozo su aroma delicioso: S� m�s feliz que yo. El amor, que es esp�ritu de fuego, 10 Que de callada noche se aconseja Y se nutre con l�grimas y ruego, En tus purp�reos labios se escondi�: �l te guarde el placer y a m� la queja: S� m�s feliz que yo. 15 Bella es tu juventud en sus albores Como un campo de rosas del Oriente; Al �ngel del recuerdo ped� flores Para adornar tu sien, y me las di�; Yo dec�a al ponerlas en tu frente: 20 S� m�s feliz que yo. Tu mirada vivaz es de paloma; Como la adormidera del desierto Causas dulce embriaguez, hur� de aroma Que el cielo de topacio abandon�: 25 Mi suerte es dura, mi destino incierto: S� m�s feliz que yo. page 73

DON JOS� DE ESPRONCEDA

CANCI�N DEL PIRATA

Con diez ca�ones por banda, Viento en popa � toda vela, No corta el mar, sino vuela Un velero bergant�n: 5 Bajel pirata que llaman, Por su bravura, el Temido, En todo mar conocido Del uno al otro conf�n. La luna en el mar r�ela, 10 En la lona gime el viento, Y alza en blando movimiento Olas de plata y azul; Y ve el capit�n pirata, Cantando alegre en la popa, 15 Asia � un lado, al otro Europa, Y all� � su frente Stambul, �Navega, velero m�o, Sin temor; Que ni enemigo nav�o, 20 Ni tormenta, ni bonanza Tu rumbo � torcer alcanza, Ni � sujetar tu valor. �Veinte presas Hemos hecho page 74 � despecho Del ingl�s, Y han rendido Sus pendones 5 Cien naciones5 � mis pies.� Que es mi barco mi tesoro, Que es mi Dios la libertad, Mi ley la fuerza y el viento, 10 Mi �nica patria la mar.

�All� muevan feroz guerra Ciegos reyes Por un palmo m�s de tierra: Que yo tengo aqu� por m�o 15 Cuanto abarca el mar brav�o, � quien nadie impuso leyes. �Y no hay playa, Sea cual quiera, Ni bandera 20 De esplendor, Que no sienta Mi derecho, Y d� pecho � mi valor.� 25 Que es mi barco mi tesoro...

�� la voz de ��barco viene!� Es de ver page 75 C�mo vira y se previene � todo trapo � escapar; Que yo soy el rey del mar, Y mi furia es de temer. 5 �En las presas Yo divido Lo cogido Por igual: S�lo quiero 10 Por riqueza La belleza Sin rival.� Que es mi barco mi tesoro...

��Sentenciado estoy � muerte! 15 Yo me r�o: No me abandone la suerte, Y al mismo que me condena Colgar� de alguna entena, Quiz� en su propio nav�o. 20 �Y si caigo, �Qu� es la vida? Por perdida Ya la di, Cuando el yugo 25 Del esclavo, Como un bravo, Sacud�.� Que es mi barco mi tesoro... page 76 �Son mi m�sica mejor Aquilones: El estr�pito y temblor De los cables sacudidos, 5 Del negro mar los bramidos Y el rugir de mis ca�ones. �Y del trueno Al son violento Y del viento 10 Al rebramar, Yo me duermo Sosegado, Arrullado Por el mar.� 15 Que es mi barco mi tesoro, Que es mi Dios la libertad, Mi ley la fuerza y el viento, Mi �nica patria la mar.

� LA PATRIA

�Cuan solitaria la naci�n que un d�a 20 Poblara inmensa gente! �La naci�n cuyo imperio se extend�a Del ocaso al oriente!

�L�grimas viertes, infeliz, ahora, Soberana del mundo, 25 Y nadie de tu faz encantadora Borra el dolor profundo! page 77

Obscuridad y luto tenebroso En ti verti� la muerte, Y en su furor el d�spota sa�oso Se complaci� en tu suerte.

5 No perdon� lo hermoso, patria m�a; Cay� el joven guerrero, Cay� el anciano, y la segur imp�a Manej� placentero.

So la rabia cay� la virgen pura 10 Del d�spota sombr�o, Como eclipsa la rosa su hermosura En el sol del est�o.

�Oh vosotros, del mundo habitadores, Contemplad mi tormento! 15 �Igualarse podr�n �ah! qu� dolores Al dolor que yo siento?

Yo, desterrado de la patria m�a, De una patria que adoro, Perdida miro su primer val�a 20 Y sus desgracias lloro.....

Tendi� sus brazos la agitada Espa�a, Sus hijos implorando; Sus hijos fueron, mas traidora sa�a Desbarat� su bando. page 78

�Qu� se hicieron tus muros torreados, Oh mi patria querida? �D�nde fueron tus h�roes esforzados, Tu espada no vencida?

5 �Ay! de tus hijos en la humilde frente Est� el rubor grabado: � sus ojos, ca�dos tristemente, El llanto est� agolpado.

Un tiempo Espa�a fu�; cien h�roes fueron 10 En tiempos de ventura, Y las naciones t�midas la vieron Vistosa en hermosura.

Cual cedro que en el L�bano se ostenta, Su frente se elevaba; 15 Como el trueno � la virgen amedrenta, Su voz las aterraba.

Mas hora, como piedra en el desierto, Yaces desamparada, Y el justo desgraciado vaga incierto 20 All� en tierra apartada.

Cubren su antigua pompa y poder�o Pobre hierba y arena, Y el enemigo que tembl� � su br�o Burla y goza en su pena. page 79

V�rgenes, destrenzad la cabellera Y dadla al vago viento; Acompa�ad con arpa lastimera Mi l�gubre lamento.

5 Desterrados �oh Dios! de nuestros lares Lloremos duelo tanto: �Qui�n calmar� �oh Espa�a! tus pesares? �Qui�n secar� tu llanto?

DON JOS� ZORRILLA

ORIENTAL

Corriendo van por la vega 10 � las puertas de Granada Hasta cuarenta gomeles Y el capit�n que los manda. Al entrar en la ciudad, Parando en su yegua blanca, 15 Le dijo �ste � una mujer Que entre sus brazos lloraba: --Enjuga el llanto, cristiana, No me atormentes as�, Que tengo yo, mi sultana, 20 Un nuevo Ed�n para ti. Tengo un palacio en Granada, Tengo jardines y flores, Tengo una fuente dorada Con m�s de cien surtidores. page 80 Y en la vega del Genil Tengo parda fortaleza, Que ser� reina entre mil Cuando encierre tu belleza. 5 Y sobre toda una orilla Extiendo mi se�or�o; Ni en C�rdoba ni en Sevilla Hay un parque como el m�o. 10 All� la altiva palmera Y el encendido granado, Junto � la frondosa higuera Cubren el valle y collado. All� el robusto nogal, All� el n�palo amarillo, 15 All� el sombr�o moral Crecen al pie del castillo. Y olmos tengo en mi alameda Que hasta el cielo se levantan, Y en redes de plata y seda 20 Tengo p�jaros que cantan. Y t� mi sultana eres, Que desiertos mis salones Est�n, mi har�n sin mujeres, Mis o�dos sin canciones. 25 Yo te dar� terciopelos Y perfumes orientales; De Grecia te traer� velos Y de Cachemira chales. Y te dar� blancas plumas page 81 Para que adornes tu frente, M�s blancas que las espumas De nuestros mares de oriente; Y perlas para el cabello, 5 Y ba�os para el calor, Y collares para el cuello; Para los labios... �amor!-- --�Qu� me valen tus riquezas, Respondi�le la cristiana, 10 Si me quitas � mi padre, Mis amigos y mis damas? Vu�lveme, vu�lveme, moro, � mi padre y � mi patria, Que mis torres de Le�n 15 Valen m�s que tu Granada.-- Escuch�la en paz el moro, Y manoseando su barba, Dijo, como quien medita, En la mejilla una l�grima: 20 Si tus castillos mejores Que nuestros jardines son, Y son m�s bellas tus flores, Por ser tuyas, en Le�n, Y t� diste tus amores 25 � alguno de tus guerreros, Hur� del Ed�n, no llores; Vete con tus caballeros.-- Y d�ndola su caballo Y la mitad de su guardia page 82 El capit�n de los moros Volvi� en silencio la espalda.

INDECISI�N

�Bello es vivir, la vida es la armon�a! Luz, pe�ascos, torrentes y cascadas, 5 Un sol de fuego iluminando el d�a, Aire de aromas, flores api�adas: Y en medio de la noche majestuosa Esa luna de plata, esas estrellas, L�mparas de la tierra perezosa, 10 Que se ha dormido en paz debajo de ellas. �Bello es vivir! Se ve en el horizonte Asomar el crep�sculo que nace; Y la neblina que corona el monte En el aire flotando se deshace; 15 Y el inmenso tapiz del firmamento Cambia su azul en franjas de colores; Y susurran las hojas en el viento, Y desatan su voz los ruise�ores.

Si hay huracanes y aquil�n que brama, 20 Si hay un invierno de humedad vestido, Hay una hoguera � cuya roja llama Se alza un fest�n con su discorde ruido. Y una pintada y fresca primavera, Con su manto de luz y orla de flores, page 83 Que cubre de verdor la ancha pradera Donde brotan arroyos saltadores.

�Bello es vivir, la vida es la armon�a! Luz, pe�ascos, torrentes y cascadas, 5 Un sol de fuego iluminando el d�a, Aire de aromas, flores api�adas.

Arranca, arranca, Dios m�o, De la mente del poeta Este pensamiento imp�o 10 Que en un delirio cre�; Sin un instante de calma, En su olvido y amargura, No puede so�ar su alma Placeres que no goz�. 15 �Ay del poeta! su llanto Fu� la inspiraci�n sublime Con que arrebat� su canto Hasta los cielos tal vez; Solitaria flor que el viento 20 Con impuro soplo azota, �l arrastra su tormento Escrito sobre la tez. Porque t�, �oh Dios! le robaste Cuanto los hombres adoran; 25 T� en el mundo le arrojaste Para que muriera en �l; T� le dijiste que el hombre page 84 Era en la tierra su hermano; Mas �l no encuentra ese nombre En sus recuerdos de hiel. T� le has dicho que eligiera 5 Para el viaje de la vida Una hermosa compa�era Con quien partir su dolor; Mas �ay! que la busca en vano; Porque es para el ser que ama 10 Como un inmundo gusano Sobre el tallo de una flor. Canta la luz y las flores, Y el amor en las mujeres, Y el placer en los amores, 15 Y la calma en el placer: Y sin esperanza adora Una belleza escondida, Y hoy en sus cantares llora Lo que alegre cant� ayer. 20 �l con los siglos rodando Canta su af�n � los siglos, Y los siglos van pasando Sin curarse de su af�n. �Maldito el nombre de gloria 25 Que en tu c�lera le diste! Sentados en su memoria Recuerdos de hierro est�n. El d�a alumbra su pena, La noche alarga su duelo, page 85 La aurora escribe en el cielo Su sentencia de vivir: F�bulas son los placeres, No hay placeres en su alma, 5 No hay amor en las mujeres, Tarda la hora de morir. Hay sol que alumbra, mas quema: Hay flores que se marchitan, Hay recuerdos que se agitan 10 Fantasmas de maldici�n. Si tiene una voz que canta, Al arrancarla del pecho Deja fuego en la garganta, Vac�o en el coraz�n.

15 �Bello es vivir! Sobre gigante roca Se mira el mundo � nuestros pies tendido, La frente altiva con las nubes toca... Todo creado para el hombre ha sido. �Bello es vivir! Que el hombre descuidado 20 En los bordes se duerme de la vida, Y de locura y sue�os embriagado En un fest�n el porvenir olvida. �Bello es vivir! Vivamos y cantemos: El tiempo entre sus pliegues roedores 25 Ha de llevar el bien que no gocemos, Y ha de apagar placeres y dolores. Cantemos de nosotros olvidados, Hasta que el son de la fatal campana page 86 Toque � morir... Cantemos descuidados, Que el sol de ayer no alumbrar� ma�ana.

LA FUENTE

Huye la fuente al manantial ingrata El verde musgo en derredor lamiendo, 5 Y el agua limpia en su cristal retrata Cuanto va viendo. El c�sped mece y las arenas moja Do mil caprichos al pasar dibuja, Y ola tras ola murmurando arroja, 10 Riza y empuja. Lecho mullido la presenta el valle, Fresco abanico el abedul pomposo, Ca�as y juncos retirada calle, Sombra y reposo. 15 Brota en la altura la fecunda fuente; �Y � qu� su empe�o, si al bajar la cuesta Halla del r�o en el raudal rugiente Tumba funesta?

� BUEN JUEZ MEJOR TESTIGO

Tradici�n de Toledo

Entre pardos nubarrones 20 Pasando la blanca luna, Con resplandor fugitivo, page 87 La baja tierra no alumbra. La brisa con frescas alas Juguetona no murmura, Y las veletas no giran 5 Entre la cruz y la c�pula. Tal vez un p�lido rayo La opaca atm�sfera cruza, Y unas en otras las sombras Confundidas se dibujan. 10 Las almenas de las torres Un momento se columbran, Como lanzas de soldados Apostados en la altura. Reverberan los cristales 15 La tr�mula llama turbia, Y un instante entre las rocas R�ela la fuente oculta. Los �lamos de la vega Parecen en la espesura 20 De fantasmas api�ados Medrosa y gigante turba; Y alguna vez desprendida Gotea pesada lluvia, Que no despierta � quien duerme, 25 Ni � quien medita importuna. Yace Toledo en el sue�o Entre las sombras confusa, Y el Tajo � sus pies pasando Con pardas ondas la arrulla. page 88 El mon�tono murmullo Sonar perdido se escucha, Cual si por las hondas calles Hirviera del mar la espuma. 5 �Qu� dulce es dormir en calma Cuando � lo lejos susurran Los �lamos que se mecen, Las aguas que se derrumban! Se sue�an bellos fantasmas 10 Que el sue�o del triste endulzan, Y en tanto que sue�a el triste, No le aqueja su amargura. Tan en calma y tan sombr�a Como la noche que enluta 15 La esquina en que desemboca Una callejuela oculta, Se ve de un hombre que aguarda La vigilante figura, Y tan � la sombra vela 20 Que entre la sombra se ofusca. Frente por frente � sus ojos Un balc�n � poca altura Deja escapar por los vidrios La luz que dentro le alumbra; 25 Mas ni en el claro aposento, Ni en la callejuela obscura El silencio de la noche Rumor sospechoso turba. Pas� as� tan largo tiempo, page 89 Que pudiera haberse duda De si es hombre, � solamente Mentida ilusi�n nocturna; Pero es hombre, y bien se ve, 5 Porque con planta segura Ganando el centro � la calle Resuelto y audaz pregunta: --�Qui�n va?--y � corta distancia El igual comp�s se escucha 10 De un caballo que sacude Las sonoras herraduras. �Qui�n va? repite, y cercana Otra voz menos robusta Responde:--Un hidalgo �calle! 15 Y el paso el bruto apresura. --T�ngase el hidalgo,--el hombre Replica, y la espada empu�a. --Ved m�s bien si me har�is calle (Repusieron con mesura) 20 Que hasta hoy � nadie se tuvo Ib�n de Vargas y Acu�a. --Pase el Acu�a y perdone:-- Dijo el mozo en faz de fuga, Pues teni�ndose el embozo 25 Sopla un silbato, y se oculta. Par� el jinete � una puerta, Y con precauci�n difusa Sali� una ni�a al balc�n Que llama interior alumbra. page 90 --�Mi padre!--clam� en voz baja, Y el viejo en la cerradura Meti� la llave pidiendo � sus gentes que le acudan. 5 Un negro por ambas bridas Tom� la cabalgadura, Cerr�se detr�s la puerta Y qued� la calle muda. En esto desde el balc�n, 10 Como quien tal acostumbra, Un mancebo por las rejas De la calle se asegura. Asi� el brazo al que apostado Hizo cara � Ib�n de Acu�a, 15 Y huyeron, en el embozo Velando la catadura.

Clara, apacible y serena Pasa la siguiente tarde, Y el sol tocando su ocaso 20 Apaga su luz gigante: Se ve la imperial Toledo Dorada por los remates, Como una ciudad de grana Coronada de cristales. 25 El Tajo por entre rocas Sus anchos cimientos lame, Dibujando en las arenas page 91 Las ondas con que las bate. Y la ciudad se retrata En las ondas desiguales, Como en prendas de que el r�o 5 Tan afanoso la ba�e. � lo lejos en la vega Tiende gal�n por sus m�rgenes, De sus �lamos y huertos El pintoresco ropaje, 10 Y porque su altiva gala M�s � los ojos halague, La salpica con escombros De castillos y de alc�zares. Un recuerdo es cada piedra 15 Que toda una historia vale, Cada colina un secreto De pr�ncipes � galanes. Aqu� se ba�� la hermosa Por quien dej� su rey culpable 20 Amor, fama, reino y vida En manos de musulmanes. All� recibi� Galiana � su receloso amante En esa cuesta que entonces 25 Era un plantel de azahares. All� por aquella torre, Que hicieron puerta los �rabes, Subi� el Cid sobre Babieca Con su gente y su estandarte. page 92 M�s lejos se ve el castillo De San Servando, � Cervantes Donde nada se hizo nunca Y nada al presente se hace. 5 � este lado est� la almena Por do sac� vigilante El conde Don Peranzules Al rey, que supo una tarde Fingir tan tenaz modorra, 10 Que, pol�tico y constante, Tuvo siempre el brazo quedo Las palmas al horadarle. All� est� el circo romano, Gran cifra de un pueblo grande, 15 Y aqu� la antigua Bas�lica De bizantinos pilares, Que oy� en el primer concilio Las palabras de los Padres Que velaron por la Iglesia 20 Perseguida � vacilante. La sombra en este momento Tiende sus turbios cendales Por todas esas memorias De las pasadas edades, 25 Y del Cambr�n y Visagra Los caminos desiguales, Camino � los Toledanos Hacia las murallas abren. Los labradores se acercan page 93 Al fuego de sus hogares, Cargados con sus aperos, Cansados de sus afanes. Los ricos y sedentarios 5 Se tornan con paso grave, Calado el ancho sombrero, Abrochados los gabanes; Y los cl�rigos y monjes Y los prelados y abades 10 Sacudiendo el leve polvo De capelos y sayales. Qu�dase s�lo un mancebo De impetuosos ademanes, Que se pasea ocultando 15 Entre la capa el semblante. Los que pasan le contemplan Con decisi�n de evitarle, Y �l contempla � los que pasan Como si � alguien aguardase. 20 Los t�midos aceleran Los pasos al divisarle, Cual temiendo de seguro Que les proponga un combate; Y los valientes le miran 25 Cual si sintieran dejarle Sin que libres sus estoques En ri�a sonora dancen. Una mujer tambi�n sola Se viene el llano adelante, page 94 La luz del rostro escondida En tocas y tafetanes. Mas en lo leve del paso, Y en lo flexible del talle, 5 Puede � trav�s de los velos Una hermosa adivinarse. Vase derecha al que aguarda, Y �l al encuentro la sale Diciendo... cuanto se dicen 10 En las citas los amantes. Mas ella, galanter�as Dejando severa aparte, As� al mancebo interrumpe En voz decisiva y grave:

15 �Abreviemos de razones, Diego Mart�nez; mi padre, Que un hombre ha entrado en su ausencia Dentro mi aposento sabe: Y as� quien mancha mi honra, 20 Con la suya me la lave; � dadme mano de esposo, � libre de vos dejadme.� Mir�la Diego Mart�nez Atentamente un instante, 25 Y echando � un lado el embozo, Repuso palabras tales: �Dentro de un mes, In�s m�a, Parto � la guerra de Flandes; page 95 Al a�o estar� de vuelta Y contigo en los altares. Honra que yo te desluzca, Con honra m�a se lave; 5 Que por honra vuelven honra Hidalgos que en honra nacen. --J�ralo,--exclam� la ni�a. --M�s que mi palabra vale No te valdr� un juramento. 10 --Diego, la palabra es aire. --�Vive Dios que est�s tenaz! Dalo por jurado y baste. --No me basta; que olvidar Puedes la palabra en Flandes. 15 --�Voto � Dios! �qu� m�s pretendes? --Que � los pies de aquella imagen Lo jures como cristiano Del santo Cristo delante.� Vacil� un punto Mart�nez, 20 Mas porfiando que jurase, Llev�le In�s hacia el templo Que en medio la vega yace. Enclavado en un madero, En duro y postrero trance, 25 Ce�ida la sien de espinas, Descolorido el semblante, V�ase all� un crucifijo Te�ido de negra sangre, � quien Toledo devota page 96 Acude hoy en sus azares. Ante sus plantas divinas Llegaron ambos amantes, Y haciendo In�s que Mart�nez 5 Los sagrados pies tocase, Pregunt�le: --Diego, �juras � tu vuelta desposarme? Contest� el mozo: --�S� juro! Y ambos del templo se salen.

10 Pas� un d�a y otro d�a, Un mes y otro mes pas�, Y un a�o pasado hab�a, Mas de Flandes no volv�a Diego, que � Flandes parti�. 15 Lloraba la bella In�s Su vuelta aguardando en vano, Oraba un mes y otro mes Del crucifijo � los pies Do puso el gal�n su mano. 20 Todas las tardes ven�a Despu�s de traspuesto el sol, Y � Dios llorando ped�a La vuelta del espa�ol, Y el espa�ol no volv�a. 25 Y siempre al anochecer, page 97 Sin due�a y sin escudero, En un manto una mujer El campo sal�a � ver Al alto del Miradero. 5 �Ay del triste que consume Su existencia en esperar! �Ay del triste que presume Que el duelo con que �l se abrume Al ausente ha de pesar! 10 La esperanza es de los cielos Precioso y funesto don, Pues los amantes desvelos Cambian la esperanza en celos, Que abrasan el coraz�n. 15 Si es cierto lo que se espera, Es un consuelo en verdad; Pero siendo una quimera, En tan fr�gil realidad Quien espera desespera. 20 As� In�s desesperaba Sin acabar de esperar, Y su tez se marchitaba, Y su llanto se secaba Para volver � brotar. 25 En vano � su confesor Pidi� remedio � consejo Para aliviar su dolor; Que mal se cura el amor Con las palabras de un viejo. page 98 En vano � Ib�n acud�a, Llorosa y desconsolada; El padre no respond�a; Que la lengua le ten�a 5 Su propia deshonra atada. Y ambos maldicen su estrella, Callando el padre severo Y suspirando la bella, Porque naci� mujer ella, 10 Y el viejo naci� altanero. Dos a�os al fin pasaron En esperar y gemir, Y las guerras acabaron, Y los de Flandes tornaron 15 � sus tierras � vivir. Pas� un d�a y otro d�a, Un mes y otro mes pas�, Y el tercer a�o corr�a; Diego � Flandes se parti�, 20 Mas de Flandes no volv�a. Era una tarde serena, Doraba el sol de occidente Del Tajo la vega amena, Y apoyada en una almena 25 Miraba In�s la corriente. Iban las tranquilas olas Las riberas azotando Bajo las murallas solas, Musgo, espigas y amapolas page 99 Ligeramente doblando. Alg�n olmo que escondido Creci� entre la hierba blanda, Sobre las aguas tendido 5 Se reflejaba perdido En su cristalina banda. Y alg�n ruise�or colgado Entre su fresca espesura Daba al aire embalsamado 10 Su c�ntico regalado Desde la enramada obscura. Y alg�n pez con cien colores, Tornasolada la escama, Saltaba � besar las flores, 15 Que exhalan gratos olores, � las puntas de una rama. Y all� en el tr�mulo fondo El torre�n se dibuja Como el contorno redondo 20 Del hueco sombr�o y hondo Que habita nocturna bruja. As� la ni�a lloraba El rigor de su fortuna, Y as� la tarde pasaba 25 Y al horizonte trepaba La consoladora luna. � lo lejos por el llano En confuso remolino Vi� de hombres tropel lejano page 100 Que en pardo polvo liviano Dejan envuelto el camino. Baj� In�s del torre�n, Y llegando recelosa 5 � las puertas del Cambr�n, Sinti� latir zozobrosa M�s inquieto el coraz�n. Tan gal�n como altanero Dej� ver la escasa luz 10 Por bajo el arco primero Un hidalgo caballero En un caballo andaluz; Jub�n negro acuchillado, Banda azul, lazo en la hombrera, 15 Y sin pluma al diestro lado El sombrero derribado Tocando con la gorguera; Bombacho gris guarnecido, Bota de ante, espuela de oro, 20 Hierro al cinto suspendido, Y � una cadena prendido Agudo cuchillo moro. Vienen tras este jinete Sobre potros jerezanos 25 De lanceros hasta siete, Y en adarga y coselete Diez peones castellanos. Asi�se � su estribo In�s Gritando:--�Diego, eres t�!-- page 101 Y �l vi�ndola de trav�s Dijo--�Voto � Belceb�, Que no me acuerdo, qui�n es!-- Di� la triste un alarido 5 Tal respuesta al escuchar, Y � poco perdi� el sentido, Sin que m�s voz ni gemido Volviera en tierra � exhalar. Frunciendo ambas � dos cejas 10 Encomend�la � su gente, Diciendo:--�Malditas viejas Que � las mozas malamente Enloquecen con consejas!-- Y aplicando el capit�n 15 � su potro las espuelas El rostro � Toledo dan, Y � trote cruzando van Las obscuras callejuelas.

IV

As� por sus altos fines 20 Dispone y permite el cielo Que puedan mudar al hombre Fortuna, poder y tiempo. � Flandes parti� Mart�nez De soldado aventurero, 25 Y por su suerte y haza�as All� capit�n le hicieron. Seg�n alzaba en honores page 102 Alz�base en pensamientos, Y tanto ayud� en la guerra Con su valor y altos hechos, Que el mismo rey � su vuelta 5 Le arm� en Madrid caballero, Tom�ndole � su servicio Por capit�n de lanceros. Y otro no fu� que Mart�nez Quien ha poco entr� en Toledo, 10 Tan orgulloso y ufano Cual sali� humilde y peque�o. Ni es otro � quien se dirige, Cobrado el conocimiento, La amorosa In�s de Vargas, 15 Que vive por �l muriendo. Mas �l, que olvidando todo Olvid� su nombre mesmo, Puesto que hoy Diego Mart�nez Es el capit�n Don Diego, 20 Ni se ablanda � sus caricias, Ni cura de sus lamentos; Diciendo que son locuras De gentes de poco seso; Que ni �l prometi� casarse 25 Ni pens� jam�s en ello. �Tanto mudan � los hombres Fortuna, poder y tiempo! En vano porfiaba In�s Con amenazas y ruegos; page 103 Cuanto m�s ella importuna Est� Mart�nez severo. Abrazada � sus rodillas Enmara�ado el cabello, 5 La hermosa ni�a lloraba Prosternada por el suelo. Mas todo empe�o es in�til, Porque el capit�n Don Diego No ha de ser Diego Mart�nez 10 Como lo era en otro tiempo. Y as� llamando � su gente, De amor y piedad ajeno, Mand�les que � In�s llevaran De grado � de valimiento. 15 Mas ella antes que la asieran, 15 Cesando un punto en su duelo, As� habl�, el rostro lloroso Hacia Mart�nez volviendo: �Contigo se fu� mi honra, 20 Conmigo tu juramento; 20 Pues buenas prendas son ambas, En buen fiel las pesaremos.� Y la faz descolorida En la mantilla envolviendo, 25 � pasos desatentados 25 Sali�se del aposento. page 104 V

Era entonces de Toledo Por el rey gobernador El justiciero y valiente Don Pedro Ruiz de Alarc�n. 5 Muchos a�os por su patria El buen viejo pele�; Cercenado tiene un brazo, Mas entero el coraz�n. La mesa tiene delante, 10 Los jueces en derredor, Los corchetes � la puerta Y en la derecha el bast�n. Est�, como presidente Del tribunal superior, 15 Entre un dosel y una alfombra Reclinado en un sill�n, Escuchando con paciencia La casi asm�tica voz 20 Con que un t�trico escribano Solfea una apelaci�n. Los asistentes bostezan Al murmullo arrullador, Los jueces medio dormidos Hacen pliegues al rop�n, 25 Los escribanos repasan Sus pergaminos al sol, Los corchetes � una moza page 105 Gui�an en un corredor, Y abajo en Zocodover Gritan en discorde son Los que en el mercado venden 5 Lo vendido y el valor. Una mujer en tal punto, En faz de grande aflicci�n, Rojos de llorar los ojos, Ronca de gemir la voz, 10 Suelto el cabello y el manto, Tom� plaza en el sal�n Diciendo � gritos: ��Justicia, Jueces; justicia, se�or!� Y � los pies se arroja humilde 15 De Don Pedro de Alarc�n, En tanto que los curiosos Se agitan al rededor. Alz�la cort�s Don Pedro Calmando la confusi�n 20 Y el tumultuoso murmullo Que esta escena ocasion�, Diciendo: --Mujer, �qu� quieres? --Quiero justicia, se�or. --�De qu�? --De una prenda hurtada. 25 --�Qu� prenda? --Mi coraz�n. --�T� le diste? page 106 --Le prest�. --�Y no te le han vuelto? --No. --�Tienes testigos? --Ninguno. --�Y promesa? --�S�, por Dios! Que al partirse de Toledo 5 Un juramento empe��. --�Qui�n es �l? --Diego Mart�nez. --�Noble? --Y capit�n, se�or. --Presentadme al capit�n, Que cumplir� si jur�.-- 10 Qued� en silencio la sala, Y � poco en el corredor Se oy� de botas y espuelas El acompasado son. Un portero, levantando 15 El tapiz, en alta voz Dijo:--El capit�n Don Diego.-- Y entr� luego en el sal�n Diego Mart�nez, los ojos Llenos de orgullo y furor. 20 --�Sois el capit�n Don Diego, D�jole Don Pedro, vos?-- Contest� altivo y sereno Diego Mart�nez: page 107 --Yo soy. --�Conoc�is � esta muchacha? --Ha tres a�os, salvo error. --�Hic�steisla juramento De ser su marido?-- --No. 5 --�Jur�is no haberlo jurado? --S� juro.-- --Pues id con Dios. --�Miente!--clam� In�s llorando De despecho y de rubor. --Mujer, �piensa lo que dices!... 10 --Digo que miente, jur�. --�Tienes testigos? --Ninguno. --Capit�n, idos con Dios, Y dispensad que acusado Dudara de vuestro honor.-- 15 Torn� Mart�nez la espalda Con brusca satisfacci�n, � In�s, que le vi� partirse, Resuelta y firme grit�: --Llamadle, tengo un testigo. 20 Llamadle otra vez, se�or.-- Volvi� el capit�n Don Diego, Sent�se Ruiz de Alarc�n, La multitud aquiet�se Y la de Vargas sigui�: 25 --Tengo un testigo � quien nunca page 108 Falt� verdad ni raz�n. --�Qui�n? --Un hombre que de lejos Nuestras palabras oy�, Mir�ndonos desde arriba. 5 --�Estaba en alg�n balc�n? --No, que estaba en un suplicio Donde ha tiempo que expir�. --�Luego es muerto? --No, que vive. --Est�is loca, �vive Dios! 10 �Qui�n fu�? --El CRISTO de la Vega � cuya faz perjur�.-- Pusi�ronse en pie los jueces Al nombre del Redentor, Escuchando con asombro 15 Tan excelsa apelaci�n. Rein� un profundo silencio De sorpresa y de pavor, Y Diego baj� los ojos De verg�enza y confusi�n. 20 Un instante con los jueces Don Pedro en secreto habl�, Y levant�se diciendo Con respetuosa voz: �La ley es ley para todos, 25 Tu testigo es el mejor, Mas para tales testigos page 109 No hay m�s tribunal que Dios. Haremos... lo que sepamos; Escribano, al caer el sol Al CRISTO que est� en la vega 5 Tomar�is declaraci�n.�

VI

Es una tarde serena, Cuya luz tornasolada Del purpurino horizonte Blandamente se derrama. 10 Pl�cido aroma las flores Sus hojas plegando exhalan, Y el c�firo entre perfumes Mece las tr�mulas alas. Brillan abajo en el valle 15 Con suave rumor las aguas, Y las aves en la orilla Despidiendo al d�a cantan. All� por el Miradero Por el Cambr�n y Visagra 20 Confuso tropel de gente Del Tajo � la vega baja. Vienen delante Don Pedro De Alarc�n, Ib�n de Vargas, Su hija In�s, los escribanos, 25 Los corchetes y los guardias; Y detr�s monjes, hidalgos, Mozas, chicos y canalla. page 110 Otra turba de curiosos En la vega les aguarda, Cada cual comentariando El caso seg�n le cuadra. 5 Entre ellos est� Mart�nez En apostura bizarra, Calzadas espuelas de oro, Valona de encaje blanca, Bigote � la borgo�ona, 10 Melena desmelenada, El sombrero guarnecido Con cuatro lazos de plata, Un pie delante del otro, Y el pu�o en el de la espada. 15 Los plebeyos de reojo Le miran de entre las capas, Los chicos al uniforme Y las mozas � la cara. Llegado el gobernador 20 Y gente que le acompa�a, Entraron todos al claustro Que iglesia y patio separa. Encendieron ante el CRISTO Cuatro cirios y una l�mpara, 25 Y de hinojos un momento Le rezaron en voz baja.

Est� el CRISTO de la Vega La cruz en tierra posada, Los pies alzados del suelo page 111 Poco menos de una vara; Hacia la severa imagen Un notario se adelanta, De modo que con el rostro 5 Al pecho santo llegaba. � un lado tiene � Mart�nez, � otro lado � In�s de Vargas, Detr�s al gobernador Con sus jueces y sus guardias. 10 Despu�s de leer dos veces La acusaci�n entablada, El notario � Jesucristo As� demand� en voz alta: --�Jes�s, Hijo de Mar�a, 15 Ante nos esta ma�ana Citado como testigo Por boca de In�s de Vargas, �Jur�is ser cierto que un d�a � vuestras divinas plantas 20 Jur� � In�s Diego Mart�nez Por su mujer desposarla?�

Asida � un brazo desnudo Una mano atarazada Vino � posar en los autos 25 La seca y hendida palma, Y all� en los aires ��S� JURO!� Clam� una voz m�s que humana.

Alz� la turba medrosa La vista � la imagen santa... page 112 Los labios ten�a abiertos, Y una mano desclavada.

CONCLUSI�N

Las vanidades del mundo Renunci� all� mismo In�s, 5 Y espantado de s� propio Diego Mart�nez tambi�n. Los escribanos temblando Dieron de esta escena fe, Firmando como testigos 10 Cuantos hubieron poder. Fund�se un aniversario Y una capilla con �l, Y Don Pedro de Alarc�n El altar orden� hacer, 15 Donde hasta el tiempo que corre, Y en cada un a�o una vez, Con la mano desclavada El crucifijo se ve.

DON ANTONIO DE TRUEBA

CANTOS DE P�JARO

Tengo yo un pajarillo 20 Que el d�a pasa Cantando entre las flores De mi ventana; page 113 Y un canto alegre � todo pasajero Dedica siempre. Tiene mi pajarillo 5 Siempre armon�as Para alegrar el alma Del que camina... �Oh cielo santo, Por qu� no har�n los hombres 10 Lo que los p�jaros! Cuando mi pajarillo Cantos entona, Pasajeros ingratos Cantos le arrojan: 15 Mas no por eso 15 Niega sus armon�as Al pasajero. Tiende las leves alas, Cruza las nubes 20 Y canta junto al cielo Con voz m�s dulce: �Paz � los hombres Y gloria al que en la altura Rige los orbes!� 25 Y yo sigo el ejemplo Del ave mansa Que canta entre las flores De mi ventana, Porque es sabido page 114 Que poetas y p�jaros Somos lo mismo.

LA PEREJILERA

Al salir el sol dorado Esta ma�ana te vi 5 Cogiendo, ni�a, en tu huerto Matitas de perejil. Para verte m�s de cerca En el huerto me met�, Y sabr�s que ech� de menos 10 Mi coraz�n al salir. T� debiste de encontrarle, Que en el huerto le perd�. �D�mele, perejilera, Que te le vengo � pedir.�

DON JOS� SELGAS Y CARRASCO

LA MODESTIA

15 Por las flores proclamado Rey de una hermosa pradera, Un clavel afortunado Di� principio � su reinado Al nacer la primavera. 20 Con majestad soberana Llevaba y con noble br�o El regio manto de grana, page 115 Y sobre la frente ufana La corona de roc�o. Su comitiva de honor Mandaba, por ser costumbre, 5 El c�firo volador, Y hab�a en su servidumbre Hierbas y malvas de olor. Su voluntad poderosa, Porque tambi�n era uso, 10 Quiso una flor para esposa, Y regiamente dispuso Elegir la m�s hermosa. Como era costumbre y ley, Y porque causa delicia 15 En la numerosa grey, Pronto corri� la noticia Por los estados del rey. Y en revuelta actividad Cada flor abre el arcano 20 De su fecunda beldad, Por prender la voluntad Del hermoso soberano. Y hasta las menos apuestas Engalanarse se v�an 25 Con harta envidia, dispuestas � ver las solemnes fiestas Que celebrarse deb�an. Lujosa la Corte brilla: El rey, admirado, duda, page 116 Cuando ocultarse sencilla Vi� una tierna florecilla Entre la hierba menuda.

Y por si el regio esplendor 5 De su corona le inquieta, Preg�ntale con amor: --��C�mo te llamas?�--�Violeta,� Dijo temblando la flor.

--��Y te ocultas cuidadosa 10 Y no luces tus colores, Violeta dulce y medrosa, Hoy que entre todas las flores Va el rey � elegir esposa?�

15 Siempre temblando la flor, Aunque llena de placer, Suspir� y dijo: �Se�or, Yo no puedo merecer Tan distinguido favor.�

El rey, suspenso, la mira 20 Y se inclina dulcemente; Tanta modestia le admira; Su blanda esencia respira, Y dice alzando la frente:

�Me depara mi ventura 25 Esposa noble y apuesta; page 117 Sepa, si alguno murmura, Que la mejor hermosura Es la hermosura modesta.�

Dijo, y el aura afanosa 5 Public� en forma de ley, Con voz dulce y melodiosa, Que la violeta es la esposa Elegida por el rey.

Hubo magn�ficas fiestas, 10 Ambos esposos se dieron Pruebas de amor manifiestas, Y en aquel reinado fueron Todas las flores modestas.

DON PEDRO A. DE ALARC�N

EL MONT-BLANC

�Heme al fin en la cumbre soberana!... 15 �Nieve perpetua..., soledad doquiera!... �Qui�n sino el hombre, en su soberbia insana, � hollar estos desiertos se atreviera? Aqu� enmudece hasta la voz del viento...; Profundo mar parece el horizonte..., 20 �nica playa el alto firmamento..., Anclada nave el solitario monte. �Nada en torno de m�!... �Todo � mis plantas! page 118 Obscuros bosques, relucientes r�os, Lagos, campi�as, p�ramos, gargantas... �Europa entera yace � los pies m�os! �Y cu�n peque�a la terrestre vida, 5 Cu�n relegado el humanal imperio Se ve desde estos hielos donde anida El Monte Blanco, el rey del hemisferio! �De aqu� tiende su cetro sobre el mundo! El Danubio opulento, el Po anchuroso, 10 El luengo Rhin y el R�dano profundo, Hijos son de los hijos del Coloso. Debajo de �l... los Alpes se eslabonan Como escabeles de su trono inmenso: Debajo de �l... las nubes se amontonan 15 Cual humo leve de quemado incienso. �Sobre �l... los cielos nada m�s! La tarde Le invidia al verlo de fulgor ce�ido... Llega la noche, y a�n su frente arde Con reflejos de un sol por siempre hundido. 20 All� turnan con raudo movimiento Una y otra estaci�n... �l permanece Mudo, inm�vil, est�ril. �Monumento De la implacable eternidad parece! Ni el oso atroz ni el traicionero lobo 25 Huellan jam�s su excelsitud nevada... Hu�rfano vive del calor del globo... �En �l principia el reino de la nada! Por eso, ufano de su horror profundo, Dichoso aqu� mi coraz�n palpita... page 119 �Aqu� solo con Dios..., fuera del mundo! �Solo, bajo la b�veda infinita! �Y qu� s�ave, deleitosa calma Brinda � mi pecho esta regi�n inerte!... 5 As� concibe fatigada el alma El tardo bien de la benigna muerte. �Morir aqu�! De los poblados valles No retornar � la angustiosa vida: No escuchar m�s los lastimosos ayes 10 De la cuitada humanidad ca�da: Desparecer, huyendo de la tierra, Desde esta cima que se acerca al cielo: Por siempre desertar de aquella guerra, De eterna libertad tendiendo el vuelo... 15 Tal ansia acude al coraz�n llagado, Al mirarte, �oh Mont-Blanc!, erguir la frente Sobre un m�sero mundo atribulado Por el cierzo y el rayo y el torrente. �T� nada temes! De tu imperio yerto 20 S�lo Dios es se�or, fuerza y medida: �C�mo el ancho Oc�ano y el Desierto, T� vives s�lo de tu propia vida! La tierra acaba en tu glacial palacio; Tuya es la azul inmensidad a�rea: 25 T� ves m�s luz, m�s astros, m�s espacio...; �Parte eres ya de la mansi�n et�rea! �Adi�s! Retorno al mundo... Acaso un d�a Ya de la tierra el coraz�n no lata, Y sobre su haz inanimada y fr�a page 120 Tiendas tu manto de luciente plata... Ser� entonces tu reino silencioso Cuanto hoy circunda y cubre el Oceano... �Adi�s!... Impera en tanto desde�oso 5 Sobre la insania del orgullo humano.

EL SECRETO

��Yo no quiero morirme!� --Dice la ni�a, Tendiendo hacia su madre Dos manecitas 10 Calenturientas, Cual dos blancos jazmines Que el viento seca... Un silencio de muerte La madre guarda... 15 �Ay! �si hablara, vertiera Mares de l�grimas! Besa � la ni�a, �Y aun le fingen sus labios Una sonrisa! 20 Del cuello de la madre La hija se cuelga Y, pegada � su o�do, P�lida y tr�mula, Con sordo acento, 25 D�cele horrorizada: --�Oye un secreto: page 121 �Sabes por qu� � morirme Le temo tanto? Porque luego me llevan, Toda de blanco, 5 Al cementerio..., �Y de verme all� sola Va � darme miedo!� --�Hija de mis entra�as! (Grita la madre) 10 Dios querr� que me vivas...; Y, aunque te mate, Descuida, hermosa; Que t� en el cementerio No estar�s sola.�

DON GUSTAVO ADOLFO B�CQUER

RIMAS

15 Saeta que voladora Cruza, arrojada al azar, Sin adivinarse d�nde Temblando se clavar�; Hoja que del �rbol seca 20 Arrebata el vendaval, Sin que nadie acierte el surco Donde � caer volver�; Gigante ola que el viento page 122 Riza y empuja en el mar, Y rueda y pasa, y no sabe Qu� playa buscando va; Luz que en cercos temblorosos 5 Brilla, pr�xima � expirar, Ignor�ndose cu�l de ellos El �ltimo brillar�; Eso soy yo, que al acaso Cruzo el mundo, sin pensar 10 De d�nde vengo, ni ad�nde Mis pasos me llevar�n.

VII

Del sal�n en el �ngulo obscuro, De su due�o tal vez olvidada, Silenciosa y cubierta de polvo 15 Ve�ase el arpa. �Cu�nta nota dorm�a en sus cuerdas Como el p�jaro duerme en las ramas, Esperando la mano de nieve Que sabe arrancarlas! 20 �Ay! pens�; �cu�ntas veces el genio As� duerme en el fondo del alma, Y una voz, como L�zaro, espera Que le diga: �Lev�ntate y anda!�

LIII

Volver�n las obscuras golondrinas 25 En tu balc�n sus nidos � colgar, page 123 Y, otra vez, con el ala � sus cristales Jugando llamar�n;

Pero aquellas que el vuelo refrenaban Tu hermosura y mi dicha � contemplar, 5 Aquellas que aprendieron nuestros nombres... �sas... �no volver�n!

Volver�n las tupidas madreselvas De tu jard�n las tapias � escalar, Y otra vez � la tarde, aun m�s hermosas, 10 Sus flores se abrir�n;

Pero aquellas, cuajadas de roc�o, Cuyas gotas mir�bamos temblar Y caer, como l�grimas del d�a... �sas... �no volver�n!

15 Volver�n del amor en tus o�dos Las palabras ardientes � sonar; Tu coraz�n de su profundo sue�o Tal vez despertar�;

Pero mudo y absorto y de rodillas, 20 Como se adora � Dios ante su altar, Como yo te he querido... deseng��ate, �As� no te querr�n! page 124 LXXIII

Cerraron sus ojos Que aun ten�a abiertos; Taparon su cara Con un blanco lienzo; 5 y unos sollozando, Otros en silencio, De la triste alcoba Todos se salieron.

La luz, que en un vaso 10 Ard�a en el suelo, Al muro arrojaba La sombra del lecho; Y entre aquella sombra Ve�ase � intervalos 15 Dibujarse r�gida La forma del cuerpo.

Despertaba el d�a Y � su albor primero Con sus mil r�idos 20 Despertaba el pueblo. Ante aquel contraste De vida y misterios, De luz y tinieblas, Medit� un momento: 25 ��Dios m�o, qu� solos Se quedan los muertos!� page 125 De la casa en hombros Llev�ronla al templo, Y en una capilla Dejaron el f�retro. 5 All� rodearon Sus p�lidos restos De amarillas velas Y de pa�os negros.

Al dar de las �nimas 10 El toque postrero, Acab� una vieja Sus �ltimos rezos; Cruz� la ancha nave, Las puertas gimieron, 15 Y el santo recinto Qued�se desierto.

De un reloj se o�a Compasado el p�ndulo, Y de algunos cirios 20 El chisporroteo. Tan medroso y triste, Tan obscuro y yerto Todo se encontraba... Que pens� un momento: 25 ��Dios m�o, qu� solos Se quedan los muertos!� page 126 De la alta campana La lengua de hierro, Le di�, volteando, Su adi�s lastimero. 5 El luto en las ropas, Amigos y deudos Cruzaron en fila, Formando el cortejo.

Del �ltimo asilo, 10 Obscuro y estrecho, Abri� la piqueta El nicho � un extremo. All� la acostaron, Tapi�ronle luego, 15 Y con un saludo Despidi�se el duelo.

La piqueta al hombro, El sepulturero Cantando entre dientes 20 Se perdi� � lo lejos. La noche se entraba, Reinaba el silencio; Perdido en las sombras, Medit� un momento: 25 ��Dios m�o, qu� solos Se quedan los muertos!� page 127 En las largas noches Del helado invierno, Cuando las maderas Crujir hace el viento 5 Y azota los vidrios El fuerte aguacero, De la pobre ni�a � solas me acuerdo.

All� cae la lluvia 10 Con un son eterno; All� la combate El soplo del cierzo. �Del h�medo muro Tendida en el hueco, 15 Acaso de fr�o Se hielan sus huesos!...

�Vuelve el polvo al polvo? �Vuela el alma al cielo? �Todo es vil materia, 20 Podredumbre y cieno? �No s�: pero hay algo Que explicar no puedo, Que al par nos infunde Repugnancia y duelo, 25 Al dejar tan tristes, Tan solos los muertos! page 128

DON VICENTE W. QUEROL

EN NOCHE-BUENA

� mis ancianos padres

Un a�o m�s en el hogar paterno Celebramos la fiesta del Dios-Ni�o, S�mbolo augusto del amor eterno, Cuando cubre los montes el invierno 5 Con su manto de armi�o. 5

Como en el d�a de la fausta boda � en el que el santo de los padres llega, La turba alegre de los ni�os juega, Y en la ancha sala la familia toda 10 De noche se congrega. 10

La roja lumbre de los troncos brilla Del peque�o dormido en la mejilla, Que con t�mido af�n su madre besa; Y se refleja alegre en la vajilla 15 De la dispuesta mesa.

� su sobrino, que lo escucha atento, Mi hermana dice el pavoroso cuento, page 129 Y mi otra hermana la canci�n modula Que, � bien surge vibrante, � bien ondula Prolongada en el viento.

V

Mi madre tiende las rugosas manos 5 Al nieto que huye por la blanda alfombra; Hablan de pie mi padre y mis hermanos, Mientras yo, recat�ndome en la sombra, Pienso en hondos arcanos.

Pienso que de los d�as de ventura 10 Las horas van apresurando el paso, Y que empa�a el oriente niebla obscura, Cuando aun el rayo tr�mulo fulgura �ltimo del ocaso.

�Padres m�os, mi amor! �C�mo envenena 15 Las breves dichas el temor del da�o! Hoy presid�s nuestra modesta cena, Pero en el porvenir... yo s� que un a�o Vendr� sin Noche-Buena.

VIII

Vendr�, y las que hoy son risas y alborozo 20 Ser�n muda aflicci�n y hondo sollozo. No cantar� mi hermana, y mi sobrina No escuchar� la historia peregrina Que le da miedo y gozo. page 130 IX

No dar� nuestro hogar rojos destellos Sobre el limpio cristal de la vajilla, Y, si alguien osa hablar, ser� de aquellos Que hoy honran nuestra fiesta tan sencilla 5 Con sus blancos cabellos.

X

Blancos cabellos cuya amada hebra Es cual corona de laurel de plata, Mejor que esas coronas que celebra La vil lisonja, la ignorancia acata, 10 Y el infortunio quiebra.

XI

�Padres m�os, mi amor! Cuando contemplo La sublime bondad de vuestro rostro, Mi alma a los trances de la vida templo, Y ante esa imagen para orar me postro, 15 Cual me postro en el templo.

XII

Cada arruga que surca ese semblante Es del trabajo la profunda huella, � fue un dolor de vuestro pecho amante. La historia fiel de una �poca distante 20 Puedo leer yo en ella.

XIII

La historia de los tiempos sin ventura En que luchasteis con la adversa suerte, page 131 Y en que, tras negras horas de amargura, Mi madre se sinti� m�s noble y pura Y mi padre m�s fuerte.

XIV

Cuando la noche toda en la cansada 5 Labor tuvisteis vuestros ojos fijos, Y, al venceros el sue�o � la alborada, Fuerzas os di� posar vuestra mirada En los dormidos hijos.

XV

Las l�grimas correr una tras una 10 Con noble orgullo por mi faz yo siento, Pensando que hayan sido por fortuna, Esas honradas manos mi sustento Y esos brazos mi cuna.

XVI

�Padres m�os, mi amor! Mi alma quisiera 15 Pagaros hoy la que en mi edad primera Sufristeis sin gemir lenta agon�a, Y que cada dolor de entonces fuera Germen de una alegr�a.

XVII

Entonces vuestro mal curaba el gozo 20 De ver al hijo convertirse en mozo, Mientras que al verme yo en vuestra presencia Siento mi dicha ahogada en el sollozo De una temida ausencia. page 132 XVIII

Si el vigor juvenil volver de nuevo Pudiese � vuestra edad, �por qu� estas penas? Yo os dar�a mi sangre de mancebo, Tornando as� con ella � vuestras venas 5 Esta vida que os debo.

XIX

Que de tal modo la aflicci�n me embarga Pensando en la posible despedida, Que imagino ha de ser tarea amarga Llevar la vida, como in�til carga, 10 Despu�s de vuestra vida.

XX

Ese plazo fatal, sordo, inflexible, Miro acercarse con profundo espanto, Y en dudas grita el coraz�n sensible: --�Si aplacar al destino es imposible, 15 �Para qu� amarnos tanto?�

XXI

Para estar juntos en la vida eterna Cuando acabe esta vida transitoria: Si Dios, que el curso universal gobierna, Nos devuelve en el cielo esta uni�n tierna, 20 Yo no aspiro � m�s gloria.

XXII

Pero en tanto, buen Dios, mi mejor palma Ser� que prolongu�is la dulce calma page 133 Que hoy nuestro hogar en su recinto encierra: Para marchar yo solo por la tierra No hay fuerzas en mi alma.

DON RAM�N DE CAMPOAMOR

PROXIMIDAD DEL BIEN

En el tiempo en que el mundo informe estaba, Cre� el Se�or, cuando por dicha extrema 5 El para�so terrenal formaba, Un fruto que del mal era el emblema Y otro fruto que el bien simbolizaba.

Del miserable Ad�n al mismo lado 10 El Se�or coloc� del bien el fruto; Pero Ad�n nunca el bien hall�, ofuscado, Porque es del hombre m�sero atributo Huir del bien, del mal siempre arrastrado.

El fruto que del mal el s�mbolo era 15 Puso Dios escondido y muy lejano; Pero Ad�n lo encontraba donde quiera, Abandonando en su falaz quimera, Por el lejano mal, el bien cercano.

�Ah! siempre el hombre en su ilusi�n maldita 20 Su misma dicha en despreciar se empe�a, page 134 Y al seguirla tenaz, tenaz la evita, Y aunque en su mismo coraz�n palpita, �Lejos, muy lejos, con af�n la sue�a!

�QUI�N SUPIERA ESCRIBIR!

--Escribidme una carta, se�or Cura. 5 --Ya s� para qui�n es. --�Sab�is qui�n es, porque una noche obscura Nos visteis juntos?--Pues.

--Perdonad; mas...--No extra�o ese tropiezo. La noche... la ocasi�n... 10 Dadme pluma y papel. Gracias. Empiezo: Mi querido Ram�n:

--�Querido?... Pero, en fin, ya lo hab�is puesto... --Si no quer�is...--�S�, s�! --�Qu� triste estoy! � No es eso?--Por supuesto. 15 --�Qu� triste estoy sin ti!

Una congoja, al empezar, me viene... --�C�mo sab�is mi mal? --Para un viejo, una ni�a siempre tiene El pecho de cristal.

20 �Qu� es sin ti el mundo? Un valle de amargura. �Y contigo? Un ed�n. --Haced la letra clara, se�or Cura; Que lo entienda eso bien. page 135 --El beso aquel que de marchar � punto Te di...--�C�mo sab�is?... --Cuando se va y se viene y se est� junto Siempre... no os afrent�is.

5 Y si volver tu afecto no procura, Tanto me har�s sufrir... --�Sufrir y nada m�s? No, se�or Cura, �Que me voy � morir!

--�Morir? �Sab�is que es ofender al cielo?... 10 --Pues, s�, se�or, �morir! --Yo no pongo morir.--�Qu� hombre de hielo! �Qui�n supiera escribir!

�Se�or Rector, se�or Rector! en vano Me quer�is complacer, 15 Si no encarnan los signos de la mano Todo el ser de mi ser.

Escribidle, por Dios, que el alma m�a Ya en m� no quiere estar; Que la pena no me ahoga cada d�a... 20 Porque puedo llorar.

Que mis labios, las rosas de su aliento, No se saben abrir; Que olvidan de la risa el movimiento � fuerza de sentir. page 136 Que mis ojos, que �l tiene por tan bellos, Cargados con mi af�n, Como no tienen quien se mire en ellos, Cerrados siempre est�n.

5 Que es, de cuantos tormentos he sufrido, La ausencia el m�s atroz; Que es un perpetuo sue�o de mi o�do El eco de su voz...

Que siendo por su causa, el alma m�a 10 �Goza tanto en sufrir!... Dios m�o �cu�ntas cosas le dir�a Si supiera escribir!...

EP�LOGO

--Pues se�or, �bravo amor! Copio y concluyo: � don Ram�n... En fin, 15 Que es in�til saber para esto, arguyo, Ni el griego ni el lat�n.

EL MAYOR CASTIGO

Cuando de Virgilio en pos Fu� el Dante al infierno � dar, Su conciencia, hija de Dios, 20 Dej� � la puerta al entrar.

Despu�s que � salir volvi�, Su conciencia el Dante hallando, page 137 Con ella otra vez carg�, Mas dijo as� suspirando: Del infierno en lo profundo, No vi tan atroz sentencia 5 Como es la de ir por el mundo Cargado con la conciencia.

DON GASPAR N��EZ DE ARCE

�EXCELSIOR!

�Por qu� los corazones miserables, Por qu� las almas viles, En los fieros combates de la vida 10 Ni luchan ni resisten?

El esp�ritu humano es m�s constante Cuanto m�s se levanta: Dios puso el fango en la llanura, y puso La roca en la monta�a.

15 La blanca nieve que en los hondos valles Derr�tese ligera, En las altivas cumbres permanece Inmutable y eterna.

TRISTEZAS

Cuando recuerdo la piedad sincera 20 Con que en mi edad primera Entraba en nuestras viejas catedrales, page 138 Donde postrado ante la cruz de hinojos Alzaba � Dios mis ojos, So�ando en las venturas celestiales;

Hoy que mi frente at�nito golpeo, Y con febril deseo 5 Busco los restos de mi fe perdida, Por hallarla otra vez, radiante y bella Como en la edad aquella, �Desgraciado de m�! diera la vida.

10 �Con qu� profundo amor, ni�o inocente, Prosternaba mi frente En las losas del templo sacrosanto! Llen�base mi joven fantas�a De luz, de poes�a, 15 De mudo asombro, de terrible espanto.

Aquellas altas b�vedas que al cielo Levantaban mi anhelo; Aquella majestad solemne y grave; Aquel pausado canto, parecido 20 � un doliente gemido, Que retumbaba en la espaciosa nave;

Las marm�reas y austeras esculturas De antiguas sepulturas, Aspiraci�n del arte � lo infinito; page 139 La luz que por los vidrios de colores Sus tibios resplandores Quebraba en los pilares de granito;

Haces de donde en curva fugitiva, 5 Para formar la ojiva, Cada ramal subiendo se separa, Cual del rumor de multitud que ruega, Cuando � los cielos llega, Surge cada oraci�n distinta y clara;

10 En el g�tico altar inmoble y fijo El santo crucifijo, Que extiende sin vigor sus brazos yertos, Siempre en la sorda lucha de la vida, Tan �spera y re�ida, 15 Para el dolor y la humildad abiertos;

El m�stico clamor de la campana Que sobre el alma humana De las caladas torres se despe�a, Y anuncia y lleva en sus aladas notas 20 Mil promesas ignotas Al triste coraz�n que sufre � sue�a;

Todo elevaba mi �nimo intranquilo � m�s sereno asilo: Religi�n, arte, soledad, misterio... page 140 Todo en el templo secular hac�a Vibrar el alma m�a, Como vibran las cuerdas de un salterio.

Y � esta voz interior que s�lo entiende 5 Quien cr�dulo se enciende En fervoroso y celestial cari�o, Envuelta en sus flotantes vestiduras Volaba � las alturas, Virgen sin mancha, mi oraci�n de ni�o.

10 Su rauda, viva y luminosa huella Como fugaz centella Traspasaba el espacio, y ante el puro Resplandor de sus alas de querube, Rasg�base la nube 15 Que me ocultaba el inmortal seguro.

�Oh anhelo de esta vida transitoria! �Oh perdurable gloria! �Oh sed inextinguible del deseo! �Oh cielo, que antes para m� ten�as 20 Fulgores y armon�as, Y hoy tan obscuro y desolado veo!

Ya no templas mis �ntimos pesares, Ya al pie de tus altares Como en mis a�os de candor no acudo. page 141 Para llegar � ti perd� el camino, Y errante peregrino Entre tinieblas desespero y dudo.

Voy espantado sin saber por d�nde; 5 Grito, y nadie responde � mi angustiada voz; alzo los ojos Y � penetrar la lobreguez no alcanzo; medrosamente avanzo, Y me hieren el alma los abrojos.

10 Hijo del siglo, en vano me resisto � su impiedad, �oh Cristo! Su grandeza sat�nica me oprime. Siglo de maravillas y de asombros, Levanta sobre escombros 15 Un Dios sin esperanza, un Dios que gime.

�Y ese Dios no eres t�! No tu serena Faz, de consuelos llena, Alumbra y gu�a nuestro incierto paso. Es otro Dios inc�gnito y sombr�o: 20 Su cielo es el vac�o, Sacerdote el error, ley el Acaso.

�Ay! No recuerda el �nimo suspenso Un siglo m�s inmenso, M�s rebelde � tu voz, m�s atrevido; page 142 Entre nubes de fuego alza su frente, Como Luzbel, potente; Pero tambi�n, como Luzbel, ca�do.

5 � medida que marcha y que investiga Es mayor su fatiga, Es su noche m�s honda y m�s obscura, Y pasma, al ver lo que padece y sabe, C�mo en su seno cabe Tanta grandeza y tanta desventura.

10 Como la nave sin tim�n y rota Que el ronco mar azota, Incendia el rayo y la borrasca mece En pi�lago ignorado y proceloso, Nuestro siglo--coloso, 15 Con la luz que le abrasa, resplandece.

�Y est� la playa m�stica tan lejos!... � los tristes reflejos Del sol poniente se colora y brilla. El hurac�n arrecia, el bajel arde, 20 Y es tarde, es �ay! muy tarde Para alcanzar la sosegada orilla.

�Qu� es la ciencia sin fe? Corcel sin freno, � todo yugo ajeno, Que al impulso del v�rtigo se entrega, page 143 Y � trav�s de intrincadas espesuras, Desbocado y � obscuras, Avanza sin cesar y nunca llega.

�Llegar! �Ad�nde?... El pensamiento humano 5 En vano lucha, en vano Su ley oculta y misteriosa infringe. En la lumbre del sol sus alas quema, Y no aclara el problema, No penetra el enigma de la Esfinge.

10 �S�lvanos, Cristo, s�lvanos, si es cierto Que tu poder no ha muerto! Salva � esta sociedad desventurada, Que bajo el peso de su orgullo mismo Rueda al profundo abismo 15 Acaso m�s enferma que culpada.

La ciencia audaz, cuando de ti se aleja, En nuestras almas deja El germen de rec�nditos dolores. Como al tender el vuelo hacia la altura, 20 Deja su larva impura El insecto en el c�liz de las flores.

Si en esta confusi�n honda y sombr�a Es, Se�or, todav�a Raudal de vida tu palabra santa, page 144 Di � nuestra fe desalentada y yerta: --�An�mate y despierta! Como dijiste � L�zaro:--�Levanta!--

�SURSUM CORDA!

INTRODUCCI�N

� mi buen amigo el ilustre poeta Manuel Reina

I. � ESPA�A

Nunca mi labio � la servil lisonja 5 Parias rindi�. Ni el �xito ruidoso, Ni la soberbia afortunada, oyeron Falaz encomio de mi humilde Musa. Di�me su austeridad la honrada tierra Donde nac�, y el presuroso tiempo 10 Que arrastra y lleva en sus revueltas olas Las grandezas humanas al olvido, � mi pesar me ense�a que en el mundo Tan s�lo � dos excelsas majestades Puedo, sin mengua, levantar mi canto; 15 La Verdad y el Dolor. En estas horas De febril inquietud, �qui�n, Patria m�a, Merece como t� la pobre ofrenda De mi respeto y de mi amor? Postrada En los escombros de tu antigua gloria, 20 La negra adversidad, con f�rrea mano, Comprime los latidos de tu pecho page 145 Y el aire que respiras envenena. Como tigre feroz clav� sus garras La cat�strofe en ti, y en tus heridas Entra�as sacia su voraz instinto. 5 �Qui�n, al mirar tus l�stimas, no llora? �Puede haber hombre tan perverso y duro, Ni aun concebido en crapulosa org�a Por hembra impura, que impasible vea Morir sin fe, desesperado y solo, 10 Al dulce bien que le llev� en su seno? �No existe, no! Perdona si movido Por la ciega pasi�n, all� en lejanos Y borrascosos d�as, cuando airada Mi voz como fat�dico anatema 15 Tron� en la tempestad, quiz�s injusto Contigo pude ser. Pero hoy, que sufres, Hoy que, Job de la Historia, te retuerces En tu lecho de angustia, arrepentido Y llena el alma de mortal congoja, 20 Acudo ansioso � consolar tus penas, � combatir con los inmundos buitres, �vidos del fest�n, que en torno giran De tu ulcerado cuerpo, y si lo mandas, �Oh, noble m�rtir! � morir contigo. 25 Pero �qui�n habla de morir? �Acaso No eres, Patria, inmortal? Tendr�s eclipses Como los tiene el sol. Sombras tenaces, Cual hiperb�rea noche larga y fr�a, page 146 Sobre ti pesar�n, mientras no llegue Tu santa redenci�n. �Hora dichosa En que ver�s con j�bilo y ternura Nacer el alba, el tenebroso espacio 5 Inundarse de luz, la tierra encinta Estremecerse en �xtasis materno, De armon�as, aromas y colores Poblarse el aire, y palpitar en todo La plenitud eterna de la vida! 10 �Ten esperanza y fe! Descubridora De mundos, madre de indomada prole, T� no puedes morir, �Dios no lo quiere! Aun tienes que cumplir altos destinos. Busca en el seno de la paz bendita 15 Reparador descanso, hasta que cobren Tus m�sculos salud, y en cuanto sientas El hervor de tu sangre renovada, Ponte en pie, sacudiendo tu marasmo, Que como losa del sepulcro, oprime 20 Tu enferma voluntad. Surge del fondo De tu aislamiento secular, y marcha Con paso firme y coraz�n resuelto Sin mirar hacia atr�s, siempre adelante. Sean la escuela y el taller y el surco 25 Los solos campos de batalla en donde Tu raz�n y tus fuerzas ejercites. Entra en las lides del trabajo y vence, Que entonces de laureles coronada, M�s fecunda, m�s pr�spera y m�s grande, page 147 Seguir�s, fulgurando, tu camino Por los arcos triunfales de la Historia.

II. � AM�RICA

��sta es Espa�a! At�nita y maltrecha Bajo el peso brutal de su infortunio, 5 Inerte yace la matrona augusta 5 Que en otros siglos fatig� � la fama. La que surc� los mares procelosos Busc�ndote atrevida en el misterio, Hasta que un d�a, deslumbrando al mundo, 10 Surgiste, como Venus, de las ondas. 10 Cegada por tu espl�ndida hermosura, Al engarzarte en su imperial diadema Espa�a te oprimi�; mas no la culpes, 15 Porque �cu�ndo la b�rbara conquista Justa y humana fu�? Tambi�n clemente 15 Te di� su sangre, su robusto idioma, Sus leyes y su Dios. �Te lo di� todo, Menos la libertad! Pues mal pudiera Darte el �nico bien que no ten�a.

20 Cont�mplala vencida y humillada 20 Por la doblez y el oro, y si te mueven � generosa l�stima sus males, El tr�gico desplome de una glor�a Que es tambi�n tuya, ac�rrela en su duelo. 25 �Es tu madre infeliz! No la abandone 25 Tu amor, en tan inmensa desventura. page 148

DON MANUEL DEL PALACIO

AMOR OCULTO

Ya de mi amor la confesi�n sincera Oyeron tus calladas celos�as, Y fu� testigo de las ansias m�as La luna, de los tristes compa�era.

5 Tu nombre dice el ave placentera � quien visito yo todos los d�as, Y alegran mis so�adas alegr�as El valle, el monte, la comarca entera.

S�lo t� mi secreto no conoces, 10 Por m�s que el alma con latido ardiente, Sin yo quererlo, te lo diga a voces;

Y acaso has de ignorarlo eternamente, Como las ondas de la mar veloces La ofrenda ignoran que les da la fuente.

DON JOAQU�N MAR�A BARTRINA

ARABESCOS Y COMPOSICIONES �NTIMAS

15 Oyendo hablar � un hombre, f�cil es Acertar d�nde vi� la luz del sol; Si os alaba � Inglaterra, ser� ingl�s, Si os habla mal de Prusia, es un franc�s, Y si habla mal de Espa�a, es espa�ol. page 149 Si cumplir con lealtad Nuestra �ltima voluntad Es sagrada obligaci�n, Cuando mis ojos se cierren, 5 He de mandar que me entierren Dentro de tu coraz�n.

Para matar la inocencia, Para envenenar la dicha, Es un gran pu�al la pluma 10 Y un gran veneno la tinta.

Quien vive siempre entre pena Y remordimiento y dudas, No sabe ver m�s que � Judas En el cuadro de la cena.

DON MANUEL REINA

LA POES�A

� Teodoro Llorente

15 Como el raudal que corre en la pradera Copia en su espejo p�jaros y flores, La alada mariposa de colores, El verde arbusto y la radiante esfera, La sublime poes�a reverbera 20 Combates, glorias, risas y dolores, Odio y amor, tinieblas y esplendores, page 150 El cielo, el campo, el mar... �la vida entera! �As� Homero es la lid; Virgilio, el d�a; Esquilo, la tormenta bramadora; Anacreonte, el vino y la alegr�a; 5 Dante, la noche con su negro arcano; Calder�n, el honor; Milton, la aurora; Shakespeare, el triste coraz�n humano! page 151

DON ESTEBAN ECHEVERR�A

CANCI�N DE ELVIRA

Creci� acaso arbusto tierno � orillas de un manso r�o, Y su ramaje sombr�o Muy ufano se extendi�; 5 Mas en el sa�udo invierno Subi� el r�o cual torrente, Y en su t�mida corriente El tierno arbusto llev�.

Reflejando nieve y grana, 10 Naci� garrida y pomposa En el desierto una rosa, Gala del prado y amor; Mas lanz� con furia insana Su soplo inflamado el viento, 15 Y se llev� en un momento Su vana pompa y frescor. As� dura todo bien... As� los dulces amores, page 152 Como las lozanas flores, Se marchitan en su albor; Y en el incierto vaiv�n De la fortuna inconstante, 5 Nace y muere en un instante La esperanza del amor.

DON OLEGARIO V. ANDRADE

ATL�NTIDA

Canto al porvenir de la raza latina en Am�rica

�Siglos pasaron sobre el mundo, y siglos Guardaron el secreto! Lo presinti� Plat�n cuando sentado 10 En las rocas de Engina contemplaba Las sombras que en silencio descend�an � posarse en las cumbres del Himeto; Y el misterioso di�logo entablaba Con las olas inquietas 15 �Que � sus pies se arrastraban y gem�an! Adivin� su nombre, hija postrera Del tiempo, destinada � celebrar las bodas del futuro En sus campos de eterna primavera, 20 �Y la llam� la Atl�ntida so�ada! page 153 Pero Dios reservaba La empresa ruda al genio renaciente De la latina raza, �domadora De pueblos, combatiente 5 De las grandes batallas de la historia! Y cuando fu� la hora, Col�n apareci� sobre la nave Del destino del mundo portadora-- Y la nave avanz�. Y el Oc�ano, 10 Hura�o y turbulento, Lanz� al encuentro del bajel latino Los negros aquilones, �Y � su frente rugiendo el torbellino, Jinete en el rel�mpago sangriento! 15 Pero la nave fu�, y el hondo arcano Cay� roto en pedazos; �Y despert� la Atl�ntida so�ada De un pobre visionario entre los brazos!

Era lo que buscaba 20 El genio inquieto de la vieja raza, Debelador de tronos y coronas, �Era lo que so�aba! ��mbito y luz en apartadas zonas! Helo armado otra vez, no ya arrastrando 25 El sangriento sudario del pasado Ni de negros recuerdos bajo el peso, Sino en pos de grandiosas ilusiones, �La libertad, la gloria y el progreso! page 154 �Nada le falta ya! lleva en el seno El insondable af�n del infinito, �Y el infinito por doquier lo llama De las monta�as con el hondo grito 5 Y de los mares con la voz de trueno! Tiene el altar que Roma Quiso en vano construir con los escombros Del templo egipcio y la pagoda indiana, �Altar en que profese eternamente 10 Un culto solo la conciencia humana! �Y el Andes, con sus gradas ciclopeas, Con sus rojas antorchas de volcanes, Ser� el altar de fulgurantes velos En que el himno inmortal de las ideas 15 La tierra entera elevar� � los cielos!

�Campo inmenso � su af�n! All� dormidas Bajo el arco triunfal de mil colores Del tr�pico esplendente, Las Antillas levantan la cabeza 20 De la naciente luz � los albores, Como bandadas de aves fugitivas Que arrullaron al mar con sus extra�as Canciones pla�ideras, Y que secan al sol las blancas alas 25 �Para emprender el vuelo � otras riberas!

�All� M�jico est�! sobre dos mares Alzada cual gran�tica atalaya, page 155 �Parece que aun esp�a La castellana flota que se acerca Del golfo azteca � la arenosa playa! Y m�s all� Colombia adormecida 5 Del Tequendama al retemblar profundo, �Colombia la opulenta Que parece llevar en las entra�as La inagotable juventud del mundo!

�Salve, zona feliz! regi�n querida 10 Del almo sol que tus encantos cela, Inmenso hogar de animaci�n y vida, �Cuna del gran Bol�var! �Venezuela! Todo en tu suelo es grande, Los astros que te alumbran desde arriba 15 Con eterno, sangriento centelleo, El genio, el hero�smo, �Volc�n que hizo erupci�n con ronco estruendo En la cumbre inmortal de San Mateo!

Tendida al pie del Ande, 20 Viuda infeliz sobre entreabierta huesa, Yace la Roma de los Incas, rota La vieja espada en la contienda grande, La frente hundida en la tiniebla obscura, �Mas no ha muerto el Per�! que la derrota 25 Germen es en los pueblos varoniles De redenci�n futura-- entonces cuando llegue, page 156 Para su suelo, la estaci�n propicia Del trabajo que cura y regenera, Y brille al fin el sol de la justicia Tras largos d�as de verg�enza y lloro, 5 �El rojo manto que � su espalda flota Las mieses bordar�n con flores de oro!

�Bolivia! la heredera del gigante Nacido al pie del �vila, su genio Inquieto y su valor constante 10 Tiene para las luchas de la vida; Sue�a en batallas hoy, pero no importa, Sue�a tambi�n en anchos horizontes En que en vez de cure�as y ca�ones �Sienta rodar la audaz locomotora 15 Cortando valles y escalando montes! Y Chile el vencedor, fuerte en la guerra, Pero m�s fuerte en el trabajo, vuelve � colgar en el techo Las vengadoras armas, convencido 20 De que es est�ril siempre la victoria De la fuerza brutal sobre el derecho. El Uruguay que combatiendo entrega Su seno � las caricias del progreso, El Brasil que recibe 25 Del mar Atlante el estruendoso beso Y � quien s�lo le falta El ser m�s libre, para ser m�s grande, �Y la regi�n bendita, page 157 Sublime desposada de la gloria, Que ba�a el Plata y que limita el Ande!

�De pie para cantarla! que es la patria, La patria bendecida, 5 Siempre en pos de sublimes ideales, �El pueblo joven que arrull� en la cuna El rumor de los himnos inmortales! Y que hoy llama al fest�n de su opulencia � cuantos rinden culto 10 � la sagrada libertad, hermana Del arte, del progreso y de la ciencia-- �La patria! que ensanch� sus horizontes Rompiendo las barreras Que en otrora su esp�ritu aterraron, 15 �Y � cuyo paso en los nevados montes Del G�nesis los ecos despertaron! �La patria! que, olvidada De la civil querella, arroj� lejos El fratricida acero 20 Y que lleva orgullosa La corona de espigas en la frente, �Menos pesada que el laurel guerrero! �La patria! en ella cabe Cuanto de grande el pensamiento alcanza, 25 En ella el sol de redenci�n se enciende, Ella al encuentro del futuro avanza, Y su mano, del Plata desbordante �La inmensa copa � las naciones tiende! page 158 IX

��mbito inmenso, abierto De la latina raza al hondo anhelo! �El mar, el mar gigante, la monta�a En eterno coloquio con el cielo... 5 Y m�s all� desierto! Ac� r�os que corren desbordados, All� valles que ondean Como r�os eternos de verdura, 10 Los bosques � los bosques enlazados, �Doquier la libertad, doquier la vida Palpitando en el aire, en la pradera Y en explosi�n magn�fica encendida!

�Atl�ntida encantada Que Plat�n presinti�! promesa de oro 15 Del porvenir humano--Reservado � la raza fecunda, Cuyo seno engendr� para la historia Los C�sares del genio y de la espada-- Aqu� va � realizar lo que no pudo 20 Del mundo antiguo en los escombros yertos �La m�s bella visi�n de sus visiones! �Al himno colosal de los desiertos La eterna comuni�n de las naciones! page 159

PROMETEO

�Arriba, pensadores! que en la lucha Se templa y fortalece Vuestra raza inmortal, nunca domada, Que lleva por celeste distintivo 5 La chispa de la audacia en la mirada Y anhelos infinitos en el alma; �En cuya frente altiva Se confunden y enlazan El laurel rumoroso de la gloria 10 Y del dolor la mustia siempre-viva!

�Arriba, pensadores! �Que el esp�ritu humano sale ileso Del cadalso y la hoguera! Vuestro heraldo triunfal es el progreso 15 Y la verdad la suspirada meta De vuestro af�n gigante. �Arriba! �que ya asoma el claro d�a En que el error y el fanatismo expiren Con doliente y confuso clamoreo! 20 �Ave de esa alborada es el poeta, Hermano de las �guilas del C�ucaso, Que secaron piadosas con sus alas La ensangrentada faz de Prometeo! page 160

DON RAFAEL OBLIGADO

EN LA RIBERA

Ven, sigue de la mano Al que te am� de ni�o; Ven, y juntos lleguemos hasta el bosque Que est� en la margen del paterno r�o.

5 �Oh, cu�nto eres hermosa, mi amada, en este sitio! S�lo por ti, y � reflejar tu frente, Corriendo baja el Paran� tranquilo.

Para besar tu huella 10 Fue siempre tan sumiso, Que, en vi�ndote llegar, hasta la playa Manda sus olas sin hacer r�ido.

Por eso, porque te ama, Somos grandes amigos; 15 Luego, sabe decirte aquellas cosas Que nunca brotan de los labios m�os.

El a�o que t� faltas, La flor de sus se�bos, Como cansada de esperar tus sienes, 20 Cuelga sus ramos de carm�n marchitos. page 161 Por la tersa corriente, Risue�os y furtivos, Como sueltas guirnaldas, no navegan Los verdes camalotes florecidos.

5 S�lo inclinan los sauces Su ramaje sombr�o, Y las aves m�s tristes, en sus copas Gimiendo tejen sus ocultos nidos.

Pero llegas..., y el agua, 10 El bosque, el cielo mismo, Es como una explosi�n de mil colores, Y el aire rompe en sonorosos himnos.

As� la primavera, Del tr�pico vecino 15 Desciende, y canta, repartiendo flores, Y colgando en las vides los racimos.

�Cu�l suenan gratamente, Acordes, en un ritmo, Del agua el melanc�lico murmullo 20 Y el leve susurrar de tu vestido!

�Oh, si me fuera dado Guardar en mis o�dos, Para siempre, esta m�sica del alma, Esta uni�n de tu ser y de mis r�os! page 162

DON JOS� JOAQU�N ORTIZ

COLOMBIA Y ESPA�A

�Oh! �reposad en vuestras quietas tumbas, Augustos padres de la patria m�a, Pues bien lo merec�is! La grande obra De redenci�n al fin est� cumplida; 5 Y no llegue � turbar vuestro reposo El tumulto de lucha fratricida.

Hoy � vuestros sepulcros hace sombra La bandera del iris, enlazada � la de los castillos y leones; 10 Que el odio no es eterno En los pobres humanos corazones; Y lleg� el d�a en que la madre Espa�a Estrechase � Colombia entre sus brazos, Depuesta ya la sa�a; 15 No sierva, no se�ora; Libres las dos como las hizo el cielo. �Ah! �ni c�mo podr�a page 163 Hallarse la hija siempre separada Del dulce hogar paterno, Ni consentir la cari�osa madre Que tal apartamiento fuera eterno?

5 En esos a�os de la ausencia fiera, El recuerdo de Espa�a Segu�anos doquiera. Todo nos es com�n: su Dios, el nuestro; La sangre que circula por sus venas 10 Y el hermoso lenguaje; Sus artes, nuestras artes; la armon�a De sus cantos, la nuestra; sus reveses Nuestros tambi�n, y nuestras Las glorias de Bail�n y de Pav�a.

15 Si � veces distra�dos Fij�bamos los ojos � contemplar las hijas de Colombia; En el porte elegante, En el puro perfil de su semblante, 20 En su mirada ardiente y en el dejo Meloso de la voz, eran retrato De sus nobles abuelas; Copia feliz de gracia soberana, En que agradablemente se ve�a 25 El decoro y nobleza castellana Y el donaire y la sal de Andaluc�a; Y entonces exclam�bamos: Un nombre page 164 Terrible, Espa�a, tienes; �pero suena Qu� dulcemente al coraz�n del hombre!

�Oh! �que esta santa alianza eterna sea, Y el pend�n de Castilla y de Colombia 5 Unidos siempre el universo vea! Y que al �viva Colombia! que repiten El �ureo Tajo, y Ebro y Manzanares, �Responda el eco que rodando vaya Por los tranquilos mares 10 � la ib�rica playa De �viva Espa�a! con que el Ande atruena El Cauca, el Orinoco, el Magdalena!

DON JOS� EUSEBIO CARO

EL CIPR�S

��rbol sagrado, que la obscura frente, Inm�vil, majestuoso, 15 Sobre el sepulcro humilde y silencioso Despliegas hacia el cielo tristemente! T�, s�, t� solamente Al tiempo en que se duerme el rey del mundo Tras las altas monta�as de occidente, 20 Me ves triste vagando Entre las negras tumbas, Con los ojos en llanto humedecidos, Mi orfandad y miseria lamentando. page 165 Y cuando ya de la apacible luna La luz de perla en tu verdor se acoge, S�lo tu tronco escucha mis gemidos, S�lo tu pie mis l�grimas recoge.

5 �Ay! hubo un tiempo en que feliz y ufano Al seno paternal me abandonaba; En que con blanda mano Una madre amorosa De mi ni�ez las l�grimas secaba... 10 �Y hoy, hu�rfano, del mundo desechado, Aqu� en mi patria misma Solitario viajero, Desde lejos contemplo acongojado Sobre los techos de mi hogar primero 15 El humo blanquear del extranjero! Entre el bullicio de los pueblos busco Mis tiernos padres para m� perdidos; �Vanamente!... Los rostros de los hombres Me son desconocidos. 20 Y sus manes, empero, noche y d�a Presentes � mis ojos afligidos Contino est�n; contino sus acentos Vienen � resonar en mis o�dos.

�S�, funeral cipr�s! Cuando la noche 25 Con su callada sombra te rodea, Cuando escondido el solitario buho En tus obscuros ramos aletea; page 166 La sombra de mi padre por tus hojas Vagando me parece, Que � velar por los d�as de su hijo Del reino de los muertos se aparece. 5 Y si el viento sacude impet�oso Tu elevada cabeza, Y � su furor con susurrar medroso Respondes pavoroso; En los tristes silbidos 10 Que en torno de ti giran, � los paternos manes Escucho, que dulc�simos suspiran.

��rbol augusto de la muerte! �Nunca Tus verdores abata el b�reas ronco! 15 �Nunca enemiga, venenosa sierpe Se enrosque en torno de tu pardo tronco! �Jam�s el rayo ardiente Abrase tu alta frente! �Siempre inmoble y sereno 20 Por las c�ncavas nubes Oigas rodar el impotente trueno! Vive, s�, vive; y cuando ya mis ojos Cerrar el dedo de la muerte quiera; Cuando esconderse mire en occidente 25 Al sol por vez postrera, Morir� sosegado � tu tronco abrazado. T� mi sepulcro amparar�s piadoso page 167 De las roncas tormentas; Y mi ceniza entonce agradecida, En restaurantes jugos convertida, Por tus delgadas venas penetrando, 5 Te har� reverdecer, te dar� vida.

Quiz� sabiendo el infeliz destino Que oprimi� mi existencia desdichada, Sobre mi pobre tumba abandonada Una l�grima vierta el peregrino.

DON JOS� MANUEL MARROQU�N

LOS CAZADORES Y LA PERRILLA

10 Es flaca sobremanera Toda humana previsi�n, Pues en m�s de una ocasi�n Sale lo que no se espera.

Sali� al campo una ma�ana 15 Un experto cazador, El m�s h�bil y el mejor Alumno que tuvo Diana.

Segu�ale gran cuadrilla De ejercitados monteros, 20 De ojeadores, ballesteros Y de mozos de tra�lla; page 168 Van todos apercibidos De las armas necesarias, Y llevan de castas varias Perros diestros y atrevidos,

5 Caballos de noble raza, Cornetas de monte: en fin, Cuanto exige Morat�n En su poema La Caza.

Levantan pronto una pieza, 10 Un jabal� corpulento, Que huye veloz, rabo � viento, Y rompiendo la maleza.

Todos siguen con gran bulla Tras la cerdosa alima�a, 15 Pero ella se da tal ma�a Que � todos los aturrulla;

Y aunque gastan todo el d�a En paradas, idas, vueltas, Y carreras y revueltas, 20 Es vana tanta porf�a.

Ahora que los lectores Han visto de qu� manera Pudo burlarse la fiera De los tales cazadores, page 169 Oigan lo que aconteci�, Y aunque es suceso que admira, No piensen, no, que es mentira, Que lo cuenta quien lo vio:

5 Al pie de uno de los cerros Que batieron aquel d�a, Una viejilla viv�a, Que oy� ladrar a los perros;

Y con gana de saber 10 En qu� parara la fiesta, Iba subiendo la cuesta � eso del anochecer:

Con ella iba una perrilla... Mas sin pasar adelante, 15 Es preciso que un instante Gastemos en describilla:

Perra de canes decana Y entre perras protoperra, Era tenida en su tierra 20 Por perra antediluviana;

Flaco era el animalejo, El m�s flaco de los canes, Era el rastro, eran los manes De un cuasi-semi-ex-gozquejo; page 170 Sarnosa era... digo mal; No era una perra sarnosa, Era una sarna perrosa Y en figura de animal;

5 Era, otros�, derrengada; La derribaba un resuello; Puede decirse que aquello No era perra ni era nada.

� ver, pues, la batahola 10 La vieja al cerro sub�a, De la perra en compa��a, Que era lo mismo que ir sola.

Por donde iba, hizo la suerte Que se hubiese el jabal� 15 Escondido, por si as� Se libraba de la muerte;

Empero, sintiendo luego Que por ah� andaba gente, Tuvo por cosa prudente 20 Tomar las de Villadiego;

La vieja entonces al ver Que escapaba por la loma, �Sus! dijo por pura broma, Y la perra ech� � correr. page 171 Y aquella perra extenuada, Sombra de perra que fu�, De la cual se dijo que No era perra ni era nada;

5 Aquella perrilla, s�, �Cosa es de volverse loco! No pudo coger tampoco Al maldito jabal�.

DON MIGUEL ANTONIO CARO

LA VUELTA A LA PATRIA

Mirad al peregrino 10 �Cu�n doliente y trocado! Apoy�ndose lento en su cayado �Qu� solitario va por su camino!

En su primer ma�ana, Alma alegre y cantora 15 Abandon� el hogar, como � la aurora Deja su nido la avecilla ufana.

Aire y luz, vida y flores, Busc� en la vasta y fr�a Regi�n que la inocente fantas�a 20 Adornaba con m�gicos fulgores. page 172 Ve el mundo, oye el r�ido De las grandes ciudades, Y s�lo vanidad de vanidades Halla doquier su esp�ritu afligido

5 Materia da � su llanto Cuanto el hombre le ofrece; Ya la risa en sus labios no florece, Y olvid� la nativa voz del canto.

H�zose pensativo; 10 Las nubes y las olas Sus confidentes son, y trata � solas El sitio m�s repuesto y m�s esquivo.

� su penar responde En la noche callada, 15 La estrella que declina fatigada Y en el materno pi�lago se esconde.

�Vuelve, vuelve � tu centro! Natura al infelice Clama; �vuelve! una voz tambi�n le dice 20 Que habla siempre con �l, amiga, adentro,

�Ay triste! En lontananza Ve los pasados d�as, Y en gozar otra vez sus alegr�as Concentra reanimado la esperanza. page 173 �Imposible! �Locura!... �Cu�ndo pudo � su fuente Retroceder el m�sero torrente Que prob� de los mares la amargura?

5 Ya sube la colina Con mal seguro paso; Del sol poniente al resplandor escaso El valle de la infancia se domina.

10 �Ay! Ese valle umbr�o Que la paterna casa Guarece; ese rumor con que acompasa Sus blandos tumbos el sagrado r�o;

Esa aura embalsamada Que sus sienes orea, 15 �A un coraz�n enfermo que desea Su antigua soledad, no dicen nada?

El pobre peregrino Ni oye, ni ve, ni siente; De la Patria la imagen en su mente 20 No existe ya, sino ideal divino.

Invisible le toca Y sus p�rpados cierra �ngel piadoso, y la ilusi�n destierra, Y el dulce sonreir vuelve � su boca. page 174 �Qu� muda despedida! �Qui�n muerto le creyera? �Mirando est� la Patria verdadera! �Est� durmiendo el sue�o de la vida!

DON DI�GENES A. ARRIETA

EN LA TUMBA DE MI HIJO

5 �Espejismos del alma dolorida!... �Hermosas esperanzas de la vida Que disipa la muerte con crueldad! Para enga�ar las penas nos forjamos Im�genes de dicha, y luego damos 10 � la Ilusi�n el nombre de Verdad.

Aqu� te llamo y nadie me responde: Sorda y cruel, la tierra que te esconde Ni el eco de mi voz devolver�. As� la Eternidad: sombr�a y muda, 15 El odio ni el amor, la fe y la duda En sus abismos nada alcanzar�n.

Otros alienten la creencia vana De que es posible � la esperanza humana De la muerte sacar vida y amor. 20 Si es cruel la verdad, yo la prefiero... �Me duele el coraz�n, pero no quiero Consolar con mentiras mi dolor! page 175 �Hijo querido, la esperanza m�a! Animaste mi hogar tan s�lo un d�a, No volvemos � vernos ya los dos... Pues que la ley se cumpla del destino: Tomo mi cruz y sigo mi camino... �Luz de mi hogar y mi esperanza, adi�s!

DON IGNACIO GUTI�RREZ PONCE

DOLORA

El �ngel de mi cielo, mi Mar�a, Que � la primera vuelta de las flores Tres a�os cumplir�, medrosa un d�a 10 Busc� refugio en mis abiertos brazos, Y cuando entre caricias y entre abrazos, Que prodigu�, con paternal empe�o, Hubo al fin disipado sus temores, Trocando as� en sonrisas sus clamores, 15 Cerr� los ojos en tranquilo sue�o.

En silencio qued� la estancia m�a; Y sinti�ndome ansioso De no turbar el infantil reposo De mi bien, en mi pecho reclinado, 20 Inm�viles mis miembros manten�a, Y mi amoroso coraz�n lat�a Al ritmo de su aliento sosegado. page 176 Sobre su faz serena, Regadas como l�mpido roc�o En el c�liz de p�lida azucena, Brillaban gotas del reciente lloro, 5 Y las guedejas de oro Del undoso cabello Ca�an arropando su albo cuello.

As� nos sorprendi� mi tierna esposa. Que � la par temerosa 10 De interrumpir mi sue�o de ventura, Con paso leve recorri� el estrado Y sin sentirla yo, vino � mi lado.

Aquella dulce calma Que reinaba entre m� y en torno m�o, 15 Llen�me al fin de arrobamiento el alma. Y se qued� mi mente Enajenada en �xtasis creciente.

Absorto siempre en ella, Con �ntimo lenguaje la dec�a: 20 �Eres bot�n de flor embalsamado Con aromas del cielo todav�a.� Y al verla as�, tan bella, Con pl�cido embeleso � su rosada frente 25 Fu�me inclinando para darla un beso; page 177 Pero escuch�, de s�bito, � mi lado, Algo como un sollozo; Y mirando con ojos sorprendidos, Hall� los de mi esposa humedecidos 5 Por inefable gozo... �No la despiertes,� d�jome sencilla, Y me acerc� su c�ndida mejilla.

DON JOS� MAR�A GARAVITO A.

VOLVER� MA�ANA

--�Adi�s! �adi�s! Lucero de mis noches, --Dijo un soldado al pie de una ventana,-- 10 �Me voy!... pero no llores, alma m�a, Que volver� ma�ana. Ya se asoma la estrella de la aurora, Ya se divisa en el oriente el alba, Y en mi cuartel tambores y cornetas 15 Est�n tocando diana.

Horas despu�s, cuando la negra noche Cubri� de luto el campo de batalla, � la luz del vivac p�lida y triste, Un joven expiraba. 20 Alguna cosa de ella el centinela Al mirarlo morir, dijo en voz baja... page 178 Alz� luego el fusil, baj� los ojos Y se enjug� dos l�grimas.

Hoy cuentan por doquier gentes medrosas, Que cuando asoma en el oriente el alba, 5 Y en el cuartel tambores y cornetas Est�n tocando diana... Se ve vagar la misteriosa sombra, Que se detiene al pie de una ventana Y murmura: no llores, alma m�a, 10 Que volver� ma�ana. page 179

DON JOS� MAR�A HEREDIA

EN EL TEOCALLI DE CHOLULA

�Cu�nto es bella la tierra que habitaban Los aztecas valientes! En su seno En una estrecha zona concentrados Con asombro se ven todos los climas 5 Que hay desde el polo al ecuador. Sus llanos Cubren � par de las doradas mieses Las ca�as deliciosas. El naranjo Y la pi�a y el pl�tano sonante, Hijos del suelo equinoccial, se mezclan 10 � la frondosa vid, al pino agreste, Y de Minerva al �rbol majestuoso. Nieve eternal corona las cabezas De Iztacc�hual pur�simo, Orizaba 15 Y Popocatepec; sin que el invierno Toque jam�s con destructora mano Los campos fertil�simos, do ledo Los mira el indio en p�rpura ligera Y oro te�irse, reflejando el brillo Del Sol en occidente, que sereno 20 En hielo eterno y perennal verdura page 180 � torrentes verti� su luz dorada, Y vi� � naturaleza conmovida Con su dulce calor hervir en vida.

Era la tarde: su ligera brisa 5 Las alas en silencio ya plegaba Y entre la hierba y �rboles dorm�a, Mientras el ancho sol su disco hund�a Detr�s de Iztacc�hual. La nieve eterna Cual disuelta en mar de oro, semejaba 10 Temblar en torno de �l: un arco inmenso Que del emp�reo en el cenit finaba Como espl�ndido p�rtico del cielo De luz vestido y centellante gloria, De sus �ltimos rayos recib�a 15 Los colores riqu�simos. Su brillo Desfalleciendo fu�: la blanca luna Y de Venus la estrella solitaria En el cielo desierto se ve�an. �Crep�sculo feliz! Hora m�s bella 20 Que la alma noche � el brillante d�a. �Cu�nto es dulce tu paz al alma m�a!

Hall�bame sentado en la famosa Choluteca pir�mide. Tendido El llano inmenso que ante m� yac�a, 25 Los ojos � espaciarse convidaba. �Qu� silencio! �qu� paz! �Oh! �qui�n dir�a Que en estos bellos campos reina alzada La b�rbara opresi�n, y que esta tierra page 181 Brota mieses tan ricas, abonada Con sangre de hombres, en que fu� inundada Por la superstici�n y por la guerra?...

Baj� la noche en tanto. De la esfera 5 El leve azul, obscuro y m�s obscuro Se fu� tornando: la movible sombra De las nubes serenas, que volaban Por el espacio en alas de la brisa, Era visible en el tendido llano. 10 Iztacc�hual pur�simo volv�a Del argentado rayo de la luna El pl�cido fulgor, y en el oriente Bien como puntos de oro centellaban Mil estrellas y mil... �Oh! yo os saludo, 15 Fuentes de luz, que de la noche umbr�a Ilumin�is el velo, Y sois del firmamento poes�a.

Al paso que la luna declinaba, Y al ocaso fulgente descend�a 20 Con lentitud, la sombra se extend�a Del Popocatepec, y semejaba Fantasma colosal. El arco obscuro � m� lleg�, cubri�me, y su grandeza 25 Fu� mayor y mayor, hasta que al cabo En sombra universal vel� la tierra.

Volv� los ojos al volc�n sublime, Que velado en vapores transparentes, page 182 Sus inmensos contornos dibujaba De occidente en el cielo. �Gigante del An�huac! �c�mo el vuelo De las edades r�pidas no imprime 5 Alguna huella en tu nevada frente? Corre el tiempo veloz, arrebatando A�os y siglos como el norte fiero Precipita ante s� la muchedumbre De las olas del mar. Pueblos y reyes 10 Viste hervir � tus pies, que combat�an Cual hora combatimos, y llamaban Eternas sus ciudades, y cre�an Fatigar � la tierra con su gloria. Fueron: de ellos no resta ni memoria. 15 �Y t� eterno ser�s? Tal vez un d�a De tus profundas bases desquiciado Caer�s; abrumar� tu gran ruina Al yermo An�huac; alzar�nse en ella Nuevas generaciones y orgullosas, 20 Que fuiste negar�n... Todo perece Por ley universal. Aun este mundo Tan bello y tan brillante que habitamos, Es el cad�ver p�lido y deforme De otro mundo que fue...

25 En tal contemplaci�n embebecido Sorprendi�me el sopor. Un largo sue�o, De glorias engolfadas y perdidas page 183 En la profunda noche de los tiempos, Descendi� sobre m�. La agreste pompa De los reyes aztecas despleg�se 5 � mis ojos at�nitos. Ve�a De emplumados caudillos levantarse El d�spota salvaje en rico trono, De oro, perlas y plumas recamado; Y al son de caracoles belicosos 10 Ir lentamente caminando al templo La vasta procesi�n, do la aguardaban Sacerdotes horribles, salpicados Con sangre humana rostros y vestidos. Con profundo estupor el pueblo esclavo 15 Las bajas frentes en el polvo hund�a, Y ni mirar � su se�or osaba, De cuyos ojos f�rvidos brotaba La sa�a del poder. Tales ya fueron Tus monarcas, An�huac, y su orgullo: 20 Su vil superstici�n y tiran�a En el abismo del no ser se hundieron. S�, que la muerte, universal se�ora, Hiriendo � par al d�spota y esclavo, Escribe la igualdad sobre la tumba. 25 Con su manto ben�fico el olvido Tu insensatez oculta y tus furores � la raza presente y la futura. Esta inmensa estructura page 184 Vi� � la superstici�n m�s inhumana En ella entronizarse. Oy� los gritos De agonizantes v�ctimas, en tanto Que el sacerdote, sin piedad ni espanto, 5 Les arrancaba el coraz�n sangriento; Mir� el vapor espeso de la sangre Subir caliente al ofendido cielo Y tender en el sol f�nebre velo, Y escuch� los horrendos alaridos 10 Con que los sacerdotes sofocaban El grito del dolor.

Muda y desierta Ahora te ves, Pir�mide. �M�s vale Que semanas de siglos yazgas yerma, Y la superstici�n � quien serviste 15 En el abismo del infierno duerma! � nuestros nietos �ltimos, empero, S� lecci�n saludable; y hoy al hombre Que ciego en su saber f�til y vano Al cielo, cual Tit�n, truena orgulloso, 20 S� ejemplo ignominioso De la demencia y del furor humano.

EL NI�GARA

Templad mi lira, d�dmela, que siento En mi alma estremecida y agitada Arder la inspiraci�n. �Oh! �cu�nto tiempo 25 En tinieblas pas�, sin que mi frente page 185 Brillase con su luz!... Ni�gara undoso, Tu sublime terror s�lo podr�a Tornarme el don divino, que ensa�ada Me rob� del dolor la mano imp�a.

5 Torrente prodigioso, calma, calla Tu trueno aterrador: disipa un tanto Las tinieblas que en torno te circundan; D�jame contemplar tu faz serena, Y de entusiasmo ardiente mi alma llena. 10 Yo digno soy de contemplarte: siempre Lo com�n y mezquino desde�ando, Ansi� por lo terr�fico y sublime. Al despe�arse el hurac�n furioso, Al retumbar sobre mi frente el rayo, 15 Palpitando goc�: vi al Oc�ano, Azotado por austro proceloso, Combatir mi bajel, y ante mis plantas V�rtice hirviendo abrir, y am� el peligro. Mas del mar la fiereza 20 En mi alma no produjo La profunda impresi�n que tu grandeza.

Sereno corres, majestuoso; y luego En �speros pe�ascos quebrantado, Te abalanzas violento, arrebatado, 25 Como el destino irresistible y ciego. �Qu� voz humana describir podr�a De la sirte rugiente page 186 La aterradora faz? El alma m�a En vago pensamiento se confunde Al mirar esa f�rvida corriente, Que en vano quiere la turbada vista 5 En su vuelo seguir al borde obscuro Del precipicio alt�simo: mil olas, Cual pensamiento r�pidas pasando, Chocan, y se enfurecen, Y otras mil y otras mil ya las alcanzan, 10 Y entre espuma y fragor desaparecen.

�Ved! �llegan, saltan! El abismo horrendo Devora los torrentes despe�ados: Cr�zanse en �l mil iris, y asordados Vuelven los bosques el fragor tremendo. 15 En las r�gidas pe�as R�mpese el agua: vaporosa nube Con el�stica fuerza Llena el abismo en torbellino, sube, Gira en torno, y al �ter 20 Luminosa pir�mide levanta, Y por sobre los montes que le cercan Al solitario cazador espanta.

Mas �qu� en ti busca mi anhelante vista Con in�til af�n? �Por qu� no miro 25 Al rededor de tu caverna inmensa Las palmas �ay! las palmas deliciosas, Que en las llanuras de mi ardiente patria page 187 Nacen del sol � la sonrisa, y crecen, Y al soplo de las brisas del Oc�ano Bajo un cielo pur�simo se mecen?

Este recuerdo � mi pesar me viene... 5 Nada �oh Ni�gara! falta � tu destino, Ni otra corona que el agreste pino � tu terrible majestad conviene. La palma y mirto y delicada rosa Muelle placer inspiren y ocio blando 10 En fr�volo jard�n: � ti la suerte Guard� m�s digno objeto, m�s sublime. El alma libre, generosa, fuerte, Viene, te ve, se asombra, El mezquino deleite menosprecia 15 Y aun se siente elevar cuando te nombra.

�Omnipotente Dios! En otros climas Vi monstruos execrables, Blasfemando tu nombre sacrosanto, Sembrar error y fanatismo imp�o, 20 Los campos inundar con sangre y llanto, De hermanos atizar la infanda guerra, Y desolar fren�ticos la tierra. Vilos, y el pecho se inflam� � su vista En grave indignaci�n. Por otra parte 25 Vi mentidos fil�sofos, que osaban Escrutar tus misterios, ultrajarte, Y de impiedad al lamentable abismo page 188 � los m�seros hombres arrastraban. Por eso te busc� mi d�bil mente En la sublime soledad: ahora Entera se abre � ti; tu mano siente 5 En esta inmensidad que me circunda, Y tu profunda voz hiere mi seno De este raudal en el eterno trueno.

�Asombroso torrente! �C�mo tu vista el �nimo enajena 10 Y de terror y admiraci�n me llena! �D� tu origen est�? �Qui�n fertiliza Por tantos siglos tu inexhausta fuente? �Qu� poderosa mano Hace que al recibirte 15 No rebose en la tierra el Oc�ano?

Abri� el Se�or su mano omnipotente; Cubri� tu faz de nubes agitadas, Di� su voz � tus aguas despe�adas, Y orn� con su arco tu terrible frente. 20 �Ciego, profundo, infatigable corres, Como el torrente obscuro de los siglos En insondable eternidad!... �Al hombre Huyen as� las ilusiones gratas, Los florecientes d�as, 25 Y despierta al dolor!... �Ay! agostada Yace mi juventud; mi faz, marchita; page 189 Y la profunda pena que me agita Ruga mi frente de dolor nublada.

Nunca tanto sent� como este d�a Mi soledad y m�sero abandono 5 Y lamentable desamor... �Podr�a En edad borrascosa Sin amor ser feliz? �Oh! si una hermosa Mi cari�o fijase, Y de este abismo al borde turbulento 10 Mi vago pensamiento Y ardiente admiraci�n acompa�ase! �C�mo gozara, vi�ndola cubrirse De leve palidez, y ser m�s bella En su dulce terror, y sonreirse 15 Al sostenerla mis amantes brazos... Delirios de virtud... �Ay! �Desterrado, Sin patria, sin amores, S�lo miro ante m� llanto y dolores!

�Ni�gara poderoso! 20 �Adi�s! �adi�s! Dentro de pocos a�os Ya devorado habr� la tumba fr�a � tu d�bil cantor. �Duren mis versos Cual tu gloria inmortal! �Pueda piadoso, Vi�ndote alg�n viajero, 25 Dar un suspiro � la memoria m�a! Y al abismarse Febo en occidente, Feliz yo vuele do el Se�or me llama, page 190 Y al escuchar los ecos de mi fama, Alce en las nubes la radiosa frente.

�PL�CIDO� (DON GABRIEL DE LA CONCEPCI�N VALD�S)

PLEGARIA � DIOS

�Ser de inmensa bondad! �Dios poderoso! � vos acudo en mi dolor vehemente... 5 Extended vuestro brazo omnipotente; Rasgad de la calumnia el velo odioso; Y arrancad este sello ignominioso Con que el mundo manchar quiere mi frente.

�Rey de los Reyes! �Dios de mis abuelos! 10 �Vos solo sois mi defensor! �Dios m�o!... Todo lo puede quien al mar sombr�o Olas y peces dio, luz � los cielos, Fuego al sol, giro al aire, al norte hielos, Vida � las plantas, movimiento al r�o.

15 Todo lo pod�is vos; todo fenece, � se reanima � vuestra voz sagrada; Fuera de vos, Se�or, el todo es nada Que en la insondable eternidad perece; Y aun esa misma nada os obedece, 20 Pues de ella fu� la humanidad creada. page 191 Yo no os puedo enga�ar, Dios de clemencia; Y pues vuestra eternal sabidur�a Ve al trav�s de mi cuerpo el alma m�a Cual del aire � la clara transparencia, 5 Estorbad que humillada la inocencia Bata sus palmas la calumnia imp�a.

Estorbadlo, Se�or, por la preciosa Sangre vertida, que la culpa sella Del pecado de Ad�n, � por aquella 10 Madre c�ndida, dulce y amorosa, Cuando envuelta en pesar, mustia y llorosa, Sigui� tu muerte como hel�aca estrella.

Mas si cuadra � tu suma omnipotencia Que yo perezca cual malvado imp�o, 15 Y que los hombres mi cad�ver fr�o Ultrajen con maligna complacencia... �Suene tu voz, y acabe mi existencia!... �C�mplase en m� tu voluntad, Dios m�o!

DO�A GERTRUDIS G�MEZ DE AVELLANEDA

� W�SHINGTON

No en lo pasado a tu virtud modelo, 20 Ni copia al porvenir dar� la historia, Ni otra igual en grandeza � tu memoria Difundir�n los siglos en su vuelo. page 192 Mir� la Europa ensangrentar su suelo Al genio de la guerra y la victoria, Pero le cupo � Am�rica la gloria De que al genio del bien le diera el cielo. 5 Que audaz conquistador goce en su ciencia Mientras al mundo en p�ramo convierte, Y se envanezca cuando � siervos mande; �Mas los pueblos sabr�n en su conciencia Que el que los rige libres s�lo es fuerte; 10 Que el que los hace grandes s�lo es grande!

AL PARTIR

�Perla del mar! �Estrella de Occidente! �Hermosa Cuba! Tu brillante cielo La noche cubre con su opaco velo, Como cubre el dolor mi triste frente. 15 �Voy � partir!... La chusma diligente Para arrancarme del nativo suelo Las velas iza, y pronta � su desvelo La brisa acude de tu zona ardiente. �Adi�s, patria feliz, Ed�n querido! Doquier que el hado en su furor me impela, 20 Tu dulce nombre halagar� mi o�do. �Adi�s!... �ya cruje la turgente vela... El ancla se alza... el buque estremecido Las olas corta y silencioso vuela! page 193

DON JOS� JOAQU�N OLMEDO

LA VICTORIA DE JUN�N

Canto � Bol�var

El trueno horrendo, que en fragor revienta Y sordo retumbando se dilata Por la inflamada esfera, Al Dios anuncia que en el cielo impera.

5 Y el rayo que en Jun�n rompe y ahuyenta La hispana muchedumbre, Que m�s feroz que nunca amenazaba � sangre y fuego eterna servidumbre, Y el canto de victoria 10 Que en ecos mil discurre, ensordeciendo El hondo valle y enriscada cumbre, Proclaman � Bol�var en la tierra �rbitro de la paz y de la guerra.

Las soberbias pir�mides que al cielo 15 El arte humano osado levantaba Para hablar � los siglos y naciones, page 194 Templos, do esclavas manos Deificaban en pompa � sus tiranos, Ludibrio son del tiempo, que con su ala D�bil las toca, y las derriba al suelo, 5 Despu�s que en f�cil juego el fugaz viento Borr� sus mentirosas inscripciones; Y bajo los escombros confundido Entre las sombras del eterno olvido �Oh de ambici�n y de miseria ejemplo! 10 El sacerdote yace, el dios y el templo.

Mas los sublimes montes, cuya frente � la regi�n et�rea se levanta, Que ven las tempestades � su planta Brillar, rugir, romperse, disiparse; 15 Los Andes... las enormes, estupendas Moles sentadas sobre bases de oro, La tierra con su peso equilibrando, Jam�s se mover�n. Ellos, burlando De ajena envidia y del protervo tiempo 20 La furia y el poder, ser�n eternos De Libertad y de Victoria heraldos, Que con eco profundo � la postrera edad dir�n del mundo: �Nosotros vimos de Jun�n el campo; 25 Vimos que al desplegarse Del Per� y de Colombia las banderas, Se turban las legiones altaneras, Huye el fiero espa�ol despavorido, page 195 � pide paz rendido. Venci� Bol�var: el Per� fu� libre; Y en triunfal pompa Libertad sagrada En el templo del Sol fu� colocada.�

5 �Qui�n es aquel que el paso lento mueve Sobre el collado que � Jun�n domina? �Que el campo desde all� mide, y el sitio Del combatir y del vencer desina? �Que la hueste contraria observa, cuenta, 10 Y en su mente la rompe y desordena, Y � los m�s bravos � morir condena, Cual �guila caudal que se complace Del alto cielo en divisar su presa Que entre el reba�o mal segura pace? 15 �Qui�n el que ya desciende Pronto y apercibido � la pelea? Pre�ada en tempestades le rodea Nube tremenda: el brillo de su espada Es el vivo reflejo de la gloria; 20 Su voz un trueno; su mirada un rayo. �Qui�n aquel que, al trabarse la batalla, Ufano como nuncio de victoria, Un corcel impetuoso fatigando, Discurre sin cesar por toda parte?... 25 �Qui�n, sino el hijo de Colombia y Marte?

Son� su voz: �Peruanos, Mirad all� los duros opresores page 196 De vuestra patria. Bravos colombianos, En cien crudas batallas vencedores, Mirad all� los enemigos fieros Que buscando ven�s desde Orinoco: 5 Suya es la fuerza, y el valor es vuestro, Vuestra ser� la gloria; Pues lidiar con valor y por la patria Es el mejor presagio de victoria. Acometed: que siempre 10 De quien se atreve m�s el triunfo ha sido: Quien no espera vencer, ya est� vencido.�

Dice; y al punto, cual fugaces carros Que, dada la se�al, parten, y en densos De arena y polvo torbellinos ruedan, 15 Arden los ejes, se estremece el suelo, Estr�pito confuso asorda el cielo, Y en medio del af�n cada cual teme Que los dem�s adelantarse puedan; As� los ordenados escuadrones, 20 Que del iris reflejan los colores � la imagen del sol en sus pendones, Se avanzan � la lid. �Oh! �qui�n temiera, Qui�n, que su �mpetu mismo los perdiera!

Tal el h�roe brillaba 25 Por las primeras filas discurriendo. Se oye su voz, su acero resplandece Do m�s la pugna y el peligro crece; page 197 Nada le puede resistir... Y es fama, �Oh portento inaudito! Que el bello nombre de Colombia escrito Sobre su frente en torno desped�a 5 Rayos de luz tan viva y refulgente, Que deslumbrado el espa�ol desmaya, Tiembla, pierde la voz, el movimiento: S�lo para la fuga tiene aliento.

As�, cuando en la noche alg�n malvado 10 Va � descargar el brazo levantado, Si de improviso lanza un rayo el cielo, Se pasma, y el pu�al tr�mulo suelta; Hielo mortal � su furor sucede; Tiembla y horrorizado retrocede. 15 Ya no hay m�s combatir. El enemigo El campo todo y la victoria cede. Huye cual ciervo herido; y � donde huye All� encuentra la muerte. Los caballos Que fueron su esperanza en la pelea, 20 Heridos, espantados, por el campo � entre las filas vagan, salpicando El suelo en sangre que su crin gotea; Derriban al jinete, lo atropellan, Y las catervas van despavoridas, 25 � unas en otras con terror se estrellan.

Crece la confusi�n, crece el espanto, Y al impulso del aire, que vibrando page 198 Sube en clamores y alaridos lleno, Tremen las cumbres que respeta el trueno. Y discurriendo el vencedor en tanto Por cimas de cad�veres y heridos, 5 Postra al que huye, perdona � los rendidos.

�Padre del universo, sol radioso, Dios del Per�, modera omnipotente El ardor de tu carro impet�oso, Y no escondas tu luz indeficiente!... 10 �Una hora m�s de luz!... Pero esta hora No fu� la del Destino. El dios o�a El voto de su pueblo, y de la frente El cerco de diamantes desce��a. En fugaz rayo el horizonte dora, 15 En mayor disco menos luz ofrece, Y veloz tras los Andes se obscurece.

Tendi� su manto l�brego la noche, Y las reliquias del perdido bando, Con sus tristes y at�nitos caudillos, 20 Corren sin saber d�nde espavoridas, Y de su sombra misma se estremecen; Y al fin en las tinieblas ocultando Su afrenta y su pavor, desaparecen.

�Victoria por la patria! �oh Dios! �Victoria! 25 �Triunfo � Colombia y � Bol�var gloria! page 199

DON JOS� JOAQU�N DE PESADO

LA SERENATA

�Oh, t�, que duermes en casto lecho, De sinsabores ajeno el pecho, Y � los encantos de la hermosura Unes las gracias del coraz�n, 5 Deja el descanso, doncella pura, Y oye los ecos de mi canci�n! �Qui�n en la tierra la dicha alcanza? Iba mi vida sin esperanza, Cual nave errante sin ver su estrella, 10 Cuando me inundas en claridad; Y desde entonces, gentil doncella, Me revelaste felicidad. �Oh, si las ansias decir pudiera Que siente el alma, desde que viera 15 Ese semblante que amor inspira Y los hechizos de tu candor! Mas, rudo el labio, torpe la lira, Decir no puede lo que es amor. Del Iris puede pintarse el velo; page 200 Del sol los rayos, la luz del cielo; La negra noche, la blanca aurora; Mas no tus gracias ni tu poder, Ni menos puede de quien te adora 5 Decirse el llanto y el padecer.

Amor encuentra doquier que vuelva La vista en torno; la verde selva, Florido el prado y el bosque umbr�o, La tierna hierba, la hermosa �or, 10 Y la cascada, y el claro r�o, Todos me dicen: amor, amor. Cuando te ausentas, el campo triste De luto y sombras luego se viste; Mas si regresas, la primavera 15 Hace sus galas todas lucir: �Oh, nunca, nunca de esta ribera, Doncella hermosa, quieras partir!

DON FERNANDO CALDER�N

LA ROSA MARCHITA

�Eres t�, triste rosa, La que ayer difund�a 20 Bals�mica ambros�a, Y tu altiva cabeza levantando Eras la reina de la selva umbr�a? page 201 �Por qu� tan pronto, dime, Hoy triste y desolada Te encuentras de tus galas despojada?

Ayer viento s�ave 5 Te halag� cari�oso; Ayer alegre el ave Su c�ntico armonioso Ejercitaba, sobre ti posando; T�, rosa, le inspirabas, 10 Y � cantar sus amores le excitabas.

Tal vez el fatigado peregrino, Al pasar junto � ti, quiso cortarte: Tal vez quiso llevarte Alg�n amante � su ardoroso seno; 15 Pero al ver tu hermosura, La compasi�n sintieron, Y su atrevida mano detuvieron.

Hoy nadie te respeta: El furioso aquil�n te ha deshojado. 20 Ya nada te ha quedado �Oh reina de las flores! De tu brillo y tus colores.

La fiel imagen eres De mi triste fortuna: 25 �Ay! todos mis placeres, Todas mis esperanzas una � una Arranc�ndome ha ido page 202 Un destino funesto, cual tus hojas Arranc� el hurac�n embravecido!

�Y qu�, ya triste y sola, No habr� quien te dirija una mirada? 5 �Estar�s condenada � eterna soledad y amargo lloro? No, que existe un mortal sobre la tierra, Un joven infeliz, desesperado, � quien horrible suerte ha condenado 10 � perpetuo gemir: ven, pues, �oh rosa! Ven � mi amante seno, en �l reposa Y ojal� de mis besos la pureza Resucitar pudiera tu belleza.

Ven, ven, �oh triste rosa! 15 Si es mi suerte � la tuya semejante, Burlemos su porf�a; Ven, todas mis caricias ser�n tuyas, Y tu �ltima fragancia ser� m�a.

DON MANUEL ACU�A

NOCTURNO

� Rosario

�Pues bien! yo necesito 20 Decirte que te adoro, Decirte que te quiero page 203 Con todo el coraz�n; Que es mucho lo que sufro, Que es mucho lo que lloro, Que ya no puedo tanto, 5 Y al grito en que te imploro Te imploro y te hablo en nombre De mi �ltima ilusi�n.

Yo quiero que t� sepas Que ya hace muchos d�as 10 Estoy enfermo y p�lido De tanto no dormir; Que ya se han muerto todas Las esperanzas m�as; Que est�n mis noches negras, 15 Tan negras y sombr�as, Que ya no s� ni d�nde Se alzaba el porvenir.

De noche, cuando pongo Mis sienes en la almohada 20 Y hacia otro mundo quiero Mi esp�ritu volver, Camino mucho, mucho, Y al fin de la jornada Las formas de mi madre 25 Se pierden en la nada, page 204 Y t� de nuevo vuelves En mi alma � aparecer.

Comprendo que tus besos Jam�s han de ser m�os; 5 Comprendo que en tus ojos No me he de ver jam�s; Y te amo, y en mis locos Y ardientes desvarios Bendigo tus desdenes, 10 Adoro tus desv�os, Y en vez de amarte menos, Te quiero mucho m�s.

� veces pienso en darte Mi eterna despedida, 15 Borrarte en mis recuerdos Y hundirte en mi pasi�n; Mas si es en vano todo Y el alma no te olvida, �Qu� quieres t� que yo haga, 20 Pedazo de mi vida; Qu� quieres t� que yo haga Con este coraz�n!

Y luego que ya estaba Concluido tu santuario, page 205 Tu l�mpara encendida, Tu velo en el altar, El sol de la ma�ana Detr�s del campanario, 5 Chispeando las antorchas, Humeando el incensario, Y abierta all� � lo lejos La puerta del hogar...

�Qu� hermoso hubiera sido 10 Vivir bajo aquel techo, Los dos unidos siempre Y am�ndonos los dos; Tu siempre enamorada, Yo siempre satisfecho, 15 Los dos una sola alma, Los dos un solo pecho, Y en medio de nosotros Mi madre como un Dios!

�Fig�rate qu� hermosas 20 Las horas de esa vida! �Qu� dulce y bello el viaje Por una tierra as�! Y yo so�aba en eso, Mi santa prometida. 25 Y al delirar en eso page 206 Con la alma estremecida, Pensaba yo en ser bueno Por ti, no m�s por ti.

IX

Bien sabe Dios que �se era 5 Mi m�s hermoso sue�o, Mi af�n y mi esperanza, Mi dicha y mi placer; �Bien sabe Dios que en nada Cifraba yo mi empe�o, 10 Sino en amarte mucho Bajo el hogar risue�o Que me envolvi� en sus besos Cuando me vio nacer!

�sa era mi esperanza... 15 Mas ya que � sus fulgores Se opone el hondo abismo Que existe entre los dos, �Adi�s por la vez �ltima, Amor de mis amores; 20 La luz de mis tinieblas, La esencia de mis flores; Mi lira de poeta, Mi juventud, adi�s! page 207

DON JUAN DE DIOS PEZA

REIR LLORANDO

�Cu�ntos hay que, cansados de la vida, Enfermos de pesar, muertos de tedio, Hacen reir como el actor suicida, Sin encontrar, para su mal, remedio!

5 �Ay! �Cu�ntas veces al reir se llora! �Nadie en lo alegre de la risa f�e, Porque en los seres que el dolor devora El alma llora cuando el rostro r�e!

Si se muere la fe, si huye la calma, 10 Si s�lo abrojos nuestra planta pisa, Lanza � la faz la tempestad del alma Un rel�mpago triste: la sonrisa.

El carnaval del mundo enga�a tanto, Que las vidas son breves mascaradas; 15 Aqu� aprendemos � reir con llanto, Y tambi�n � llorar con carcajadas.

FUSILES Y MU�ECAS

Juan y Margot, dos �ngeles hermanos, Que embellecen mi hogar con sus cari�os, Se entretienen con juegos tan humanos 20 Que parecen personas desde ni�os. page 208 Mientras Juan, de tres a�os, es soldado Y monta en una ca�a endeble y hueca, Besa Margot con labios de granado Los labios de cart�n de su mu�eca.

5 Lucen los dos sus inocentes galas, Y alegres sue�an en tan dulces lazos: �l, que cruza sereno entre las balas; Ella, que arrulla un ni�o entre sus brazos.

10 Puesto al hombro el fusil de hoja de lata, El kepis de papel sobre la frente, Alienta al ni�o en su inocencia grata El orgullo viril de ser valiente.

Quiz� piensa, en sus juegos infantiles, Que en este mundo que su af�n recrea, 15 Son como el suyo todos los fusiles Con que la torpe humanidad pelea.

Que pesan poco, que sin odios lucen, Que es igual el m�s d�bil al m�s fuerte, Y que, si se disparan, no producen 20 Humo, fragor, consternaci�n y muerte.

�Oh misteriosa condici�n humana! Siempre lo opuesto buscas en la tierra: Ya delira Margot por ser anciana, Y Juan que vive en paz ama la guerra. page 209 Mir�ndolos jugar, me aflijo y callo; �Cu�l ser� sobre el mundo su fortuna? Sue�a el ni�o con armas y caballo, La ni�a con velar junto � la cuna.

5 El uno corre de entusiasmo ciego, La ni�a arrulla � su mu�eca inerme, Y mientras grita el uno: Fuego, Fuego, La otra murmura triste: Duerme, Duerme.

� mi lado ante juegos tan extra�os 10 Concha, la primog�nita, me mira: �Es toda una persona de seis a�os Que charla, que comenta y que suspira!

�Por qu� inclina su l�nguida cabeza Mientras deshoja inquieta algunas flores? 15 �Ser� la que ha heredado mi tristeza? �Ser� la que comprende mis dolores?

Cuando me rindo del dolor al peso, Cuando la negra duda me avasalla, Se me cuelga del cuello, me da un beso, 20 Se le saltan las l�grimas, y calla.

Sueltas sus trenzas claras y sedosas, Y oprimiendo mi mano entre sus manos, Parece que medita en muchas cosas Al mirar como juegan sus hermanos... page 210 �Inocencia! �Ni�ez! �Dichosos nombres! Amo tus goces, busco tus cari�os; �C�mo han de ser los sue�os de los hombres M�s dulces que los sue�os de los ni�os! page 211

DON RUB�N DAR�O

� ROOSEVELT

Es con voz de la Biblia � verso de Walt Whitman Que habr�a que llegar hasta ti, �cazador! Primitivo y moderno, sencillo y complicado, Con un algo de W�shington y mucho de Nemrod. 5 Eres los Estados Unidos, Eres el futuro invasor De la Am�rica ingenua que tiene sangre ind�gena, Que aun reza � Jesucristo y aun habla en espa�ol.

Eres soberbio y fuerte ejemplar de tu raza; 10 Eres culto, eres h�bil; te opones � Tolstoy. Y domando caballos � asesinando tigres, Eres un Alejandro Nabucodonosor. (Eres un profesor de Energ�a Como dicen los locos de hoy.)

15 Crees que la vida es incendio, Que el progreso es erupci�n, Que en donde pones la bala El porvenir pones. page 212 No. Los Estados Unidos son potentes y grandes. Cuando ellos se estremecen hay un hondo temblor Que pasa por las v�rtebras enormes de los Andes. 5 Si clam�is, se oye como el rugir de un le�n. Ya Hugo � Grant lo dijo: �Las estrellas son vuestras.� (Apenas brilla alz�ndose el argentino sol Y la estrella chilena se levanta...) Sois ricos; Junt�is al culto de H�rcules el culto de Mamn�n; 10 Y alumbrando el camino de la f�cil conquista,0 La Libertad levanta su antorcha en Nueva York.

Mas la Am�rica nuestra que ten�a poetas Desde los viejos tiempos de Netzhualcoyolt, Que ha guardado las huellas de los pies del gran Baco, 15 Que el alfabeto p�nico en un tiempo aprendi�, Que consult� los astros, que conoci� la atl�ntida Cuyo nombre nos llega resonando en Plat�n, Que desde los remotos momentos de su vida Vive de luz, de fuego, de perfume y de amor, 20 La Am�rica del grande Moctezuma, del Inca, La Am�rica fragante de Crist�bal Col�n, La Am�rica cat�lica, la Am�rica espa�ola, La Am�rica en que dijo el noble Guatemoc: �Yo no estoy en un lecho de rosas�; esa Am�rica 25 Que tiembla de huracanes y que vive de amor, Hombres de ojos sajones y alma b�rbara, vive Y sue�a. Y ama y vibra; y es la hija del Sol. Tened cuidado. �Vive la Am�rica espa�ola! page 213 Hay mil cachorros sueltos del le�n espa�ol. Se necesitar�a, Roosevelt, ser Dios mismo, El Riflero terrible y el fuerte cazador, Para poder tenernos en vuestras f�rreas garras.

5 Y, pues cont�is con todo, falta una cosa: �Dios! page 214

VENEZUELA

DON ANDR�S BELLO

� LA VICTORIA DE BAIL�N

Rompe el Le�n soberbio la cadena Con que atarle pens� la felon�a, Y sacude con noble bizarr�a Sobre el robusto cuello la melena.

5 La espuma del furor sus labios llena Y � los rugidos que indignado env�a El tigre tiembla en la caverna umbr�a, Y todo el bosque at�nito resuena.

10 El Le�n despert�; �temblad, traidores! Lo que vejez cre�steis, fu� descanso; Las juveniles fuerzas guarda enteras

Perseguid, alevosos cazadores, � la t�mida liebre, al ciervo manso; No insult�is al monarca de las fieras

LA AGRICULTURA DE LA ZONA T�RRIDA

15 �Salve, fecunda zona, Que al sol enamorado circunscribes page 215 El vago curso, y cuanto ser se anima En cada vario clima, Acariciada de su luz, concibes! T� tejes al verano su guirnalda 5 De granadas espigas; t� la uva Das � la hirviente cuba: No de purp�rea flor, � roja, � gualda, � tus florestas bellas Falta matiz alguno; y bebe en ellas 10 Aromas mil el viento; Y greyes van sin cuento Paciendo tu verdura, desde el llano Que tiene por lindero el horizonte, Hasta el erguido monte, 15 De inaccesible nieve siempre cano. T� das la ca�a hermosa, De do la miel se acendra, Por quien desde�a el mundo los panales: T� en urnas de coral cuajas la almendra 20 Que en la espumante j�cara rebosa: Bulle carm�n viviente en tus nopales, Que afrenta fuera al m�rice de Tiro; Y de tu a�il la tinta generosa �mula es de la lumbre del zafiro; 25 El vino es tuyo, que la herida agave Para los hijos vierte Del An�huac feliz; y la hoja es tuya Que, cuando de s�ave Humo en espiras vagarosas huya, page 216 Solazar� el fastidio al ocio inerte. T� vistes de jazmines El arbusto sabeo, Y el perfume le das que en los festines 5 La fiebre insana templar� � Lieo. Para tus hijos la procera palma Su vario feudo cr�a, Y el anan�s sazona su ambros�a: Su blanco pan la yuca, 10 Sus rubias pomas la patata educa, Y el algod�n despliega al aura leve Las rosas de oro y el vell�n de nieve. Tendida para ti la fresca parcha En enramadas de verdor lozano, 15 Cuelga de sus sarmientos trepadores Nect�reos globos y franjadas flores; Y para ti el ma�z, jefe altanero De la espigada tribu, hinche su grano; Y para ti el banano 20 Desmaya al peso de su dulce carga; El banano, primero De cuantos concedi� bellos presentes Providencia � las gentes Del ecuador feliz con mano larga. 25 No ya de humanas artes obligado El premio rinde opimo: No es � la podadera, no al arado Deudor de su racimo; Escasa industria b�stale, cual puede page 217 Hurtar � sus fatigas mano esclava: Crece veloz, y cuando exhausto acaba, Adulta prole en torno le sucede.

�Oh! �Los que afortunados poseedores 5 Hab�is nacido de la tierra hermosa En que rese�a hacer de sus favores, Como para ganaros y atraeros, Quiso naturaleza bondadosa! Romped el duro encanto 10 Que os tiene entre murallas prisioneros. El vulgo de las artes laborioso, El mercader que, necesario al lujo, Al lujo necesita, Los que anhelando van tras el se�uelo 15 Del alto cargo y del honor ruidoso, La grey de aduladores parasita, Gustosos pueblen ese infecto caos; El campo es vuestra herencia: en �l gozaos. �Am�is la libertad? El campo habita: 20 No all� donde el magnate Entre armados sat�lites se mueve, Y de la moda, universal se�ora, Va la raz�n al triunfal carro atada, Y � la fortuna la insensata plebe, 25 Y el noble al aura popular adora. �� la virtud am�is? �Ah! �Que el retiro, La solitaria calma page 218 En que, juez de s� misma, pasa el alma � las acciones muestra, Es de la vida la mejor maestra! �Busc�is durables goces, 5 Felicidad, cuanta es al hombre dada Y � su terreno asiento, en que vecina Est� la risa al llanto, y siempre �ah! siempre, Donde halaga la flor, punza la espina? Id � gozar la suerte campesina; 10 La regalada paz, que ni rencores, Al labrador, ni envidias acibaran; La cama que mullida le preparan El contento, el trabajo, el aire puro; Y el sabor de los f�ciles manjares, 15 Que dispendiosa gula no le aceda; Y el asilo seguro De sus patrios hogares Que � la salud y al regocijo hospeda. El aura respirad de la monta�a, 20 Que vuelve al cuerpo laso El perdido vigor, que � la enojosa Vejez retarda el paso, Y el rostro � la beldad ti�e de rosa. �Es all� menos blanda por ventura 25 De amor la llama, que templ� el recato? �� menos aficiona la hermosura Que de extranjero ornato Y afeites impostores no se cura? �� el coraz�n escucha indiferente page 219 El lenguaje inocente Que los afectos sin disfraz expresa Y � la intenci�n ajusta la promesa? No del espejo al importuno ensayo 5 La risa se compone, el paso, el gesto; No falta all� carm�n al rostro honesto Que la modestia y la salud colora, Ni la mirada que lanz� al soslayo T�mido amor, la senda al alma ignora. 10 �Esperar�is que forme M�s venturosos lazos himeneo, Do el inter�s barata, Tirano del deseo, Ajena mano y fe por nombre � plata, 15 Que do conforme gusto, edad conforme, Y elecci�n libre, y mutuo ardor los ata?

�Oh j�venes naciones, que ce�ida Alz�is sobre el at�nito Occidente De tempranos laureles la cabeza! 20 Honrad al campo, honrad la simple vida Del labrador y su frugal llaneza. As� tendr�n en vos perpetuamente La libertad morada, Y freno la ambici�n, y la ley templo. 25 Las gentes � la senda De la inmortalidad, ardua y fragosa, Se animar�n, citando vuestro ejemplo. Lo emular� celosa page 220 Vuestra posteridad, y nuevos nombres A�adiendo la fama � los que ahora aclama, �Hijos son �stos, hijos 5 (Pregonar� � los hombres) De los que vencedores superaron De los Andes la cima: De los que en Boyac�, los que en la arena De Maipo y en Jun�n, y en la campa�a 10 Gloriosa de Apurima, Postrar supieron al le�n de Espa�a.�

DON JUAN A. P�REZ BONALDE

VUELTA � LA PATRIA

� mi hermana Elodia

�Tierra! grita en la prora el navegante, Y confusa y distante, Una l�nea indecisa 15 Entre brumas y ondas se divisa. Poco � poco del seno Destac�ndose va, del horizonte, Sobre el �ter sereno La cumbre azul de un monte; 20 Y as� como el bajel se va acercando, Va extendi�ndose el cerro Y unas formas extra�as va tomando: page 221 Formas que he visto cuando So�aba con la dicha en mi destierro.

Ya la vista columbra Las riberas bordadas de palmares, 5 Y una brisa cargada con la esencia De silvestres violetas y azahares En mi memoria alumbra El recuerdo feliz de mi inocencia, Cuando pobre de a�os y pesares 10 Y rico de ilusiones y alegr�a, Bajo las palmas retozar sol�a Oyendo el arrullar de las palomas, Bebiendo luz y respirando aromas.

Hay algo en esos rayos brilladores 15 Que juegan por la atm�sfera azulada, Que me habla de ternuras y de amores De una dicha pasada; Y el viento al suspirar entre las cuerdas Parece que me dice:--�No te acuerdas?... 20 Ese cielo, ese mar, esos cocales, Ese monte que dora El sol de las regiones tropicales... �Luz! �luz al fin! los reconozco ahora; Son ellos, son los mismos de mi infancia, 25 Y esas playas que al sol del mediod�a Brillan � la distancia, �Oh inefable alegr�a! Son las riberas de la patria m�a. page 222 Ya muerde el fondo de la mar hirviente Del ancla el f�rreo diente; Ya se acercan los botes desplegando Al aire puro y blando 5 La ense�a tricolor del pueblo m�o. �� tierra! �� tierra! �� la emoci�n me ahoga, � se adue�a de mi alma el desvar�o!

Llevado en alas de mi ardiente anhelo, Me lanzo presuroso al barquichuelo 10 Que � las riberas del hogar me invita. Todo es grata armon�a: los suspiros De la onda de zafir que el remo agita, De las marinas aves Los caprichosos giros, 15 Y las notas s�aves Y el timbre lisonjero, Y la magia que toma, Hasta en labios del tosco marinero, El dulce son de mi nativo idioma.

20 �Volad, volad veloces, Ondas, aves y voces! Id � la tierra en donde el alma tengo, Y decidle que vengo � reposar, cansado caminante, 25 Del hogar � la sombra un solo instante. Decidle que en mi anhelo, en mi delirio Por llegar � la orilla, el pecho siente page 223 De T�ntalo el martirio; Decidle, en fin, que mientra estuve ausente Ni un d�a, ni un instante la he olvidado, Y llevadle este beso que os conf�o, 5 Tributo adelantado Que desde el fondo de mi ser le env�o. �Boga, boga remero! �As�! �Llegamos! �Oh, emoci�n hasta ahora no sentida! Ya piso el santo suelo en que probamos 10 El alm�bar primero de la vida. Tras ese monte azul, cuya alta cumbre Lanza reto de orgullo Al zafir de los cielos, Est� el pueblo gentil donde al arrullo 15 Del maternal amor rasgu� los velos Que me ocultaban la primera lumbre. �En marcha, en marcha, postill�n; agita El l�tigo inclemente! Y � m�s andar el coche diligente 20 Por la orilla del mar se precipita.

No hay pe�a ni ensenada que en mi mente No venga � despertar una memoria; Ni hay ola que en la arena humedecida No escriba con espuma alguna historia 25 De los felices tiempos de mi vida. Todo me habla de sue�os y cantares, De paz, de amor y de tranquilos bienes; Y el aura fugitiva de los mares page 224 Que viene, leda, � acariciar mis sienes, Me susurra al o�do Con misterioso acento: �Bienvenido!

DON HERACLIO MART�N DE LA GUARDIA

�LTIMA ILUSI�N

Cay� empu�ando el invencible acero 5 Que coron� de lauros la victoria, Terror de extra�os, de su patria gloria, En traidora asechanza el caballero. "--Llevad mi espada al pueblo por quien muero, Y airado el pueblo vengue mi memoria... 10 Este anillo �... mi amor... La negra historia � mi madre callad."--Dijo el guerrero.

Sucumbi� el h�roe... �Sacrificio vano! Que al suspiro final de su agon�a Besaba el pueblo la traidora mano: 15 �� otro amador la amada sonre�a! S�lo la madre en su dolor tirano Al guerrero lloraba noche y d�a.

page 225

[Illustration: Music]

La Carcelera

Carcelera, Carcelera, Carcelera de mi vida, des�tame las cadenas y �chame la despedida.

page 226

Riverana

Ya se muri� el burro que acarreaba la vinagre; Ya lo llev� Dios de esta vida miserable. |:Que tu ru ru ru ru Que tu ru ru ru ru.:| �l era valiente, �l era mohino; �l era el alivio de todo Villarino. |:Que tu ru ru ru ru Que tu ru ru ru ru.:|

page 227 [Illustration: Music] page 228 [Illustration: Music] page 229 [Illustration: Music]

La Cachucha

Yo tengo una cachuchita que me la di� un cachuchero, el que quiera cachuchita que se gaste su dinero. V�monos, china del alma, v�monos � Gibraltar para ver � los moritos que se quieren embarcar!

page 230 [Illustration: Music] page 231 [Illustration: music] page 232 [Illustration: Music]

La Valenciana.

Camino de Valencia, camino de Valencia, camino largo, con las tunas yo me ir�, con las bue�as volver�, camino largo; � la sombra de un pino, � la sombra de un pino, ni�a, te aguardo, con las feas yo me ir�, con las lindas volver�, �ni�a, te aguardo!

page 233 [Illustration: Music] page 234 [Illustration: Music]

Canci�n Devota

� la puerta del Cielo venden zapatos para los angelitos que van descalzos. Mar�a, adoraros quer�a y os quiero, adorar el cordero, �claveles, colorados y verdes, morados, verdes y colorados!

page 235 [Illustration: Music] page 236 [Illustration: Music] page 237 [Illustration: Music]

La Jota Gallega

Tanto bail� la jota gallega, �ole, ole, ole, ole! tanto bail� que me enamor� de ella, �ole, ole, ole! tanto bail� que me enamor�, �ole, ole, ole, ole! tanto bail� que me enamor�, �ole, ole, ole, ole! tanto bail� la jota gallega, �ole, ole, ole, ole! tanto bail� que me enamor� de ella, �ole, ole, ole!

page 238 [Illustration: Music] page 239 [Illustration: Music] page 240 [Illustration: Music] page 241 [Illustration: Music]

El Tr�gala

CANCI�N � LOS PANCISTAS

T� que no quieres lo que queremos, la ley preciosa do est� el bien nuestro, tr�gala, tr�gala, tr�gala, perro, tr�gala, tr�gala, tr�gala, perro. T� de la panza m�sero siervo que la ley odias de tus abuelos, que la ley odias de tus abuelos por que en ac�bar y lloro han vuelto tus goller�as y regodeos.

page 242 [Illustration: Music] page 243 [Illustration: Music] page 244 [Illustration: Music] page 245 [Illustration: Music] page 246 [Illustration: Music]

Himno De Riego.

Soldados, la Patria nos llama � la lid, juremos por ella vencer � morir. Serenos, alegres, valientes, osados, cantemos, soldados, el himno � la lid, y � nuestros acentos el orbe se admire y en nosotros mire los hijos del Cid, y � nuestros acentos el orbe se admire y en nosotros mire los hijos del Cid. Sol-etc.

page 247 [Illustration: Music] page 248 [Illustration: Music] page 249 [Illustration: Music] page 250 [Illustration: Music]

Himno Nacional De M�xico

JAIME NU�O

Mexicanos al grito de guerra El acero aprestad y el brid�n, y retiemble en sus centros la tierra al sonoro rugir del ca�on. Y retiemble en sus centros la tierra al sonoro rugir del ca��n. Ci�a �oh patria! tus sienes de oliva

De la paz el arc�ngel divino, Que en el ci�lo tu eterno destino por el dedo de Dios se escribi�. Mas si osare un extra�o enemigo profanar con su planta tu suelo piensa �oh patria querida! que el cielo un soldado en cada hijo te di�, un soldado en cada hijo te di�.

page 251 [Illustration: Music] page 252 [Illustration: Music]

Himno Nacional De Cuba

(HIMNO DE BAYAMO)

PEDRO FIGUEREDO

1. �Al combate corred Bayameses! Que la patria os contempla orgullosa; No tem�is una muerte gloriosa, Que morir por la patria es vivir. En cadenas vivir es vivir En oprobio y afrenta sumido. Del clar�n escuchad el sonido; � las armas, valientes, corred!

2. No tem�is al gobierno extranjero Que es cobarde cual todo tirano, No resiste el empuje cubano, Para siempre su imperio cay�. Sea bendita la noche serena En que en alegres campos de Yara El clar�n de la guerra sonara Y el cubano ser libre jur�.

3. No se nuble jam�s esa estrella Que las hijas de Cuba bordaron Y que nobles cubanos alzaron En su libre y feliz pabell�n. �Gloria y nombre � los hijos de Cuba! �Gloria y nombre al valiente Aguilera! �Viva! �Viva! la alegre bandera Que en los campos de Yara se alz�.

page 253

The heavy figures refer to pages of the text; the light figures to lines.

[Transcriber's note: In this text file, the bold characters are represented by the enclosure in a pair of = sign.]

ROMANCES. The Spanish romances viejos, which correspond in form and spirit to the early English and Scotch ballads, exist in great number and variety. Anonymous and widely known among the people, they represent as well as any literary product can the spirit of the Spanish nation of the period, in the main stern and martial, but sometimes tender and plaintive. Most of them were written in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries; the earliest to which a date can be assigned is Cercada tiene � Baeza, which must have been composed soon after 1368. Others may have their roots in older events, but have undergone constant modification since that time. The romance popular is still alive in Spain and many have recently been collected from oral tradition (cf. Men�ndez y Pelayo, Antolog�a, vol. X).

The romances were once thought to be relics of very old lyrico-epic songs which, gathering material in the course of time, became the long epics that are known to have existed in Spain in the twelfth to fourteenth centuries (such as the Poema del Cid, and the lost cantares of Bernardo del Carpio, the Infantes de Lara and Fern�n Gonz�lez). But modern investigation has shown conclusively that no such age can be ascribed to the romances in their present form, and that in so far as they have any relation with the epic cycles just cited they are rather descendants of them than ancestors,--striking passages remembered by the people and handed down by them in constantly changing form. Many are obviously later in origin; such are the romances fronterizos, springing from episodes of the Moorish wars, and the romances novelescos, which deal with romantic incidents of daily life. The romances juglarescos are longer poems, mostly concerned with Charlemagne page 254 and his peers, veritable degenerate epics, composed by itinerant minstrels to be sung in streets and taverns to throngs of apprentices and rustics. They have not the spontaneity and vigor which characterize the better romances viejos.

A few of the romances were printed in the Cancionero general of 1511, and more in loose sheets (pliegos sueltos) not much later in date; but the great collections which contain nearly all the best we know were the Cancionero de romances "sin a�o," (shortly before 1550), the Cancionero de romances of 1550 and the Silva de varios romances (3 parts, 1550). The most comprehensive modern collection is that of A. Dur�n, Romancero general, 2 vols., Madrid, 1849-1851 (vols. 10 and 16 of the Biblioteca de Autores espa�oles). The best selected is the Primavera y flor de romances of Wolf and Hofmann (Berlin, 1856), reprinted in vols. VIII and IX of Men�ndez y Pelayo's Antolog�a de poetas l�ricos castellanos. This contains nearly all the oldest and best romances, and includes poems from pliegos sueltos and the second part of the Silva, which were not known to Dur�n. Men�ndez y Pelayo, in his Ap�ndices � la Primavera y flor (Antol. vol. IX) has given still more texts, notably from the third part of the Silva, one of the rarest books in the world. The fundamental critical works on the romances are: F. Wolf, Ueber die Romanzenpoesie der Spanier (in Studien, Berlin, 1859); Mil� y Fontanals, De la poes�a heroico-popular castellana (1874); and Men�ndez y Pelayo, Tratado de los romances viejos (vols. XI and XII of the Antolog�a, Madrid, 1903-1906).

The romances, as usually printed, are in octosyllabic lines, with a fixed accent on the seventh syllable of each and assonance in alternate lines.

Many English translators have tried their hand at Spanish ballads, as Thomas Rodd (1812), J. C. Lockhart (1823), John Bowring (1824), J.Y. Gibson (1887) and others. Lockhart's versions are the best known and the least literal.

In the six romances included in this collection the lyrical quality predominates above the narrative page 255 (cf. the many rimes in-or in Fonte-frida and El prisionero). Aben�mar is properly a frontier ballad, and La constancia, perhaps, belongs with the Carolingian cycle; but the rest are detached poems of a romantic nature. (See S.G. Morley's Spanish Ballads, New York, 1911.)

=1.--Aben�mar= is one of a very few romances which are supposed to have their origin in Moorish popular poetry. The Christian king referred to is Juan II, who defeated the Moors at La Higueruela, near Granada, in 1431. It is said that on the morning of the battle he questioned one of his Moorish allies, Yusuf Ibn Alahmar, concerning the conspicuous objects of Granada. The poem was utilized by Chateaubriand for two passages of Les aventures du dernier Abenc�rage.

=I. Aben�mar= = Ibn Alahmar: see above.

9. The verbal forms in-ara and-iera were used then as now as the equivalent of the pluperfect or the preterit indicative.

=II. la=: la verdad is probably understood. Cf. p. 2, l. I.

=2.--I. dir�a= = dir�. In the romances the conditional often replaces the future, usually to fit the assonance.

5. =reluc�an:= in the old ballads the imperfect indicative is often used to express loosely past time or even present time.

6. =El Alhambra:= in the language of the old ballads el, not la, is used before a feminine noun with initial-a or e-, whether the accent be on the first syllable or not.

25. =viuda= in old Spanish was pronounced viuda and assonated in �-a. This expletive =que= is common in Spanish: do not translate.

27. =grande= merely strengthens =bien=.

=3.--Fonte-frida= is a poem of erotic character, much admired for its suave melancholy. Probably it is merely an allegorical fragment of a longer poem now lost. It is one of those printed in the Cancionero general of 1511. It was well translated by Bowring. There is also a metrical version in Ticknor, I, III. This theme is found in the Physiologus, a medieval bestiary. One of these page 256 animal stories relates that the turtle-dove has but one mate and if this mate dies the dove remains faithful to its memory. Cf. Mod. Lang. Notes, June, 1904 (Turtel-Taube), and February, 1906.

3. In =avecicas= and =tortolica= the diminutive ending-ica seems to be quite equivalent to-ito. Cf. Knapp's Span. Gram., 760a.

4. =van tomar= = van � tomar.

7. =fuera=: note that fu� (or =fuera=) =� pasar= = pas�. This usage is now archaic, although it is still sometimes used by modern poets: see p. 136, l. 18.

18. =beb�a=: see note, p. 2, l. 5.

19. =haber=, in the ballads, often = tener. See also =haya= in the following line.

=4=.--=El Conde Arnaldos=. Lockhart says of "Count Arnaldos," "I should be inclined to suppose that

'More is meant than meets the ear,'

--that some religious allegory is intended to be shadowed forth." Others have thought the same, and the strong mystic strain in Spanish character may bear out the opinion. In order that the reader may judge for himself he should have before him the mysterious song itself, which, omitted in the earliest version, is thus given in the Cancionero de romances of 1550, to follow line 18 of the poem:

--Galera, la mi galera, Dios te me guarde de mal, de los peligros del mundo sobre aguas de la mar, de los llanos de Almer�a, del estrecho de Gibraltar, y del golfo de Venecia, y de los bancos de Flandes, y del golfo de Le�n, donde suelen peligrar. page 257 Popular poems which merely extol the power of music over animals are not uncommon.

=I. �Qui�n hubiese!= would that one might have! or would that I might have! Note =�qui�n me diese!= (p. 7, 1. 25), would that some one would give me!: this is the older meaning of qui�n in these expressions. Note also =�Qui�n supiera escribir!= (p.134), would that I could write! where the modern usage occurs.

22. =d�gasme= = dime This use of the pres. subj. with the force of an imperative is not uncommon in older Spanish.

24.=le fu� � dar=: see note, p. 3,1. 7.

=5.=--=La constancia=. These few lines, translated by Lockhart as "The Wandering Knight's Song," are only part of a lost ballad which began:

� las armas, Moriscote, si las has en voluntad.

Six lines of it have recently been recovered (Men�ndez y Pelayo, Antolog�a, IX, 211). It seems to have dealt with an incursion of the French into Spain, and the lines here given are spoken by the hero Moriscote, when called upon to defend his country. Don Quijote quotes the first two lines of this ballad, Part I, Cap. II.

8. =de me da�ar= = de da�arme.

13. =vos= was formerly used in Spanish as usted is now used,--in formal address.

=El amante desdichado=. Named by Lockhart "Valladolid." It is one of the few old romances which have kept alive in oral tradition till the present day, and are still repeated by the Spanish peasantry (cf. Antolog�a, X, 132, 192).

=7.=--=El prisionero=. Twelve lines of this poem were printed in 1511. It seems to be rather troubadouresque than popular in origin, but it became very well known later. Lockhart's version is called "The Captive Knight and the Blackbird." page 258 16. This line is too short by one syllable, or has archaic hiatus. See Versification,(4) a.

19. =las mis manos:= in old Spanish the article was often used before a possessive adjective that preceded its noun. This usage is now archaic or dialectic.

21. =hac�a= is here exactly equivalent to =hace= in 1. 23: see note, p. 2, 1. 5.

25. =quien...me diese=: see note, p. 4, 1. I.

=8.=--12. =O�dolo hab�a= = lo hab�a o�do.

13. This line is too long by one syllable.

14. Gil Vicente (1470?-1540?), a Portuguese poet who wrote dramas in both Portuguese and Castilian. A strong creative artist and thinker, Vicente is the greatest dramatist of Portugal and one of the great literary figures of the Peninsula. This Canci�n to the Madonna occurs in El auto de la Sibila Casandra, a religious pastoral drama. Vicente himself wrote music for the song, which was intended to accompany a dance. John Bowring made a very good metrical translation of the song (Ancient Poetry and Romances of Spain, 1824, p. 315). Another may be found in Ticknor's History of Spanish Literature, I, 259.

16. =digas t�=: see note, p. 4, I. 22. =el marinero=: omit =el= in translation. In the Spanish of the ballads the article is regularly used with a noun in the vocative.

24. =pastorcico=: see note, p. 3, I. 3.

=9.=--Santa Teresa de Jes�s (1515-1582), born at �vila; became a Carmelite nun and devoted her life to reforming her Order and founding convents and monasteries. Saint Theresa believed herself inspired of God, and her devotional and mystic writings have a tone of authority. Her chief works in prose are the Castillo interior and the Camino de perfecci�n. She is one of the greatest of Spanish mystics, and her influence is still potent (cf. Juan Valera, Pepita Jim�nez; Huysmans, En route; et al.). Cf. Bibl. de Aut. Esp., vols. 53 and page 259 55, for her works. This Letrilla has been translated by Longfellow ("Santa Teresa's Book-Mark," Riverside ed., 1886, VI., 216.)

=9.=--Fray Luis Ponce de Le�n (1527-1591), born at Belmonte; educated at the University of Salamanca; became an Augustinian monk. While a professor at the same university he was accused by the Inquisition and imprisoned from 1572 to 1576, while his trial proceeded. He was acquitted, and he taught till his death, which occurred just after he had been chosen Vicar-General of his Order. The greatest of the mystic poets, he wrote as well religious works in prose (Los nombres de Cristo, La perfecta casada), and in verse translated Virgil, Horace and other classical authors and parts of the Old Testament. In gentleness of character and in the purity in which he wrote his native tongue, he resembles the Frenchman Pascal. His poems are in vol. 37 of the Bibl. de Aut. Esp. Cf. Ticknor, Period II, Cap. IX, and Introduction, p. xxii. =La vida retirada= is written in imitation of Horace's Beatus ille.

=9=.--17 to =10=.--3. In these lines there is much poetic inversion of word-order. The logical order would be: Que ('for') el estado de los soberbios grandes no le enturbia el pecho, ni se admira del dorado techo, en jaspes sustentado, fabricado del sabio moro.

5. =pregonera=, as its gender indicates, modifies =voz=.

=12=.--10. In the sixteenth century great fortunes were made by Spaniards who exploited the mines of their American colonies across the seas.

II. Note, this unusual enjambement; but the mente of adverbs still has largely the force of a separate word.

=Soneto: � Cristo Crucificado=. This famous sonnet has been ascribed to Saint Theresa and to various other writers, but without sufficient proof. Cf. Fouch�-Delbosc in Revue Hispanique, II, 120-145; and ibid., VI, 56-57. The poem was translated by J.Y. Gibson (The Cid Ballads, etc., 1887, II, 144), and there is also a version attributed to Dryden. page 260 =13=.--Lope F�lix de Vega Carpio (1562-1635) was the most fertile playwright ever known to the world. Alone he created the Spanish drama almost out of nothing. Born at Madrid, where he spent most of his life, Lope was an infant prodigy who fulfilled the promise of his youth. His first play was written at the age of thirteen. He fought against the Portuguese in the expedition of 1583 and took part in the disastrous Armada of 1588. His life was marked by unending literary success, numerous love-affairs and occasional punishments therefor. In 1614 he was ordained priest. For the last twenty years of his life he was the acknowledged dictator of Spanish letters.

Lope's writings include some 2000 plays, of which perhaps 500 are extant, epics, pastorals, parodies, short stories and minor poems beyond telling. He undertook to write in every genre attempted by another and seldom scored a complete failure. His Obras completas are being published by the Spanish Academy (1890-); vol. 1 contains his life by Barrera. Most of his non-dramatic poems are in vol. 38 of the Bibl. de Aut. Esp.; others are in vols. 16 and 35. There is a Life in English by H.A. Rennert (1904). Cf. also Introduction, p. xxiv.

=Canci�n de la Virgen= is a lullaby sung by the Madonna to her sleeping child in a palm grove. The song occurs in Lope's pastoral, Los pastores de Bel�n (1612). In Ticknor (II, 177), there is a metrical translation of the Canci�n.

The palm has great significance in the Roman Catholic Church. On Palm Sunday,--the last Sunday of Lent,--branches of the palm-tree are blessed and are carried in a solemn procession, in commemoration of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem (cf. John, xii).

14. Ticknor translates these lines as follows:

Holy angels and blest, Through these palms as you sweep, Hold their branches at rest, For my babe is asleep. page 261 The literal meaning is: Since you are moving among the palms, holy angels, hold the branches, for my child sleeps. When the wind blows through the palm-trees their leaves rustle loudly.

=14.=--=Ma�ana=: translated by Longfellow (Riverside ed., 1886, VI, 204).

=15.=--Francisco G�mez de Quevedo y Villegas (1580-1645), the greatest satirist in Spanish literature, was one of the very few men of his time who dared criticize the powers that were. He was born in the province of Santander and was a precocious student at Alcal�. His brilliant mind and his honesty led him to Sicily and Naples, as a high official under the viceroy, and to Venice and elsewhere on private missions; his plain-speaking tongue and ready sword procured him numerous enemies and therefore banishments. He was confined in a dungeon from 1639 to 1643 at the instance of Olivares, at whom some of his sharpest verses were directed.

Quevedo was a statesman and lover of his country driven into pessimism by the ineptitude which he saw about him. He wrote hastily on many subjects and lavished a bitter, biting wit on all. His best-known works in prose are the picaresque novel popularly called El gran taca�o (1626) and the Sue�os (1627). His Obras completas are in course of publication at Seville (1898-); his poems are in vol. 69 of the Bibl. de Aut. Esp. Cf. E. M�rim�e, Essai sur la vie et les oeuvres de Francisco de Quevedo (Paris, 1886), and Introduction, p. xxv. For a modern portrayal of one side of Quevedo's character, see Br�ton de los Herreros, �Qui�n es ella?

=Ep�stola sat�rica=: this epistle was addressed to Don Gaspar de Guzm�n, Conde-Duque de Olivares (d. 1645), the favorite and prime minister of Philip IV. It is a remarkably bold protest, for it was published in 1639 when Olivares was at the height of his power. His disgrace did not occur till 1643.

8. Note the double meaning of =sentir=,--'to feel' and 'to regret.' page 262 9. =libre= modifies =ingenio=. Translate: its freedom.

16. =Que es lengua la verdad de Dios severo= = que la verdad es lengua de Dios severo.

=16.=--=Letrilla Sat�rica= was published in 1640.

14. Genoa was then, as now, an important seaport and commercial center. As the Spaniards bought many manufactured articles from Genoa, much of their money was "buried" there.

=17.=--Esteban Manuel de Villegas (d. 1669) was a lawyer who wrote poetry only in his extreme youth. His Er�ticas � Amatorias were published in 1617, and he says himself that they were written at fourteen and polished at twenty. Later the cares of life prevented him from increasing the poetical fame that he gained thus early. He had a reputation for excessive vanity, due partly to the picture of the rising sun which he placed upon the title-page of his poems with the motto Me surgente, quid istae? Istae referred to Lope, Quevedo and others. Villegas' poems may be found in vol. 42 of the Bibl. de Aut. Esp. Cf. Men�ndez y Pelayo, Hist. de los heterodoxos espa�oles, III, 859-875.

There is a parody of this well-known =cantilena= by Iglesias in the Bibl. de Aut. Esp., vol. 61, p. 477.

=18.=--Pedro Calder�n de la Barca Henao de la Barreda y Ria�o (1600-1681) was the greatest representative of the second generation of playwrights in the Siglo de oro. He took some part in the nation's foreign wars, but his life was spent mostly without event at court as the favorite dramatist of the aristocracy. He became a priest in 1651 and was made chaplain of honor to Philip IV in 1663. There are extant over two hundred of his dramatic works, comedias, autos, entremeses, etc. Calder�n constructed his plots more carefully than Lope and was stronger in exalted lyric and religious passages; but he was more mannered, more tainted with Gongorism and less skilled in creating characters. page 263 His Comedias are contained in vols. 7, 9, 12 and 14 of the Bibl. de Aut. Esp.; a few of his autos are in vol. 58, and some of his poems are in vols. 14 and 35. Cf. also Poes�as in�ditas, Madrid, 1881; Men�ndez y Pelayo, Calder�n y su teatro, Madrid, 1884; R.C. Trench, Calder�n, London, 1880.

The sonnet, Estas que fueron..., is found in El pr�ncipe constante, II.

=20.=--Diego Tadeo Gonz�lez (1733-1794) was born at Ciudad-Rodrigo. He entered the order of Augustinians at eighteen, and filled various important offices within the Order during his life. His duties took him to Seville, Salamanca and Madrid. From youth he showed a particular bent for poetry, and Horace and Luis de Le�n were his admiration. He was an intimate friend of Jovellanos, who induced him to forsake light subjects and attempt a didactic poem, Las edades, which was left unfinished. Fray Diego's modest and lovable character and his friendly relations with other men of letters made him an attractive figure. His poems are in vol. 61 of the Bibl. de Aut. Esp. Cf. Introduction, p. xxx.

II. =Mirta= was a lady with whom the author long corresponded and to whom he addressed many poems. =Delio= (l. 15) was the name by which Fray Diego Gonz�lez was known among his literary intimates: Jovellanos was called "Jovino"; Mel�ndez Vald�s, "Batilo"; etc.

=21=.--4. =recogellos= = recogerlos.

12. =� la ave=: a more usual construction would be al ave, although the sound wouhd be approximately the same in either case. See also below in line 24, =� la alba=.

=22=.--4. =reluciente=, modified by an adverb, here = reluciendo.

6. =recio=: a predicate adjective with the force of an adverb.

=26.=--Nicol�s Fern�ndez de Morat�n (1737-1780) was born in Madrid of a noble Asturian family. He studied for the law and practised it in Madrid, but irregularly, devoting most of his time to literary work. Besides his page 264 poems in the national style (see Introduction, p. xxix) he wrote an epic on the burning of the ships of Cort�s and several plays in the French manner, of which only one, Hormesinda (1770), ever had a stage production. His works, with his Life written by his son Leandro, are printed in vol. 2 of the Bibl. de Ant. Esp.

=Fiesta de toros en Madrid=. Baedeker's guide-book to Spain and Portugal says: "Bull-fights were instituted for the encouragement of proficiency in the use of martial weapons and for the celebration of festal occasions, and were a prerogative of the aristocracy down to the sixteenth century. As the mounted caballero encountered the bull, armed only with a lance, accidents were very frequent. No less than ten knights lost their lives at a single Fiesta de Toros in 1512. The present form of the sport, so much less dangerous for the man and so much more cruel for the beast, was adopted about the beginning of the seventeenth century. The construction, in 1749, of the first great Plaza de Toros in Madrid definitely converted the once chivalrous sport into a public spectacle, in which none took part but professional Toreros." The padded picador of to-day, astride a blinded, worn-out old hack, is the degenerate successor of the knight of old. In the seventeenth century bull-fights in Madrid were sometimes given in the Plaza Mayor (or Plaza de la Constituci�n).

6. =Aliatar=: this, like most of the names of persons in this poem, is fictitious; but in form these words are of Arabic origin, and it is probable that Moratin borrowed most of them from the romances moriscos. The names of places, it should be noticed, are also Arabic, but the places still retain these names. See =Alimen�n=, and all names of places, in the Vocab.

=28=.--19. =Hecho un lazo por air�n=, tied in a knot [to look] like a crest of plumes. This was doubtless the forerunner of the modern banderilla (barbed page 265 dart ornamented with streamers of colored paper).

=30.=--26-28. =Cual... nube= = cual la ardiente madeja del sol deja mirarse tal vez entre cenicienta nube.

=31.=--12. =blasones de Castilla=: as at this time (in the reign of Alfonso VI) Le�n and Castile were united, the =blasones= were probably two towers (for Castile) and two lions (for Le�n), each one occupying a corner of the shield.

14. =Nunca mi espada venciera= apparently means: Never did he conquer my sword. This may refer to any adversary, or to some definite adversary in a previous combat.

26. The best bulls raised for bull-fights come from the valley of the Guadalquivir.

=32.=--22-26. =As�... acerquen �..., Como=, may... bring to..., just as surely as.

=33.=--8. Fernando I: see in Vocab.

=35.=--28. The stanzas of pages 34 and 35 are probably known to every Spaniard: schoolboys commit them to memory for public recitation.

=36.=--15. =dign�redes= = dignareis. In modern Spanish the d (from Lat. t) of the 2d pers. plur. verb endings has fallen.

=38.=--4. =Y... despedir= = y [si no vieran] � Zaida que le desped�a.

13. =cruz=: the cross of a sword is the guard which, crossing the hilt at right angles, gives the sword the shape of a cross. The cross swords were held in especial veneration by the medieval Christians.

Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos (or Jove-Llanos) (1744-1811) was one of the loftiest characters and most unselfish statesmen ever produced by Spain. Educated for the law, he filled with distinction important judicial offices in Seville and Madrid. In 1780 he was made a member of the Council of Orders. He attached himself to the fortunes of Count Cabarr�s, and when that statesman fell from power in 1790, Jovellanos was exiled to page 266 his home in Gij�n (Asturias). There he devoted himself to the betterment of his native province. In 1797 the favorite, Godoy, made him ministro de gracia y justicia; but he could not be other than an enemy of the corrupt "Prince of the Peace," and in 1798 he was again sent home. In 1801 he was seized and imprisoned in Majorca and was not released till the invasion of Spain by the French in 1808. He refused flattering offers of office under the French, and was the most active member of the Junta Central which organized the Spanish cortes. Unjustly criticized for his labors he retired home, whence he was driven by a sudden incursion of the French. He died a few days after in an inn at Vega (Asturias).

Jovellanos' best literary work is really his political prose, such as the Informe sobre un proyecto de ley agraria (1787) and Defensa de la junta central (1810). His Delincuente honrado (1773), a com�die larmoyante after the manner of Diderot's Fils naturel, had wide success on the stage. His works are in vols. 46 and 50 of the Bibl. de Aut. Esp. Cf. E. M�rim�e, Jovellanos, in the Revue hispanique, I, pp. 34-68.

=�Quis tam patiens ut teneat se?= who is so long-suffering as to control himself?

21. =prisi�n=: see mention above of Jovellanos' imprisonment in Majorca.

=39.=--2. It is scarcely accurate to call Juvenal a =buf�n=, since he was rather a scornful, austere satirist of indignation.

=40.=--26. =cu�nto de= is an unusual expression; but if the line read: �Ay, cu�nta amargura y cu�nto lloro, it would lack one syllable.

=41.=--4-6. =cuesta... infanta=. Evidently the world has changed little in a hundred years!

=42.=--Juan Mel�ndez Vald�s (1754-1817) was born in the district of Badajoz (Estremadura). He studied law at Salamanca, where he was guided in letters by Cadalso. In 1780 he won a prize offered by the Academy for page 267 the best eclogue. He then accepted a professorship at Salamanca offered him by Jovellanos. Literary success led him to petition a position under the government which, involving as it did loss of independence, proved fatal to his character. He filled honorably important judicial posts in Saragossa and Valladolid, but court intrigue and the caprices of Godoy brought him many trials and undeserved punishments. In 1808 he accepted a position under the French, and nearly lost his life from popular indignation. Later his vacillations were pitiful: he wrote spirited poems now for the French and now against them. When they were finally expelled in 1813, he left the country with them and died in poverty and sorrow in Montpellier.

Most of his poems are in vol. 63 of the Bibl. de Aut. Esp.; others have been published in the Revue hispanique, vols. I. and IV. Cf. his Life by Quintana in Bibl. de Aut. Esp., vol. 19; E. M�rim�e, Mel�ndez Vald�s, in Revue hispanique, I, 166-195; Introduction, p. xxx.

=44.=--5. =Muy m�s=: this use of muy is not uncommon in the older classics, but the usual expression now is mucho m�s.

28. =benigna=: see note, p. 22, l. 6.

=46.=--Manuel Jos� Quintana (1772-1857) was born in Madrid. He went to school in Cordova and later studied law at Salamanca. He fled from Madrid upon the coming of the French. In the reign of Ferdinand VII he was for a time confined in the Bastile of Pamplona on account of his liberal ideas. After the liberal triumph of 1834 he held various public offices, including that of Director General of Public Instruction. In 1855 he was publicly crowned in the Palace of the Senate.

See Introduction, p. xxxii; Ticknor, III, 332-334; Blanco Garc�a, La literatura espa�ola en el siglo XIX, 2d ed., Madrid, 1899, I, 1-13; Men�ndez y Pelayo, D. Manuel Jos� Quintana, La poes�a l�rica al page 268 principiar el siglo XIX, Madrid, 1887; E. Pi�eyro, M.-J. Quintana, Chartres, 1892; Juan Valera, Florilegio de poes�as castellanas, Madrid, 1903, V, 32-38. His works are in vols. 19 and 67 of Bibl. de Aut. Esp.

The Spanish people, goaded by the subservience of Charles IV and his prime minister and favorite, Godoy, to the French, rose in March, 1808, swept away Godoy, forced the king to abdicate and placed his son Ferdinand upon the throne. It was believed that this change of rulers would check French influence in the Peninsula, but Ferdinand was forced by Napoleon into a position more servile than that occupied formerly by Charles.

2. Note the free word-order in Spanish which permits, as in this line, the subject to follow the verb, the object to precede.

14. =Oceano=: note the omission of the accent on e, that the word may rime with =soberano= and =vano=; but here =oceano= still has four syllables.

=47.=--28. =tirano del mundo= = Napoleon Bonaparte.

=48.=--24. By =los colosos de oprobio y de verg�enza= are probably meant Charles IV and Godoy.

=49.=--29. =hijo de Jimena=: see Jimena and Bernardo del Carpio, in Vocab.

=50.=--2. =En... y=, with a... and in.

=51.=--Dionisio Sol�s y Villanueva (1774-1834) was born in Cordova: he never rose higher in life than to be prompter in a theater. He fought against the French, and he was exiled for a time by Ferdinand VII. Sol�s wrote some plays and translated many from other languages into Spanish. The best that can be said of Sol�s as a poet is that his work is spontaneous and in parts pleasing. Cf. Blanco Garc�a, I, 50 and 61-63; Valera, Florilegio, V, 44-46.

=53.=--18-19. =Esta... enfermedad= = esta dulce deliciosa enfermedad que yo siento. page 269 25. si puede (here meaning if it is possible) is understood before =que trate=.

=54.=--Juan Nicasio Gallego (1777-1853) was born at Zamora. He was ordained a priest: later he went to court, and was appointed Director of His Majesty's Pages. He frequented the salon of his friend Quintana, and was elected deputy from Cadiz. In 1814, during the reign of Ferdinand VII, Gallego was imprisoned for his liberal ideas and later was banished from Spain. He spent some years in France and returned to Spain in 1828. Later he was appointed Perpetual Secretary of the Spanish Academy.

See Introduction, p. xxxii; Blanco Garc�a, I, 13 f.; Valera, Florilegio, V, 38-44. His poems are in vol. 67 of the Bibl. de Aut. Esp. There is also an edition of his poems by the Academia de la Lengua, Madrid, 1854.

=El Dos de Mayo=: on the second of May, 1808, the Spanish people, unarmed and without strong leaders, rose against Napoleon's veteran troops. Aided by the English, they drove out the French after a long and bloody war, thus proving to the world that the old Spanish spirit of independence was still alive. This war is known to the Spaniards as the Guerra de la independencia and to the English as the Peninsular War. The popular uprising began with the seizure of a powder magazine in Madrid by Velarde and Daoiz (see in Vocab.). These men and their followers were killed and the magazine was retaken by the French, but the incident roused the Spanish people to action.

9. al furor, in the glare.

=55.=--4. =Mantua=: a poetic appellation of Madrid. Cf. article by Prof. Milton A. Buchanan in Romanic Review, 1910, p. 211 f. See also p. xxxiii, Introduction to this volume.

11-12. =�Qui�n habr�... que cuente=, who may there be to tell...

=58.=--26 to =59.=--3. Note how the poet refers to the various parts of the Spanish peninsula: =hijos de Pelayo= = the Spaniards in general, or perhaps those page 270 of northernmost Spain; =Moncayo= = Aragon, Navarre and Castile; =Turia= = Valencia; =Duero= = Old Castile, Leon and Portugal; and =Guadalquivir= = Andalusia. See =Pelayo= and =Moncayo= and these names of rivers in Vocab.

5. =Patr�n= = Santiago, or St. James, the patron saint of Spain. According to the legend James "the Greater," son of Zebedee, preached in Spain, and after his death his body was taken there and buried at Santiago de Campostela. It was believed that he often appeared in the battle-fields fighting with the Spaniards against the Moslems.

14-15. =�... brind� felicidad=, drank in fire and blood a toast to her prosperity.

=60.=--Francisco Mart�nez de la Rosa (1787-1862) was born at Granada. During the War of Independence he was sent to England to plead for the support of that country against the French. Later he was exiled by Ferdinand VII, and was for five years a prisoner of state in a Spanish prison on the African coast. After his release he became prominent in politics, and was forced to flee to France. In 1834 he was called into power by the queen regent, Maria Cristina. He represented his country at Paris, and later at Rome, and held several important posts as cabinet minister.

See Introduction, p. xxxvi; Men�ndez y Pelayo, Estudios de cr�tica literaria, Madrid, 1884, pp. 223, f.; Blanco Garc�a, I, 115-128; Juan Valera, Florilegio, V, 56-63. His Obras completas, 2 vols., ed. Baudry, were published at Paris in 1845. Several of his articles of literary criticism are in vols. 5, 7, 20 and 61 of the Bibl. de Aut. Esp.

3. =riyendo= = riendo.

=61.=--Angel de Saavedra, Duque de Rivas (1791-1865) was born at Cordova. He prepared for a military career. By reason of his liberal ideas he was compelled to leave Spain and went to England, France and the Island of Malta. He returned to Spain in 1834 and became a cabinet page 271 minister, but was again forced to flee the country. Later he was welcomed back and represented Spain at Naples. He retired from politics and was appointed Director of the Spanish Academy.

See Introduction, p. xxxvi; Blanco Garc�a, I, 129-153; Juan Valera, Florilegio, V, 184-195. His Obras completas, in 5 vols., were published by the Spanish Academy, Madrid, 1854-1855, with introductory essays by Pastor D�az and Ca�ete. His works were also published in the Colecci�n de Escritores castellanos, 1894-.

4. =De... pro= = en pro de mi sangre y casa.

=62.=--3. =� la que=: translate, before which.

10. =duque de Borb�n= is the subject of =estaba=, l. 3.

18. =Emp�rador= = Charles V.

=64.=--8. =Condestable= = Velasco, Constable of Spain, who in 1521 defeated the comuneros who had rebelled against the rule of Charles V.

=65.=--22. =Y con los que=, with whom.

23. =estrecho= stands in antithesis to =ancho=: for his glory the broad world will be narrow.

=66.=--18-19. =Y... leonesa= = y un coleto � la leonesa de recamado ante.

=68.=--20-21. =Que... resuelta= = que es voluntad suya resuelta (el) que aloje � Borb�n.

=69.=--22. =de un su pariente= is archaic. The regular expression to-day would be de un pariente suyo.

=71.=--Juan Arolas (1805-1849) was born in Barcelona, but spent most of his life in Valencia. In 1821, when sixteen years old, Arolas, much against the wishes of his parents, joined a monastic order. Arolas wrote in all the literary genres of his time, but he distinguished himself most as a poet by his romantic "oriental" and love poems.

Cf. El P. Arolas, su vida y sus versos, Madrid, 1898, by Jos� R. Lomba y Pedraja; Blanco Garc�a, I, 186-189; Juan Valera, Florilegio, V, 121-130. A new edition page 272 of Arolas' verses was published at Valencia in 1883.

=73.=--Jos� de Espronceda (1808-1842), Spain's greatest romantic poet, was born in Almendralejo (Badajoz). At the Colegio de San Mateo Espronceda was considered a precocious but wayward pupil. His poetic gifts won for him the lasting friendship of his teacher, Alberto Lista. At an early age he became a member of a radical secret society, Los Numantinos. Sent into exile to a monastery in Guadalajara, he there composed the fragmentary heroic poem Pelayo. After his release he went to Lisbon and then to London. Enamored of Teresa, though another's wife, he fled with her to Paris, where he took an active part in the revolution of 1830. Espronceda returned to Spain in 1833, and engaged in journalism and politics. Worn out by his tempestuous life, he died at the early age of thirty-four years.

See Introduction, p. xxxvii; E. Rodr�guez Sol�s, Espronceda, su tiempo, su vida y sus obras, Madrid, 1883; Blanco Garc�a, I, 154-171; Juan Valera, Florilegio, V, 197-207; Antonio Cort�n, Espronceda, Madrid, 1906; Philip H. Churchman, Espronceda's Blanca de Borb�n, Revue hisp., 1907; and Byron and Espronceda, ibid., 1909. For his poems, see Obras po�ticas, in the Biblioteca amena � instructiva, Barcelona, 1882; Obras po�ticas y escritos en prosa, colecci�n ordenada por D. Patricio de la Escosura, Madrid, 1884.

=79.=--Jos� de Zorrilla (1817-1893) was born in Valladolid. After receiving his secondary education in the Jesuit Semanario de Nobles he began the study of law; but he soon turned to the more congenial pursuit of belles-lettres. In 1855 he went to Mexico where he resided eleven years. Though a most productive writer, Zorrilla spent most of his life in penury until, in his old age, he received from the government an annual pension of 30,000 reales. He became a member of the Spanish Academy in 1885, and four years later he was "crowned" in Granada. page 273 Zorrilla died in Madrid in his seventy-sixth year.

See Introduction, p. xxxvii; an autobiography, Recuerdos del tiempo viejo, 3 vols.; Fern�ndez Fl�rez, D. Jos� Zorrilla, in Autores dram�ticos contempor�neos, 1881, vol. I; Blanco Garc�a, I, 197-216; Juan Valera, Florilegio, V, 258-270. For his works, see Poes�as, 8 vols., Madrid, 1838-1840; Obras, edition Baudry, 3 vols., Paris, 1852; Poes�as escogidas, published by the Academia de la lengua, Madrid, 1894; Obras dram�ticas y l�ricas, Madrid, 1895.

=85.=--10. =Fantasmas= = como fantasmas.

=86.=--=� Buen Juez Mejor Testigo=, A Good Judge, But a Better Witness. In Berceo's Milagros de Nuestra Se�ora there is a similar legend of a crucifix summoned as witness.

=91.=--4-5. =Como... ba�e=: this passage is obscure, but the meaning seems to be, as a pledge that the river should so zealously bathe it.

18. =la hermosa=, according to tradition, was Florinda, daughter of Count Julian. Roderick (Roderico or Rodrigo), the last king of the Goths in Spain, saw Florinda bathing in the Tagus, conceived a passion for her and dishonored her. In revenge Julian is said to have brought the Saracens into Spain.

27. =puerta=: this may refer to the Puerta Visagra Antigua, an ancient Arabic gate of the ninth century, now closed.

=92.=--12. =Las... horadarle= = al horadarle las palmas (al rey). According to tradition Alfonso, who became afterward King Alfonso VI of Leon and Castile, when a refugee at the court of Alimen�n, the Moorish king of Toledo, overheard the Moorish sovereign and his advisers talking about the defences of the city. The Moors said that the Christians, by a siege, could probably starve Toledo into submission. Upon perceiving Alfonso near at hand apparently asleep, the Moors, to prove whether he was really asleep or not, poured molten lead into page 274 his hand, and he had sufficient will power to remain motionless while the lead burned a hole through it.

Mariana (Historia de Espa�a, Libro IX, Cap. VIII) relates this story, but rejects it and says that the real cause of Alfonso's nickname ("el rey de la mano horadada") was his extreme generosity.

13. =circo romano=: to the east of the Hospital de San Juan Bautista of Toledo lies the suburb of Covachuelas, the houses of which conceal the ruins of a Roman amphitheater.

15. =Bas�lica=: in the lower Vega, to the northwest of Toledo, is the hermitage of El Cristo de la Vega, formerly known as the Bas�lica de Santa Leocadia, which dated from the fourth century. This edifice was the meeting-place of several Church councils. The ancient building was destroyed by the Moors and has been repeatedly rebuilt.

=95.=--21. =el templo=: the Ermita del Cristo de la Vega. See preceding note.

27. =V�ase= = ve�ase: v�a, for ve�a, is not uncommon in poetry.

=105.=--3-5. =Gritan... valor= = los que en el mercado venden, gritan en discorde son =lo vendido y el valor= (= what they have for sale and its price).

=107.=--13-14. =y... honor= = y dispensad que (yo) dudara de vuestro honor acusado.

=108.=--10. See note, p. 92, l. 15.

=112.=--16. =cada un a�o= = cada a�o.

Antonio de Trueba (1821-1889) was born at Montellano (Viscaya). At the age of fifteen or sixteen years he removed to Madrid and engaged in commerce. In 1862 he was appointed Archivist and Chronicler of the Se�or�o de Vizcaya, which post he held for ten years. Trueba, best known as a writer of short stories, published two volumes of mediocre verses which achieved considerable popularity during the author's lifetime, but are now nearly forgotten.

Cf. Notas autobiogr�ficas in La Ilustraci�n Espa�ola y page 275 Americana, Enero 30, 1889; Blanco Garc�a, II, 26-28 and 301-308; Juan Valera, Florilegio, V, 307-311. For his verses, see El libro de los cantares (1851) and El libro de las monta�as (1867).

=113.=--14. =Cantos=: note the double meaning of canto.

=114.=--Jos� Selgas y Carrasco (1821-1882) was born in Murcia. A writer on the staff of the satirical and humorous journal, El Padre Cobos, Selgas won the attention of the public by his ironical and reactionary articles and was elevated to an important political office by Mart�nez Campos. He is the author of two volumes of verses, La Primavera (1850) and El est�o.

See Introduction, p. xxxix; and Blanco Garc�a, II, 19-23 and 244-250. For Selgas' verses, see his Poes�as, Madrid, 1882-1883.

=117.=--Pedro Antonio de Alarc�n (1833-1891) was born in Guadix. He studied law, served as a volunteer in an African war and became a writer on the staff of several revolutionary journals. His writings, which at first were sentimental or radical, became more subdued in tone and more conservative with his advancing years. In 1877 he was elected to membership in the Spanish Academy. Primarily a journalist and novelist, Alarc�n published a volume of humorous and descriptive verses, some of which have merit.

Cf. Blanco Garc�a, II, 62-63 and 452-467; and articles in the Nuevo Teatro Cr�tico (Sept., Oct. and Nov., 1891). For his verses, see Poes�as serias y humor�sticas, 3d ed., Madrid, 1885.

=121.=--Gustavo Adolfo B�cquer (1836-1870) was born in Seville, and became an orphan in his tenth year. When eighteen years of age he went penniless to Madrid, where he earned a precarious living by writing for journals and by doing literary hack-work.

See Introduction, p. xxxix; Blanco Garc�a, II, 79-86 and 274-277. For his works, see his Obras, 5th ed., page 276 Madrid, 1898 (with a Pr�logo by Correa: the Rimas are in vol. III).

=122.=--12-13. =Del sal�n... olvidada= = en el �ngulo obscuro del sal�n, tal vez olvidada de su due�o. B�cquer, in his striving after complicated metrical arrangements, often inverts the word-order in his verse. See also Introduction, Versification, p. lxxii.

19. =arrancarlas=: =las= refers to =Cu�nta nota=, which seems to have here the force of a plural.

24. See Introduction, Versification, p. lxv.

=124.=--14. =int�rvalo=: the standard form is intervalo.

=126.=--12. =El nicho � un extremo=: the meaning is, one end of the recess, in which the coffin will be placed. The graveyards of Spain and Spanish America have lofty walls with niches or recesses large enough to contain coffins. After receiving the coffin, the niche is sealed with a slab that bears the epitaph of the deceased.

=128.=--The Valencian Vicente W. Querol (1836-1889) gave most of his time to commerce, but he occasionally wrote verses that had the merit of correctness of language and strong feeling.

Cf. Blanco Garcia, II, 376-378. For his verses, see Rimas (Pr�logo by Pedro A. de Alarc�n), 1877; La fiesta de Venus, in the Almanaque de la Ilustraci�n, 1878.

7. =� en el que= = � en el d�a en que: the reference is to the anniversaries of the wedding day and the saints' days of the parents.

=129.=--19. =las que... son=, what is...

=131.=--15-16. =la que... agon�a= = la lenta agon�a que sufristeis...

=133.=--Ram�n de Campoamor y Campoosorio (1817-1901) was born in Navia (Asturias). He studied medicine but soon turned to poetry and politics. A pronounced conservative, he won favor with the government and received appointment page 277 to several important offices including that of governor of Alicante and Valencia.

Cf. Introduction, p. xli; Juan Valera, Obras po�ticas de Campoamor, in Estudios cr�ticos sobre literatura, Seville, 1884; Peseux-Richard, in the Revue hispanique, I, 236 f.; Blanco Garc�a, II, Cap. V. For his works, see Doloras y cantares, 16th ed., Madrid, 1882; Los peque�os poemas, Madrid, 1882-1883; Po�tica, 1883; El drama universal, 3d ed., Madrid, 1873; El licenciado Torralba, Madrid, 1888; Obras escogidas, Leipzig, 1885-1886; Obras completas, 8 vols., Madrid, 1901-03.

=135.=--3. =se va y se viene y se est�=: note the use of =se= in the sense of people, or an indefinite we.

5. =Y... procura= = y si tu afecto no procura volver.

=136.=--18. See note, p. 3, l. 7.

=137.=--Valladolid was the birthplace of Gaspar N��ez de Arce (1834-1903). When a child, he removed with his family to Toledo. At the age of nineteen years he entered upon a journalistic career in Madrid. As a member of the Progresista party, N��ez de Arce was appointed Civil Governor of Barcelona, and afterward he became a cabinet minister.

Cf. Introduction, p. xlii; Men�ndez y Pelayo's essay in Estudios de cr�tica literaria, 1884; Juan Valera's essay on the Gritos del combate, Revista europea, 1875, no. 60; Blanco Garc�a, Cap. XVIII; Jos� del Castillo, N��ez de Arce, Apuntes para su biograf�a, Madrid, 1904. For his works, see Gritos del combate, 8th ed., 1891; Obras dram�ticas, Madrid, 1879. Most of his longer poems are in separate pamphlets, published by M. Murillo and Fernando Fe, Madrid, 1895-1904.

=137.=--=Tristezas= shows unmistakably the influence of the French poet Alfred de Musset, and especially perhaps of his Rolla and Confession d'un enfant du si�cle.

=138.=--16 f. Compare with the author's La duda and Miserere, and B�cquer's La ajorca de oro. page 278 =142.=--1-3. The poet seems to compare the nineteenth century, amidst the flames of furnaces and engines, to the fallen archangel in hell.

16. =m�stica=, that is, of communion with God, heavenly.

=144.=--=�Sursum Corda!=: the lines given are merely the introduction to the poem, and form about one fourth of the entire work. They were written soon after the Spanish-American War. See Sursum Corda!, Madrid, 1904; and also Juan Valera's Florilegio, IV, 413 f.

8. The plains of Old Castile may well be called "austere."

=145.=--10-16. Cf. � Espa�a (1860) and � Castelar (1873).

=147.=--11-19. There are few stronger lines than these in all Spanish poetry.

=148.=--Manuel del Palacio (1832-1895) was born in L�rida. His parents removed to Granada, and there he joined a club of young men known as La Cuerda. Going to Madrid, he devoted himself to journalism and politics, first as a radical and later as a conservative.

Cf. Blanco Garcia, II, 40. For his works, see his Obras, Madrid, 1884; Veladas de oto�o, 1884; Huelgas diplom�ticas, 1887.

5. =el ave placentera=: a well-known Spanish-American poet calls this a mere ripio (stop-gap), and says it may mean one bird as well as another.

The Catalan Joaqu�n Mar�a Bartrina (born at Reus in 1850) published in 1876 a volume of pessimistic and iconoclastic verses, entitled Algo. After his death (1880) his works were published under the title of Obras en prosa y verso, escogidas y coleccionadas por J. Sard�, Barcelona, 1881. Cf. Blanco Garc�a, II, 349-350.

=148.=--15-19. These lines give expression to the pessimism that has obtained in Spain for two centuries past.

=149.=--14. The reference is, of course, to the paintings, of which there are many, of "The Last Supper" of Jesus.

Manuel Reina (1860-) was born in Puente Genil. Like page 279 Bartrina, Reina is an imitator of N��ez de Arce, in that he sings of the degeneracy of mankind. He undertook, with but little success, to revive the eleven-syllable romance of the neo-classic Spanish tragedy of the eighteenth century.

Cf. Blanco Garc�a, II, 354-355. For his verses, see Andantes y allegros and Cromos y acuarelas, cantos de nuestra �poca, con un pr�logo de D. Jos� Fern�ndez Brem�n.

The Valencian Teodoro Llorente (b. 1836) is best known for his translations of the works of modern poets. He is also the author of verses (Amorosas, Versos de la juventud, et al.).

=151=.--=Argentina.= The development of letters was slower in Argentina than in Mexico, Peru and Colombia, since Argentina was colonized and settled later than the others. During the colonial period there was little literary production in the territory now known as Argentina. Only one work of this period deserves mention. This is Argentina y conquista del r�o de la Plata, etc. (Lisbon, 1602), by Mart�n del Barco Centenera, a long work in poor verses and of little historical value. During the first decade of the nineteenth century there was an outpouring of lyric verses in celebration of the defeat of the English by the Spaniards at Buenos Aires, but to all of these Gallego's ode � la defensa de Buenos Aires is infinitely superior.

During the revolutionary period the best-known writers, all of whom may be roughly classified as neo-classicists, were: Vicente L�pez Planes (1784-1856), author of the Argentine national hymn; Esteban Luca (1786-1824); Juan C. Lafinur (1797-1824); Juan Antonio Miralla (d. 1825); and, lastly, the most eminent poet of this period, Juan Cruz Varela (1794-1839), author of the dramas Dido and Arg�a, and of the ode Triunfo de Ituzaing� (Poes�as, Buenos Aires, 1879).

The first Argentine poet of marked ability, and one of the greatest that his country has produced, was the romanticist (who introduced romanticism into Argentina directly from France), Esteban Echeverr�a page 280 (1805-1851), author of Los Consuelos (1834), Rimas (1837) and La cautiva. The latter poem is distinctively "American," as it is full of local color. Juan Valera, in his letter to Rafael Obligado (Cartas americanas, primera serie), says truly that Echeverr�a "marks the point of departure of the Argentine national literature." (Obras completas, 5 vols., Buenos Aires, 1870-74).

Other poets of the early period of independence are: the literary critic, Juan Mar�a Guti�rrez (1809-1878), one-time rector of the University of Buenos Aires and editor of an anthology, Am�rica po�tica (Valpara�so, 1846); Dr. Claudio Mamerto Cuenca (1812-1866; cf. Obras po�ticas escogidas, Paris, 1889); and Jos� M�rmol (1818-1871), author of El peregrino and of the best of Argentine novels, Amalia (Obras po�ticas y dram�ticas, coleccionadas por Jos� Domingo Cort�s, 3d ed., Paris, 1905).

In parenthesis be it said that Argentina also claims as her own the poet Ventura de la Vega (1807-1865), who was born in Buenos Aires, as Mexico claims Juan Ruiz de Alarc�n, and as Gertrudis G�mez de Avellaneda is claimed by Cuba.

As in Spain Ferdinand VII had driven into exile most of the prominent writers of his period, so the despotic president, Juan Manuel Rosas (1793-1877: fell from power in 1852), drove from Argentina many men of letters, including Varela, Echeverr�a and M�rmol.

Down to the middle of the nineteenth century it may be said that the Spanish-American writers followed closely the literary movements of the mother country. Everywhere across the sea there were imitators of Mel�ndez Vald�s and Cienfuegos, of Quintana, of Espronceda and Zorrilla. During the early years of romanticism some Spanish-American poets,--notably the Argentine Echeverr�a,--turned for inspiration directly to the French writers of the period; but, in the main, the Spanish influence was predominant. The Spanish-American page 281 verses, for the most part, showed insufficient preparation and were marred by many inaccuracies of diction; but here and there a group of writers appeared,--as in Colombia,--who rivaled in artistic excellence the poets of Spain. In the second half of the nineteenth century the Spanish-American writers became more independent in thought and speech. It is true that many imitated the mysticism of B�cquer or the pessimism of N��ez de Arce, but many more turned for inspiration to native subjects or to the literary works of other lands than Spain, and particularly of France and Italy.

The extreme in local color was reached in the "literatura gauchesca," which consists of collections of popular or semi-popular ballads in the dialect of the gauchos, or cowboys and "ranchers," of the Pampas. The best of these collections,--Mart�n Fierro (1872), by Jos� Fern�ndez,--is more artistic than popular. This long poem, which in its language reminds the English reader of Lowell's Biglow Papers, is the best-known and the most widely read work by an Argentine author.

The greatest Argentine poets of the second half of the century have been Andrade and Obligado. Olegario V�ctor Andrade (1838-1882), the author of Prometeo and Atl�ntida, is generally recognized as one of the foremost modern poets of Spanish America, and probably the greatest poet that Argentina has as yet given to the world. In art, Andrade was a disciple of Victor Hugo; in philosophy, he was a believer in modern progress and freedom of thought; but above all else was his loyal patriotism to Argentina. Andrade's verses have inspiration and enthusiasm, but they are too didactic and they are marred by occasional incorrectness of speech. Atlantida, a hymn to the future of the Latin race in America, is the poet's last and noblest work (Obras, Buenos Aires, 1887).

It is said of Rafael Obligado (1852-) that he is more page 282 elegant and correct than Andrade, but his muse has less inspiration. He has, moreover, the distinction of showing almost no French influence, which is rare to-day among Spanish-American writers. Juan Valera regrets Obligado's excessive "Americanism," and laments the fact that the poet uses many words of local origin that he, Valera, does not understand. The poet's better works are, for the most part, descriptions of the beauties of nature or the legendary tales of his native land (Poes�as, Buenos Aires, 1885).

Among recent poets, two have especially distinguished themselves. Leopoldo D�az (1868-) began as a disciple of Heredia, and has become a pronounced Hellenist, now a rare phenomenon in Spanish America. Besides many sonnets imbued with classicism, he has written odes to the conquistadores and to Atl�ntida conquistada. Like Dar�o, Blanco-Fombona and many other Spanish-American poets of to-day, Diaz resides in Europe; but, unlike the others, he lives in Morges instead of Paris (Sonetos, Buenos Aires, 1888; Bajo-relieves, Buenos Aires, 1895; et al.). A complete "modernista" (he would probably scorn the title of "decadent") is Leopoldo Lugones (1875?-), whose earlier verses are steeped in an erotic sensualism rare in the works of Spanish-American poets. He seeks to be original and writes verses on every conceivable theme and in all kinds of metrical arrangements. Thus, in Lunario sentimental there are verses, essays and dramatic sketches, all addressed to the moon. For an example of his versos libres, see Introduction to this volume, p. xlvi (Las monta�as de oro, Los crep�sculos del jard�n; Lunario sentimental, Buenos Aires, 1909; Odas seculares, Buenos Aires, 1910).

For studies of Argentine literature, see Blanco Garc�a, Hist. Lit. Esp., III, pp. 380 f.; Men�ndez y Pelayo, Ant. Poetas Hisp.-Am., IV, pp. lxxxix f.; Juan Valera, Poes�a argentina, in Cartas americanas, primera serie, Madrid, 1889, pp. 51-119; Literatura argentina, page 283 Buenos Aires, 1903; Poetas argentinos, Buenos Aires, 1904; Antolog�a argentina, B.T. Mart�nez, Buenos Aires, 1890-91; Compendio de literatura argentina, E. Alonso Criado, Buenos Aires, 1908; Miscel�nea, by Santiago Estrada; La lira argentina, Buenos Aires, 1824. Other important works, treating of Spanish-American literature, are: Biblioteca hispano-americana (1493-1810), Jos� Toribio Medina, 6 vols., Santiago de Chile, 1898-1902; Bibliography of Spanish-American Literature, Alfred Coester, Romanic Review, III, 1; Escritores hispano-americanos, Manuel Ca�ete, Madrid, 1884; Escritores y poetas sud-americanos, Francisco Sosa, Mex., 1890; Juicio cr�tico de poetas hispano-americanos, M.L. Amun�tegui, Santiago de Chile, 1861; La joven literatura hispano-americana, Manuel Ugarte, Paris, 1906.

Echeverr�a: see preceding note.

=Canci�n de Elvira.= This Guti�rrez calls the "song of the American Ophelia."

=152.=--Andrade: see note to p. 151.

18. =� celebrar las bodas=, to be the bride.

=153.=--3. The Argentines, especially, seem to take delight in calling themselves a Latin, rather than a Spanish, race. This may be due to the fact that fully one third of the population of Argentine is Italian. Both Juan Valera and Men�ndez y Pelayo have chided the Argentines for speaking of themselves as a raza latino-americana, instead of hispano-americana.

15. =arcano=, secret, seems to have the force here of a secret ark, or secret sanctuary, which is broken open that its secrets may be disclosed.

=154.=--6-10. These lines refer, of course, to the Christian religion, spoken of symbolically as an altar, which has replaced the heterogeneous pagan cults of ancient Rome, and which the Spaniards first brought to America. page 284 11. =ciclopeas=: note the omission of the accent on o that the word may rime with =ideas=.

=155.=--5. =Tequendama=: see in the Vocab. Several Colombian poets, including Don Jos� Joaqu�n Ortiz and Do�a Agripina Montes del Valle, have written odes to this famous waterfall. See Men�ndez y Pelayo, Ant. Poetas Hisp.-Am., II; and Parnaso colombiano, II, Bogot�, 1887.

17-18. A revolutionary hero, Antonio Ricaurte (b. 1786), blew up the Spanish powder magazine on the summit of a hill near San Mateo, and lost his life in the explosion. See =Mateo= in Vocab.

=156.=--5. The colors of the Peruvian flag are red and white, mainly red. The red,--symbolical of bloodshed,--shall be largely replaced by the golden color of ripening grain,--symbolical of industry.

8. Caracas, where Bolivar was born, lies at the foot of Mount �vila.

11. This line, and line 16, would indicate that =Atl�ntida= was written soon after the war, begun in 1876, between Chile and the allied forces of Bolivia and Peru, in which Chile was victorious.

12-15. When this was written there was little immediate prospect of other railways than the narrow-gage road from Oruro to the Chilean frontier, about five hundred miles in length; but now Bolivia has the promise of becoming the railway center of lines connecting both Argentina and Chile with Peru. These lines are now completed or building.

27. Andrade died in 1882, and seven years after his death, in 1889, the emperor Dom Pedro II was deposed, and a republican form of government was adopted by Brazil.

=157.=--3. Andrade now sings of his own country, hence =�De pie para cantarla!=

8. There is a larger immigration of Europeans into Argentina than into any other South-American country. The page 285 immigrants come mostly from northern Italy and from Spain.

12-16. As the =Atl�ntida= was the last poetic work of Andrade, these lines may refer to the treaty of 1881 between Argentina and Chile, by which Argentina acquired all the territory east of the Andes, including Patagonia and the eastern part of Tierra del Fuego.

By the conquest and settlement of the broad plains (pampas) and the frozen region of the south, a new world was created, much as in the United States of America a new world was created by the acquirement and settlement of the western plains, mountain lands and Pacific coast.

21. Vast areas in Argentina are given over to the cultivation of wheat, barley and oats.

=159.=--These are the last stanzas of =Prometeo=, a poem in which the author addresses the human mind and urges it to break its bonds and free itself from tyranny and prejudice: see also in Vocab.

=160.=--Obligado: see note to p. 151.

=162.=--=Colombia.= Colombia was formerly known as Nueva Granada, and its inhabitants are still sometimes called Granadinos. An older and larger Colombia was organized in 1819, toward the close of the revolutionary war; but this state was later divided into three independent countries, viz., Venezuela, Nueva Granada and Ecuador. In 1861 Nueva Granada assumed the name of Estados Unidos de Colombia, and only recently the Colombian part of the Isthmus of Panama established itself as an independent republic. The present Colombia has, therefore, only about one third the area of the older state of the same name. In treating of literature, the terms Colombia and Colombian are restricted to the present-day Colombia and the older Nueva Granada. The capital of the Republic is Santa Fe de Bogot�, to-day generally known simply as Bogot�. It is at an elevation of 8700 feet above the level of the page 286 sea, and has a cool and equable climate.

It is generally conceded that the literary production of Colombia has excelled that of any other Spanish-American country. Men�ndez y Pelayo (Ant. Poetas Hisp.-Am., III, Introd.) speaks of Bogot� as the "Athens of South America," and says further: "the Colombian Parnassus to-day excels in quality, if not in quantity, that of any other region of the New World." And Juan Valera in his Cartas americanas (primera serie, p. 121 f.) says: "Of all the people of South America the Bogotanos are the most devoted to letters, sciences and arts"; and again: "In spite of the extraordinary ease with which verses are made in Colombia, and although Colombia is a democratic republic, her poetry is aristocratic, cultivated and ornate." Blanco Garc�a characterizes Colombia as one of the most Spanish of American countries.

During the colonial period, however, Nueva Granada produced few literary works. Gonzalo Jim�nez de Quesada, the conquistador of New Granada, wrote memoirs, entitled Ratos de Suesca (1573?), of little historical value. The most important work of the period is the chronicles in verse of Juan de Castellanos (b. 1522? in the Spanish province of Seville). This work is largely epic in character; and, with its 150,000 lines, it is the longest poem in the Spanish language. Though for the most part prosaic and inexact, yet it has some passages of high poetic worth, and it throws much light on the lives of the early colonists. The first three parts of the poem, under the title of Eleg�as de varones ilustres de Indias (the first part only was published in 1589), occupies all of vol. IV of the Bibl. de Aut. Esp. The fourth part is contained in two volumes of the Colecci�n de Escritores Castellanos, under the title of Historia del Nuevo Reino de Granada.

In the seventeenth century the colonists were still too busy with the conquest and settlement of the country to spare time for the cultivation of letters. A long page 287 epic poem, the Poema heroico de San Ignacio de Loyola, with much Gongorism and little merit, was published at Madrid in 1696, after the death of the author, the Colombian Hernando Dom�nguez Camargo. A few short lyrics by the same author also appeared in the Ramillete de varias flores po�ticas (Madrid, 1676) of Jacinto Evia of Ecuador.

Early in the eighteenth century Sor Francisca Josefa de la Concepci�n, "Madre Castillo" (d. 1742), wrote an account of her life and her Sentimientos espirituales, in which there is much of the mysticism of Saint Theresa.

About 1738 the printing-press was brought to Bogot� by the Jesuits, and after this date there was an important intellectual awakening. Many colleges and universities had already been founded,--the first in 1554. The distinguished Spanish botanist Jos� Celestino Mutis, in 1762, took the chair of mathematics and astronomy in the Colegio del Rosario, and under him were trained many scientists, including Francisco Jos� de Caldas. An astronomical observatory was established, the first in America. In 1777 a public library was organized, and a theater in 1794. And of great influence was the visit of Humboldt in 1801. Among the works published in the second half of the eighteenth century mention should be made of the Lamentaciones de Pub�n by the canon Jos� Mar�a Grueso (1779-1835) and El placer p�blico de Santa Fe (Bogot�, 1804) by Jos� Mar�a Salazar (1785-1828).

During the revolutionary period two poets stand preeminent. Dr. Jos� Fern�ndez Madrid (d. 1830) was a physician and statesman, and for a short time president of the Republic. His lyrics are largely the expression of admiration for Bolivar and of hatred toward Spain: his verses are usually sonorous and correct (Poes�as, Havana, 1822; London, 1828). The "Ch�nier" of Colombia was Luis Vargas Tejada (1802-1829), the author of patriotic verses, some of which were directed against page 288 Bolivar, and of neo-classic tragedies. He died by drowning at the age of twenty-seven (Poes�as, Bogot�, 1855).

The four most noted poets of Colombia are J.E. Caro, Arboleda, Ortiz and Guti�rrez Gonz�lez. A forceful lyric poet was Jos� Eusebio Caro (1817-1853), a philosopher and statesman, a man of moral greatness and a devout Christian. In the bloody political struggles of his day he sacrificed his estate and his life to his conception of right. He sang of God, love, liberty and nature with exaltation; but all his writings evince long meditation. Like many Spanish-American poets of his day Caro was influenced by Byron. In his earlier verses he had imitated the style of Quintana (cf. El cipr�s); but later, under the influence of romantic poets, he attempted to introduce into Spanish prosody new metrical forms. Probably as a result of reading English poetry, he wrote verses of 8 and 11 syllables with regular alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables, which is rare in Spanish. So fond did he become of lines with regular binary movement throughout that he recast several of his earlier verses (Obras escogidas, Bogot�, 1873; Poes�as, Madrid, 1885).

Julio Arboleda (1817-1861), "Don Julio," was one of the most polished and inspired poets of Colombia. He was an intimate friend of Caro and like him a journalist and politician. He was a good representative of the chivalrous and aristocratic type of Colombian writers of the first half of the nineteenth century. His best work is the narrative poem Gonzalo de Oy�n which, though incomplete, is the noblest epic poem that a native Spanish-American poet has yet given to the world. After studying in Europe he engaged in journalism and politics. He took part in several civil wars. A candidate for the presidency of the Republic, he was assassinated before election (Poes�as, colecci�n formada sobre los manuscritos originales, con pr�logo por M.A. Caro, New York, 1883).

The educator and journalist Jos� Joaqu�n Ortiz (1814-1892) page 289 imitated Quintana in form but not in ideas. Though a defender of neo-classicism, he did not entirely reject romanticism. Ortiz was an ultra-catholic, sincere and ascetic. His verses are impetuous and grandiloquent, but often lacking depth of thought (Poes�as, Bogot�, 1880).

The poet Gregorio Guti�rrez Gonz�lez, "Antioco" (1820-1872), was a jurist and politician. He began as an imitator of Espronceda and Zorrilla and is the author of several sentimental poems (� Julia, �Por qu� no canto? Una l�grima, et al.) that are the delight of Colombian young ladies. His fame will doubtless depend on the rustic Georgic poem, Memoria sobre el cultivo del ma�z en Antioquia. This work is an interesting and remarkably poetic description of the homely life and labors of the Antioquian country folk (Poes�as, Bogot�, 1881; Paris, 1908).

The minor poets of this generation are legion. Among these are: Manuel Mar�a Madiedo (b. 1815), a sociologist; Germ�n Guti�rrez de Pi�eres (1816-1872), author of melancholy verses; Jos� Mar�a Rojas Garrido (1824-1883), a noted orator, one-time president of Colombia; Joaqu�n Pablo Posada (1825-1880), perhaps the most clever versifier of Spanish America, but whose d�cimas were mostly written in quest of money; Ricardo Carrasquilla (b. 1827), an educator and author of genial verses; Jos� Manuel Marroqu�n (b. 1827), a poet and author of articles on customs and a foremost humorist of South America (he was president when Colombia lost Panama); Jos� Mar�a Samper (b. 1828), a most voluminous writer; Rafael N��ez (1825-1897), a philosopher and skeptic, and one-time president of the Republic; Santiago P�rez (1830-1900), educator, journalist and one-time president; Jos� Mar�a Vergara y Vergara (1831-1872), a Catholic poet and author of a volume of sentimental verses (Libro de los cantares); Rafael Pombo (1833-1912), an eminent classical scholar and literary critic, and "perpetual secretary" of the Colombian Academy; Diego Fall�n (b. 1834), page 290 son of an English father, and author of several highly finished and beautiful poems; Pinz�n Rico (b. 1834), author of popular, romantic songs; C�sar Conto (b. 1836), a jurist and educator; Jorge Isaacs (1837-1895), better known as author of the novel Mar�a; and Felipe P�rez (b. 1834).

In the second half of the nineteenth century, the most eminent man of letters in Colombia has been Miguel Antonio Caro (1843-1909), a son of J.E. Caro. A neo-Catholic and "traditionalist," a learned literary critic and a poet, the younger Caro, like Bello before him and like his distinguished contemporary Rufino Jos� Cuervo, has worked for purity of diction and classical ideals in literature. Caro is also the translator of several classic works, including one of Virgil which is recognized as the best in Spanish.

Other poets of the closing years of the century are: Di�genes Arrieta (b. 1848), a journalist and educator; Ignacio Guti�rrez Ponce (1850), a physician; Antonio G�mez Restrepo (b. 1856), a lawyer and politician; Jos� Mar�a Garavito A. (b. 1860); Jos� Rivas Groot (b. 1864), an educator and literary critic, and editor of La lira nueva; Joaqu�n Gonz�lez Camargo (b. 1865), a physician; Agripina Montes del Valle (b. about the middle of the nineteenth century) noted for her ode to the Tequendama waterfall, and Justo Pastor R�os (1870-), a philosophic poet and liberal journalist.

The "modernista" poet Jos� Asunci�n Silva (1860-1896) was a sweet singer, but he brought no message. He was fond of odd forms, such as lines of 8+8, 8+8+8 and 8+8+4 syllables (Poes�as, con Pr�logo de Miguelde Unamuno, Barcelona, 1908).

References: Cf.: Men�ndez y Pelayo, Ant. Poetas Hisp.-Amer., III, p. 1 f.; Blanco Garc�a, III, 332 f.; Juan Valera, Cartas Am., primera serie, p. 121 f.; Historia de la literatura (1538-1820) en Nueva Granada, Jos� Mar�a Vergara y Vergara, Bogot�, 1867; Apuntes sobre bibliograf�a colombiana, con page 291 muestras escogidas en prosa y verso, Isidoro Laverde Amaya, Bogot�, 1882; Parnaso colombiano, J.M. Vergara y Vergara, 3 vols.; La lira granadina, J.M. Vergara y Vergara, Bogot�, 1865; Parnaso colombiano, Julio ��ez, con Pr�logo de Jos� Rivas Groot, 2 vols., Bogot�, 1886-87; La lira nueva, J.M. Rivas Groot, Bogot�, 1886; Antolog�a colombiana, Emiliano Isaza, Paris, 1895.

Ortiz: see preceding note.

=Colombia y Espa�a=: In this poem, dated July 20, 1882, the poet begins by recalling the war of independence that he witnessed as a boy and the heroic figure of Bolivar; then he laments the fratricidal struggles that rent the older and larger Colombia; and, finally, in the verses that are here given, he rejoices over the friendly treaty just made by the mother country, Spain, and Colombia, her daughter.

8. The colors of the Colombian flag are yellow, blue and red.

9. The colors of the Spanish flag are red and yellow. On the Spanish arms two castles (for Castilla) and two lions (for Le�n) are pictured.

=164.=--J.E. Caro: see note to p. 162.

=167.=--Marroquin: see note to p. 162.

=Los cazadores y la perrilla=: compare with Goldsmith's "Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog."

=168.=--7. =Morat�n=: see note to p. 26. La caza is in Bibl. de Aut. Esp., II, 49 f.

=169.=--16. =describilla=, archaic or poetic for describirla.

=171.=--M.A. Caro: see note to p. 162.

=174.=--14-16. =sombr�a... alcanzar�n= = (siendo la Eternidad) sombr�a y eterna, ni el odio ni el amor, ni la fe ni la duda, alcanzar�n nada en sus abismos.

=179.=--=Cuba.= Although the literary output of Cuba is greater than that of some other Spanish-American countries, yet during the colonial period there was in Cuba a dearth of both prose and verse. The Colegio Semanario de San Carlos y San Ambrosio was page 292 founded in 1689 as a theological seminary and was reorganized with lay instruction in 1769. The University of Havana was established by a papal bull in 1721 and received royal sanction in 1728; but for many years it gave instruction only in theological subjects. The first book printed in Cuba dates from 1720. Not till the second half of the eighteenth century did poets of merit appear in the island. Manuel de Zequeira y Arango (1760-1846) wrote chiefly heroic odes (Poes�as, N.Y., 1829; Havana, 1852). Inferior to Zequeira was Manuel Justo de Rubalcava (1769-1805), the author of bucolic poems and sonnets (Poes�as, Santiago de Cuba, 1848).

The Cuban poet Don Jos� Mar�a Heredia (1803-1839) is better known in Europe and in the United States than Bello and Olmedo, since his poems are universal in their appeal. He is especially well known in the United States, where he lived in exile for over two years (1823-1825), at first in Boston and later in New York, and wrote his famous ode to Niagara. Born in Cuba, he studied in Santo Domingo and in Caracas (1812-1817), as well as in his native island. Accused of conspiracy against the Spanish government, he fled to the United States in 1823, and there eked out a precarious existence by giving private lessons. In 1825 he went to Mexico, where he was well received and where he held several important posts, including those of member of Congress and judge of the superior court. In Heredia's biography two facts should be stressed: that he studied for five years in Caracas, the city that produced Bolivar and Bello, respectively the greatest general and the greatest scholar of Spanish America; and that he spent only twelve years, all told, in Cuba. As he lived for fourteen years in Mexico, that country also claims him as her own, while Caracas points to him with pride as another child of her older educational system.

Heredia was most unhappy in the United States. He admired page 293 the political institutions of this country; but he disliked the climate of New York, and he despaired of learning English. Unlike Bello and Olmedo he was not a classical scholar. His acquaintance with the Latin poets was limited, and seldom does a Virgilian or Horatian expression occur in his verses. Rather did he stand for the manner of Chateaubriand in France and Cienfuegos in Spain. Though strictly speaking not a romantic poet, he was a close precursor of that movement. His language is not seldom incorrect or lacking in sobriety and restraint; but his numbers are musical and his thought springs directly from imaginative exaltation.

Heredia's poorest verses are doubtless his early love-songs: his best are those in which the contemplation of nature leads the poet to meditation on human existence, as in Ni�gara, El Teocalli de Cholula, En una tempestad and Al sol. In these poems the predominant note is that of gentle melancholy. In Cuba his best known verses are the two patriotic hymns: � Emilia and El himno del desterrado. These were written before the poet was disillusioned by his later experiences in the turbulent Mexico of the second and third decades of the nineteenth century, and they are so virulent in their expression of hatred of Spain that Men�ndez y Pelayo refused to include them in his Anthology. Heredia undertook to write several plays, but without success. Some translations of dramatic works, however, were well received, and especially those of Ducis' Abufar, Ch�nier's Tib�re, Jouy's Sila, Voltaire's Mahomet and Alfieri's Saul. The Garnier edition (Paris, 1893) of Heredia's Poes�as contains an interesting introduction by the critic El�as Zerolo (Poes�as, N.Y., 1825; Toluca, 1832; N.Y., 1875; Paris, 1893).

The mulatto poet Gabriel de la Concepci�n Vald�s, better known by his pen-name "Pl�cido" (1809-1844), an uncultivated comb-maker, wrote verses which were mostly commonplace and often incorrect; but some evince remarkable sublimity and dignity (cf. Plegaria page 294 � Dios). Cf. Poes�as, Matanzas, 1838; Matanzas, 1842; Veracruz, 1845; Paris, 1857; Havana, 1886. The greatest Cuban poetess, and perhaps the most eminent poetess who has written in the Castilian language, is Gertrudis G�mez de Avellaneda y Arteaga (1814-1873). Since Avellaneda spent most of her life in Spain, an account of her life and work is given in the Introduction to this volume, p. xxxviii. Next only to Heredia, the most popular Cuban poet is Jos� Jacinto Milan�s y Fuentes (1814-1863), who gave in simple verse vivid descriptions of local landscapes and customs. A resigned and touching sadness characterizes his best verse (Obras, 4 vols., Havana, 1846; N.Y., 1865).

A lawyer, educator and patriot, Rafael Mar�a Mendive y Daumy (1821-1886) wrote musical verse in which there is spontaneity and true poetic feeling (Pasionarias, Havana, 1847; Poes�as, Madrid, 1860; Havana, 1883). Joaqu�n Lorenzo Luaces (1826-1867) was more learned than most Cuban poets and fond of philosophizing. Some of his verse has force and gives evidence of careful study; but much is too pedantic to be popular (Poes�as, Havana, 1857). A poet of sorrow, Juan Clemente Zenea,--"Adolfo de la Azucena" (1832-1871),--wrote verses that are marked by tender melancholy (Poes�as, Havana, 1855; N.Y., 1872, 1874).

Heredia was not the only Cuban poet to suffer persecution. Of the seven leading Cuban poets, often spoken of as "the Cuban Pleiad," Avellaneda removed to Spain, where she married and spent her life in tranquillity; and Joaqu�n Luaces avoided trouble by living in retirement and veiling his patriotic songs with mythological names. On the other hand Jos� Jacinto Milan�s lost his reason at the early age of thirty years, Jos� Mar�a Heredia and Rafael Mendive fled the country and lived in exile; while Gabriel Vald�s and Juan Clemente Zenea were shot by order of the governor-general.

Since the disappearance of the "Pleiad," the most popular page 295 Cuban poets have been Juli�n del Casal, a skeptic and a Parnassian poet who wrote pleasing but empty verses (Hojas al viento, Nieve, Bustos y Rimas); and Francisco Sell�n, whose philosophy is to conceal suffering and to put one's hand to the plow again (Libro �ntimo, Havana, 1865; Poes�as, N.Y., 1890). Jos� Mart� (1853-1895) spent most of his life in exile; but he returned to Cuba and died in battle against the Spanish forces. He wrote excellent prose, but few verses (Flor y lava, Paris, 1910(?)).

References: Men�ndez y Pelayo, Ant. Poetas Hisp.-Am., II, p. 1 f.; Blanco Garc�a, III, p. 290 f.; E.C. Hills, Bardos cubanos (contains a bibliography), Boston, 1901; Aurelio Mitjans, Estudio sobre el movimiento cient�fico y literario en Cuba, Havana, 1890; Bachiller y Morales, Apuntes para la historia de las letras y de la instrucci�n p�blica de la Isla de Cuba, Havana, 1859; La poes�a l�rica en Cuba, M. Gonz�lez del Valle, Barcelona, 1900; Cuba po�tica, Havana, 1858; Parnaso cubano, Havana, 1881.

Heredia: see preceding note.

5. This is quite true. On the coast of central and southern Mexico the climate is tropical; on the central plateau it is temperate; and on the mountain slopes, as at the foot of Popocatepetl, it is frigid.

13-14. =Iztacc�hual= and =Popocatepec= are the popular names of these mountains, but their official names are Iztacc�huatel and Popocat�petel. These words are of Nahuatlan origin: see in Vocab.

16--18. =do... te�irse= = donde el indio ledo los mira te�irse en p�rpura ligera y oro.

=181=.--3. This poem was written in the fourth decade of the nineteenth century, when Mexico was torn by civil war. There was peace only when some military leader assumed despotic power.

21. Note that the moon set behind =Popocatepec=, a little to the south of west from Cholula, while the sun sank behind =Iztacc�hual=, a little to the north of page 296 west from the city. This might well occur in summer.

=182.=--14. =Fueron= (lit. they were), they are no more. In this Latinism the preterit denotes that a thing or condition that once existed no longer exists. Cf. fuit Ilium (�neid, II, 325), "Troy is no more."

=186.=--4-5. =Que... seguir= = que, en su vuelo, la turbada vista quiere en vano seguir.

=190.=--"Pl�cido": see note to p. 179.

=Plegaria � Dios=: this beautiful prayer was written a few days before the poet's death. It is said that "Pl�cido" recited aloud the last stanza on his way to the place of execution, and that he slipped to a friend in the crowd a scrap of cloth on which the prayer was written.

=191.=--4. =del... transparencia= = � (in) la clara transparencia del aire.

Avellaneda: see Introduction, p. xxxviii.

19. =No... modelo= = (la historia) no [di�] modelo � tu virtud en lo pasado.

21. =otra= = otra copia.

=192.=--1-2. =Mir�... victoria= = la Europa mir� al genio de la guerra y la victoria ensangrentar su suelo. The =genio= was Napoleon Bonaparte.

4. =Al... cielo= = el cielo le diera al genio del bien. Note that =le= is dative and =al genio= accusative. This otherwise admirable sonnet is marred by the numerous inversions of the word-order.

=193.=--=Ecuador= is a relatively small and mountainous country, lying, as the name implies, directly on the equator. The two principal cities are Guayaquil, a port on the Pacific coast, and Quito, the capital. Quito is beautifully situated on a plateau 9300 feet above the level of the sea. The climate is mild and salubrious, and drier than at Bogot�. The early Spanish colonists repeatedly wrote of the beautiful scenery and the "eternal spring" of Quito. page 297 All of the present Ecuador belonged to the Virreinato del Per� till 1721, after which date Quito and the contiguous territory were governed from Bogot�. In 1824 Guayaquil and southern Ecuador were forcibly annexed to the first Colombia by Bolivar. Six years later Ecuador separated from Colombia and organized as a separate state.

In the territory now known as Ecuador the first colleges were established about the middle of the sixteenth century, by the Franciscans, for the natives, and by the Jesuits, as elsewhere in America, for the sons of Spaniards. Several chronicles by priests and other explorers were written during the early years of the colonial period; but no poet appears before the seventeenth century. In 1675 the Jesuit Jacinto de Evia published at Madrid his Ramillete de varias flores po�ticas which contains, beside those by Evia, verses by Antonio Bastidas, a Jesuit teacher, and by Hernando Dom�nguez Camargo, a Colombian. The verses are mediocre or worse, and, as the date would imply, are imbued with culteranism.

The best verses of the eighteenth century were collected by the priest Juan de Velasco (1727-1819) and published in six volumes under the title of El ocioso de Faenza. These volumes contain poems by Bautista Aguirre of Guayaquil, Jos� Orozco (La conquista de Menorca, an epic poem in four cantos), Ram�n Viescas (sonnets, romances, d�cimas, etc.) and others, most of whom were Jesuits.

The expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767 caused the closure of several colleges in Ecuador, and for a time seriously hampered the work of classical education. But even before the edict of expulsion scientific study had been stimulated by the coming of French and Spanish scholars to measure a degree of the earth's surface at the equator. The coming of Humboldt in 1801 still further encouraged inquiry and research. The new spirit was given concrete expression by Dr. Francisco Eugenio de Santa Cruz y Espejo, a physician of native descent, in page 298 El nuevo Luciano, a work famous in the literary and the political history of South America. In this work Dr. Espejo attacked the prevailing educational and economic systems of the colonies, and his doctrine did much to start the movement toward secession from the mother country.

Although the poetry of Ecuador is of relatively little importance as compared with that of several other American countries, yet Ecuador gave to the world one of the greatest of American poets, Jos� Joaqu�n de Olmedo. In the Americas that speak Castilian, Olmedo has only two peers among the classic poets, the Venezuelan Bello and the Cuban Heredia. Olmedo was born in Guayaquil in 1780, when that city still formed part of the Virreinato del Per�. Consequently, two countries claim him,--Peru, because he was born a Peruvian, and because, furthermore, he received his education at the Universidad de San Marcos in Lima; and Ecuador, since Guayaquil became permanently a part of that republic, and Olmedo identified himself with the social and political life of that country. In any case, Olmedo, as a poetic genius, looms suddenly on the horizon of Guayaquil, and for a time after his departure there was not only no one to take his place, but there were few followers of note.

Olmedo ranks as one of the great poetic artists of Spanish literature at the beginning of the nineteenth century. He is of the same semi-classic school as Quintana, and like him devoted to artistic excellence and lyric grandiloquence. The poems of Olmedo are few in number for so skilled an artist, and thoroughly imbued with the Gr�co-Latin classical spirit. His prosody nears perfection; but is marred by an occasional abuse of verbal endings in rime, and the inadvertent employment of assonance where there should be none, a fault common to most of the earlier Spanish-American poets. Olmedo's greatest poem is La victoria de Jun�n, which is filled with sweet-sounding phrases and beautiful images, but is logically inconsistent and improbable. Even page 299 Bolivar, the "Libertador," censured Olmedo in a letter for using the machina of the appearance at night before the combined Colombian and Peruvian armies of Huaina-Capac the Inca, "showing himself to be a talkative mischief-maker where he should have been lighter than ether, since he comes from heaven," and instead of desiring the restoration of the Inca dynasty, preferring "strange intruders who, though avengers of his blood, are descendants of those who destroyed his empire."

The Canto al general Flores is considered by some critics to be the poet's most finished work, though of less substance and inspiration than La victoria de Jun�n. This General Flores was a successful revolutionary leader during the early days of the Republic; and he was later as bitterly assailed by Olmedo as he is here praised. Of a different type is the philosophic poem, � un amigo en el nacimiento de su primog�nito, which is filled with sincere sympathy and deep meditation as to the future. With the coming of middle age Olmedo's poetic vein had apparently been exhausted, and the Peruvian bard Felipe Pardo addressed to him an ode in which he sought, though to no avail, to stimulate the older poet to renewed activity (Poes�as, Valpara�so, 1848, Paris, 1853; Poes�as in�ditas, Lima, 1861).

For a time after Olmedo's muse had become mute, little verse of merit was produced in Ecuador. Gabriel Garc�a Moreno (1821-1875), once president of the Republic and a champion of Catholicism, wrote a few strong satires in the style of Jovellanos. Dolores Veintemilla de Galindo (1831-1857), who committed suicide on account of domestic infelicity, left a short poem, Quejas, which is unique in the older Spanish-American literature by reason of its frank confession of feeling. The reflexive and didactic poet Numa P. Llona (1832-) was the author of passionate outpourings of doubt and despair after the fashion of Byron and Leopardi (Poes�as, Paris, 1870; page 300 Cantos americanos, Paris, 1866; Cien sonetos, Quito, 1881). The gentle, melancholy bard, Julio Zalumbide (1833-1887), at first a skeptic and afterwards a devout believer in Christianity, wrote musical verse in correct language but of little force. Juan Le�n Mera (1832-1894) was one of the most prominent literary historians and critics of the Republic. Besides his Poes�as (2d ed., Barcelona, 1893), Le�n Mera left a popular novel, Cumand� (Quito, 1876; Madrid, 1891), an Ojeada hist�rico-cr�tica sobre la poes�a ecuatoriana (2d ed., Barcelona, 1893), and a volume of Cantares del Pueblo (Quito, 1892), published by the Academia del Ecuador, which contains, in addition to many semi-popular songs in Castilian, a few in the Quichua language.

A younger generation that has already done some good work in poetry includes Vicente Pedrahita, Luis Cordero, Quintiliano S�nchez and Remigio Crespo y Toral.

References: Men. Pel., Ant. Poetas Hisp.-Amer., III, p. lxxxiii f.; Blanco Garc�a, III, 350 f.; Ensayo sobre la literatura ecuatoriana, Dr. Pablo Herrera, Quito, 1860; Ojeada hist�rico-cr�tica sobre la poes�a ecuatoriana, Juan Le�n Mera, Quito, 1868, 2d ed., Barcelona, 1893; Escritores espa�oles � hispano-americanos, Ca�ete, Madrid, 1884; Lira ecuatoriana, Vicente Emilio Molestina, Guayaquil, 1865; Nueva lira ecuat., Juan Abel Echeverr�a, Quito, 1879; Parnaso ecuat., Manuel Gallegos Naranjo, Quito, 1879; Am�rica po�tica, Juan Mar�a Guti�rrez, Valpara�so, 1846 (the best of the early anthologies: contains a few poems by Olmedo); Antolog�a ecuat., published by the Academy of Ecuador, with a second volume entitled Cantares del pueblo ecuat. (Edited by Juan Le�n Mera), both Quito, 1892.

=Peru.= The literature of Ecuador is so closely associated with that of Peru, that the one cannot be properly treated without some account of the other. The Virreinato del Per� was the wealthiest and most cultivated Spanish colony in South America, and in North America only Mexico rivaled it in influence. Lima, an attractive city, thoroughly Andalusian in character and appearance, was the page 301 site of important institutions of learning, such as the famed Universidad de San Marcos. It had, moreover, a printing-press toward the close of the sixteenth century, a public theater by 1602, and a gazette by the end of the seventeenth century. The spread of learning in colonial Peru may be illustrated by the fact that the Jesuits alone, at the time of their expulsion in 1767, had twelve colleges and universities in Peru, the oldest of which dated from the middle of the sixteenth century and offered courses in philosophy, law, medicine and theology.

The Peruvians seem to have been content with their lot as a favored Spanish colony, and they declared for independence only when incited to do so and aided by Bolivar of Colombia and San Martin of Buenos Aires. After the revolution, Peru was torn by internal discord rather more than other Spanish-American countries during the period of adolescence; and it was its misfortune to lose territory after territory. Bolivar took northern Peru, including the valuable seaport of Guayaquil, and made it a part of the first Colombia; and largely through the influence of Bolivar much of Upper Peru was made a separate republic, that of Bolivia. Lastly, Chile, for centuries a dependency of Peru, became independent and even wrested a considerable stretch of the litoral from her former mistress. It is hard to realize that Peru, to-day relatively weak among the American countries, was once the heart of a vast Inca empire and later the colony whose governors ruled the territories of Argentina and Chile to the south, and of Ecuador and Colombia to the north. With the decline of wealth and political influence there has come to Peru a decadence in letters. Lima is still a center of cultivation, a city in which the Castilian language and Spanish customs have been preserved with remarkable fidelity; but its importance is completely eclipsed by such growing commercial centers as Buenos Aires, Montevideo and Santiago de Chile, and by page 302 relatively small and conservative towns such as Bogot�.

In the sixteenth century Garcilasso Inga de la Vega (his mother was an "Inga," or Inca, princess), who had been well trained in the Latin classics by Spanish priests, wrote in excellent prose his famous works, Florida del Inca, Comentarios reales and Historia general del Per�. The second work, partly historical and largely imaginary, purports to be a history of the ancient Incas, and pictures the old Peru as an earthly paradise. This work has had great influence over Peruvian and Colombian poets. Men�ndez y Pelayo (Ant. Poetas Hisp.-Amer., III, Introd.) considers Garcilasso, or Garcilaso, and Alarc�n the two truly classic writers that America has given to Spanish literature.

In the Golden Age of Spanish letters several Peruvian poets were known to Spaniards. Cervantes, in the Canto de Cal�ope and Lope de Vega in the Laurel del Apolo make mention of several Peruvians who had distinguished themselves by their verses.

An unknown poetess of Huanuco, Peru, who signed herself "Amarilis," wrote a clever silva in praise of Lope, which the latter answered in the epistle Belardo � Amarilis. This silva of "Amarilis" is the best poetic composition of the early colonial period. Another poetess of the period, also anonymous, wrote in terza rima a Discurso en loor de la poes�a, which mentions by name most of the Peruvian poets then living.

Toward the close of the sixteenth century and in the early decades of the seventeenth century, several Spanish scholars, mostly Andalusians of the Sevillan school, went to Peru, and there continued literary work. Among these were Diego Mex�a, who made the happiest of Spanish translations of Ovid's Heroides; Diego de Ojeda, the best of Spanish sacred-epic poets, author of the Cristiada; Juan G�lvez; Luis de Belmonte, author of La Hisp�lica; Diego de Avalos y Figueroa whose page 303 Miscel�nea austral (Lima, 1603) contains a long poem in ottava rima entitled Defensa de damas; and others. These men exerted great influence, and to them was largely due the peculiarly Andalusian flavor of Peruvian poetry.

The best Gongoristic Poetics came from Peru. This is the Apolog�tico en favor de D. Luis de G�ngora (Lima, 1694), by Dr. Juan de Espinosa Medrano.

In the eighteenth century the poetic compositions of Peru were chiefly "versos de circunstancias" by "poetas de ocasi�n." Many volumes of these were published, but no one reads them to-day. Their greatest fault is excessive culteranism, which survived in the colonies a half-century after it had passed away from the mother country. The most learned man of the eighteenth century in Peru was Pedro de Peralta Barnuevo, the erudite author of some fifty volumes of history, science and letters. His best known poem is the epic Lima fundada (Lima, 1732). He wrote several dramas, one of which, Rodoguna, is Corneille's play adapted to the Spanish stage, and has the distinction of being one of the first imitations of the French stage in Spanish letters. All in all, the literary output of Peru during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries is disappointingly small in quantity and poor in quality, in view of the important position held by this flourishing colony. The Peruvian writers, then and now, lack in sustained effort.

During and immediately following the revolutionary period, the greatest poet is Olmedo, who was born and educated in Peru and became a citizen first of the primitive Colombia and then of Ecuador, only as his native city, Guayaquil, formed a part of one political division after another. It is customary, however, to consider Olmedo a poet of Ecuador, and it is so done in this volume.

After Olmedo, the commanding figure among the classical poets of Peru is Felipe Pardo y Aliaga (1806-1868). Pardo was educated in Spain, where he studied with Alberto Lista. From his teacher he acquired a fondness page 304 for classical studies and a conservatism in letters that he retained throughout his life. In his later years he was induced to adopt some of the metrical forms invented or revived by the romanticists, but in spirit he remained a conservative and a classicist. He had a keen sense of wit and a lively imagination which made even his political satires interesting reading. Besides his Poes�as y escritos en prosa (Paris, 1869), Pardo left a number of comedies portraying local types and scenes which are clever attempts at imitation of Spanish drama. As with all the earlier poets of Spanish America, literature was only a side-play to Pardo, although it probably took his time and attention even more than the law, which was his profession. A younger brother, Jos� (1820-1873), wrote a few short poems, but his verses are relatively limited and amateurish. Manuel Ascensi�n Segura (1805-1871) wrote clever farces filled with descriptions of local customs, somewhat after the type of the modern g�nero chico (Art�culos, poes�as y comedias, Lima, 1866).

The romantic movement came directly from Spain to Peru and obtained a foothold only well on toward the close of the first half of the century. The leader of the Bohemian romanticists of Lima was a Spaniard from Santander, Fernando Velarde. Around him clustered a group of young men who imitated Espronceda and Zorrilla and Velarde with great enthusiasm. For an account of the "Bohemians" of the fourth and fifth decades in Lima [Numa Pompilio Llona (b. 1832), Nicol�s Corpancho (1830-1863), Luis Benjam�n Cisneros (b. 1837), Carlos Augusto Salaverry (1830-1891), Manuel Ascensi�n Segura (b. 1805), Clemente Althaus (1835-1881), Adolfo Garc�a (1830-1883), Constantino Carrasco (1841-1877) and others, see the introduction to the Poes�as (Lima, 1887) of Ricardo Palma (1833-: till 1912 director of the national library of Peru).]

Not often could the romanticists of America go back to page 305 indigenous legend for inspiration as their Spanish cousins so often did; but this Constantino Carrasco undertook to do in his translation of the famous Quichua drama, Ollanta. It was long claimed, and many still believe, that this is an ancient indigenous play; but to-day the more thoughtful critics are inclined to consider it an imitation of the Spanish classical drama, perhaps written in the Quichua language by some Spanish priest (Vald�s?). The 8-syllable lines, the rime-scheme and the spirit of the play all suggest Spanish influence. In parenthesis it should be added that Quichua verse is still cultivated artificially in Peru and Ecuador.

The two men of that generation who have most distinguished themselves are Pedro Paz-Sold�n y Unanue, "Juan de Arona" (1839-1894), a poet of satire and humor; and Ricardo Palma (1833-) a leading scholar and literary critic, best known for his prose Tradiciones peruanas (Lima, 1875 and 1899).

The strongest representative of the present-day "modernistas" in Peru is Jos� Santos Chocano (1867-), a disciple of Dar�o. Chocano writes with much grandiloquence. His many sonnets are mostly prosaic, but some are finished and musical (cf. La magnolia). He is more Christian (cf. Evangeleida) than most of his contemporaries, and he sings of the conquistadores with true admiration [cf. En la aldea, Lima, 1895; Iras santas, Lima, 1895; Alma Am�rica (Pr�logo de Miguel de Unamuno), Madrid, 1906; La selva virgen, Paris, 1901; Fiat lux, Paris, 1908].

A younger man is Edilberto Zegarra Ball�n of Arequipa (1880-), author of Vibraciones, Poemas, el al. His verse is simpler and less rugged than that of the more virile Chocano.

References: Men. Pel., Ant. Poetas Hisp.-Amer., III, p. cxlix f.; Blanco Garc�a, III, 362 f.; Diccionario hist�rico y biogr�fico del Per�, formado y redactado por Manuel de Mend�buru, 9 vols., Lima, 1874-80; Colecci�n de documentos literarios del Per�, 11 vols., Manuel de Odriozola, Lima, 1863-74; page 306 Am�rica po�tica, Juan Mar�a Guti�rrez, Valpara�so, 1846; Parnaso peruano, J.D. Cort�s, Paris, 1875; La Bohemia lime�a de 1848 � 1860, Pr�logo de Poes�as de Ricardo Palma, Lima, 1887; Lira americana, Ricardo Palma, Paris, 1865.

=193.=--Olmedo: see preceding note.

8. =�=, with.

=194.=--15-17. The following is a translation of a note to these lines which is given in Poes�as de Olmedo, Garnier Hermanos, Paris, 1896: "Physicists have attempted to explain the equilibrium that is maintained by the earth in spite of the difference of mass in its two hemispheres" (northern and southern). "May not the enormous weight of the Andes be one of the data with which this curious problem of physical geography can be solved?"

=195.=--4. The religion of the ancient Peruvians, before they were converted to Christianity by the Spaniards, was based on the worship of the sun. The chief temple of the sun was at Cuzco.

25. Bolivar was a native of Caracas, Venezuela; but, when this poem was written, Colombia comprised most of the present States of Venezuela, Colombia, Panama and Ecuador. Moreover, Colombia is probably used somewhat figuratively by the poet to designate the "land of Columbus."

26. The Peruvians and the Colombians were allies. It is an interesting fact that in the war for independence waged by the Spanish Americans against Spain, the leaders of the Americans were nearly all of Spanish descent, while the majority of the rank and file of the American soldiery was Indian. To this day, a majority of the population of Spanish America, excepting only Chile, Argentina and the West Indian Islands, is indigenous, and their poets still sing of "indigenous America," but they sing in the Spanish tongue! See p. 211, l. 7. page 307 =196.=--21. See note to p. 162, l. 8. The Peruvian flag has an image of the sun in its center.

23. It is reported that the first onslaught of the Spanish-American cavalry failed, partly by reason of their impetuousness, and that they would probably have been defeated if Bolivar had not rallied them and led them on to victory.

=198.=--10. The battle of Junin began at about five o'clock in the afternoon, and it is said that only night saved the Spaniards from complete destruction.

11. =El dios o�a=: destiny did not permit the god to stay his course for an hour, but the god left behind him his circlet of diamonds (the stars).

=199.=--=Mexico.= The Virreinato de Nueva Espa�a was a favored colony, where Spanish culture took deepest root. It had the first institution of learning in America (opened in 1553 by decree of Charles I) and the first printing-press (1540?). Some 116 books were printed in Mexico City during the sixteenth century, most of which were catechisms or grammars and dictionaries in the native languages. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries several Spanish poets, mostly Sevillans, went to Mexico. Among these were Diego Mex�a (went to Mexico in 1596); Gutierre de Cetina, Juan de la Cueva, and Mateo Alem�n (published Ortograf�a castellana in Mexico in 1609). Cert�menes po�ticos ("poetic contests") were held in Mexico, as in other Spanish colonies, from time to time. The first of importance occurred in Mexico City in 1583, to which seven bishops lent the dignity of their presence and in which three hundred poets (?) competed. After the discovery and conquest of the Philippines, great opulence came to Mexico on account of its being on a direct route of Pacific trade between Europe and Asia, and Mexico became an emporium of Asiatic goods (note introduction of Mexican dollar into China).

The first native poet deserving of the name was Francisco page 308 de Terrazas (cf. Cervantes, Canto de Cal�ope, 1584), who left in manuscript sonnets and other lyrics and an unfinished epic poem, Nuevo mundo y conquista. It is interesting that in the works of Terrazas and other native poets of the sixteenth century the Spaniards are called "soberbios," "malos," etc. Antonio Saavedra Guzm�n was the first in Mexico to write in verse a chronicle of the conquest (El peregrino indiano, Madrid, 1599). Coloquios espirituales (published posthumously in 1610), autos of the "morality" type, with much local color and partly in dialect, were written by Fern�n Gonz�lez Eslava, whom Pimentel considers the best sacred dramatic poet of Mexico. Sacred dramatic representations had been given in Spanish and in the indigenous languages almost from the time of the conquest. According to Beristain, at least two plays of Lope were done into Nahuatl by Bartolom� de Alba, of native descent, and performed, viz.: El animal profeta y dichoso parricida and La madre de la Mejor.

The first poet whose verses are genuinely American, exotic and rich in color like the land in which written (a rare quality in the Spanish poetry of the period), was Bernardo de Balbuena (1568-1627: born in Spain; educated in Mexico). Balbuena had a strong descriptive faculty, but his work lacked restraint (cf. Grandeza mexicana, Mex., 1604; Madrid, 1821, 1829 and 1837; N.Y., 1828; Mex., 1860). The great dramatist, Juan Ruiz de Alarc�n (1581?-1639), was born and educated in Mexico; but as he wrote in Spain, and his dramas are Spanish in feeling, he is best treated as a Spanish poet.

Next only to Avellaneda the most distinguished Spanish-American poetess is the Mexican nun, Sor Juana In�s de la Cruz (1651-1695), whose worldly name was Juana In�s de Asbaje y Ram�rez de Cantillana. Sor Juana had intellectual curiosity in an unusual degree and early began the study of Latin and other languages. When still a young girl she became a maid-in-waiting in the viceroy's palace, where her beauty and wit attracted much page 309 attention; but she soon renounced the worldly life of the court and joined a religious order. In the convent of San Jer�nimo she turned for solace to books, and in time she accumulated a library of four thousand volumes. Upon being reproved by a zealous bishop for reading worldly books, she sold her entire library and gave the proceeds to the poor. Sor Juana's better verses are of two kinds: those that give evidence of great cleverness and mental acuteness, and those that have the ring of spontaneity and sincerity. As an exponent of erotic mysticism, she is most interesting. In the most passionate of her erotic verses there is an apparent sincerity which makes it difficult for the lay reader to believe that she had not been profoundly influenced by human love,--as when she gives expression to the feelings of a loving wife for a dead husband, or laments the absence of a lover or tells of a great jealousy. In addition to her lyrics Sor Juana wrote several autos and dramas. Her poems were first published under the bombastic title of Inundaci�n cast�lida de la �nica poetisa, Musa d�cima, Sor Juana In�s de la Cruz, Madrid, 1689 (vol. II, Seville, 1691; vol. III, Madrid, 1700).

During the first half of the eighteenth century the traditions of the preceding century persisted; but in the second half there came the neo-classic reaction. Among the best of the prosaic poets of the century are: Miguel de Reyna Zeballos (La elocuencia del silencio, Madrid, 1738); Francisco Ruiz de Le�n (Hernand�a, 1755, based on the Conquista de M�xico by Sol�s); and the priest Jorge Jos� Sartorio (1746-1828: Poes�as sagradas y profanas, 7 vols., Puebla, 1832). The Franciscan Manuel de Navarrete (1768-1809) is considered by Pimentel superior to Sor Juana In�s de la Cruz as a philosophic poet (the writer of this article does not so consider him) and is called the "restorer of lyric and objective poetry in Mexico" (cf. Pim., Hist. Poes�a Mex., p. 442). Navarrete wrote in a variety of styles. His verses are harmonious, but altisonante and often incorrect. His best page 310 lyrics, like those of Cienfuegos, have the personal note of the romanticists to follow (Entretenimientos po�ticos, Mex., 1823, Paris, 1835; Poes�as, Mex., 1905).

There were no eminent Mexican poets during the revolutionary period. Andr�s Quintana Roo (1787-1851) was a lawyer and journalist and president of the congress which made the first declaration of independence. Pimentel (p. 309) calls him an eminent poet and one of the best of the period. Two of the most important in the period are: Manuel S�nchez de Tagle (1782-1847), a statesman given to philosophic meditation, but a poor versifier (Poes�as, 1852); and Francisco Ortega (1793-1849), an ardent republican, who opposed Iturbide when the latter had himself proclaimed emperor of Mexico in 1821 (Poes�as l�ricas, 1839; cf. � Iturbide en su coronaci�n). To these should be added Joaqu�n Mar�a del Castillo y Lanzas (1781-1878), one-time minister to the United States (Ocios juveniles, Philadelphia, 1835); and the priest Anastasio Mar�a Ochoa (1783-1833), who translated French, Italian, and Latin (Ovid's Heroides) works, and wrote some humorous verses (Poes�as, N.Y., 1828: contains two dramas).

Next to Alarc�n, the greatest dramatist that Mexico has produced is Manuel Eduardo de Gorostiza (1789-1851), who wrote few lyric verses, but many dramas in verse and prose. His plays, which are full of humorous contrasts, were written during his residence in Spain and are, for the most part, typically Spanish in all respects. Gorostiza, in manner and style, is considered a bridge between Morat�n and Bret�n. His best comedy is La indulgencia para todos (cf. Teatro original, Paris, 1822; Teatro escogido, Bruxelles, 1825; Obras dram�ticas, Bibl. Aut. Mex., vols. 22, 24, 26, 45, Mex.,-1899).

Romanticism came into Mexico through Spain. It was probably introduced by Ignacio Rodr�guez Galv�n (1816-1842), a translator, lyric poet, and page 311 dramatist. His lyrics have the merit of sincerity; pessimism is the prevailing tone and there is much invective. His Profec�as de Guatimoc is considered the masterpiece of Mexican romanticism (Obras, 2 vols., Mex., 1851; Paris, 1883). Another well-known romantic lyricist and dramatist is Fernando Calder�n (1809-1845), who was more correct in form than Rodr�guez Galvan (Poes�as, Mex., 1844 and 1849; Paris, 1883; Mex., 1902).

The revival of letters in Mexico is generally attributed to the conservative poets Pesado and Carpio, both of whom sought to be classic, although they were not altogether so in practise. Probably the best known Mexican poet, though certainly not the most inspired, is Jos� Joaqu�n Pesado (1801-1861). He translated much from Latin, French and Italian, and in some cases failed to acknowledge his indebtedness (cf. Pimentel, p. 694). His best translations are of the Psalms. The Aztecas, which were published as a translation of, or an adaptation from, indigenous legends, are mostly original with Pesado in all probability. He is an unusually even writer, and some of his verses are good (cf. certain sonnets: Mi amada en la misa del alba, which reminds one of Mel�ndez Vald�s in Rosana en los fuegos; Eleg�a al �ngel de la guardia de Elisa; and parts of La revelaci�n in octavas reales). Montes de Oca and Men�ndez y Pelayo consider Pesado the greatest of Mexican poets; but Pimentel does not (p. 694). Cf. Poes�as originales y traducciones, Mex., 1839-40 (most complete), 1886 (introduction of Montes de Oca); Biograf�a de Pesado, by Jos� Mar�a Roa B�rcena, Mex., 1878. Manuel Carpio (1791-1860) began to write verses after he had reached the age of forty years, and there is, consequently, a certain ripeness of thought and also a lack of feeling in his poetry. His verses are chiefly narrative or descriptive and generally treat of biblical subjects. His language is usually correct, but often prosaic (Poes�as, Mex., 1849). page 312 Minor poets of this period are: Alejandro Arango (1821-1883), an imitator of Le�n (Versos, 1879; Ensayo hist�rico sobre Fr. Luis de Le�n, Mex., 1866); Ignacio Ram�rez (1818-1879), of Indian race, who was a free lance in religion and politics, and largely responsible for the separation of Church and State in Mexico (Poes�as, Mex., 1889, and Lecciones de literatura, Mex., 1884); and Ignacio M. Altamarino (1834-1893), an erotic and descriptive poet (Obras, Mex., 1899).

The most popular Mexican poets during the second half of the nineteenth century have been Acu�a, Flores, Peza and Guti�rrez N�jera. A materialistic iconoclast, Manuel Acu�a (1849-1873) was uneven and incorrect in language, but capable of deep poetic feeling. In his Poes�as (Garnier, Paris, 8th ed.) there are two short poems that may live: Nocturno, a passionate expression of disappointment in love; and Ante un cad�ver, a poem of dogmatic materialism. Acu�a committed suicide at the age of twenty-four years. Manuel Mar�a Flores (1840-1885), an erotic poet largely influenced by Musset, is very popular in Mexico (Pasionarias, Paris, 1911). Probably the most widely read poet of the period is Juan de Dios Peza (1852-1910). His verses are often incorrect and weak, as he improvised much; but they are interesting, as they usually treat of homely topics (Poes�as completas: El arpa del amor, 1891; Hogar y patria, 1891; Leyendas, 1898; Flores del alma; Recuerdos y esperanzas, 1899, Garnier, Paris). The romantic pessimist, Manuel Guti�rrez N�jera (d. 1888), was tormented throughout life by the vain quest of happiness and the thirst of truth. His verses, which are often elegiac or fantastic, are highly admired by the younger generation of Mexican poets. In a letter to the writer of this article, Blanco-Fombona praises Guti�rrez N�jera above all other Mexican poets (Poes�as, Paris, 1909, 2 vols.).

References: Men�ndez y Pelayo, Ant. Poetas Hisp.-Amer., I, p. xiv f.: Blanco Garc�a, III, 304 f.; Francisco Pimentel, Historia cr�tica de la page 313 poes�a en M�xico, Mex., 1892; Biblioteca hispano-americana septentrional, D. Jos� Mariano Beristain de Souza, Mex., 1816-21, 3 vols. (has more than 4000 titles),--reprinted by Fortino Hip�lito de Vera, Amecameca, 1883; Bibliograf�a mexicana del siglo XVI (cat�logo razonado de los libros impresos in M�xico de 1539 � 1600); Biograf�as de mexicanos distinguidos, D. Francisco Sosa, Mex., 1884; Poetas yucatecos y tabasque�os, D. Manuel S�nchez M�rmol y D. Alonso de Regil y Pe�n, M�rida de Yucat�n, 1861; Poetisas mexicanas, Bogot�, 1889; Colecci�n de poesias mexicanas, Paris, 1836; El parnaso mexicano, 36 vols., R.B. Ortega, Mex., 1886; Biblioteca de autores mexicanos, some 75 vols. to 1911, Mex.; Antolog�a de poetas mexicanos, publ. by Acad. Mex., Mex., 1894; Poetas mexicanos, Carlos G. Am�zaga, Buenos Aires, 1896; Los trovadores de M�xico, Barcelona, 1900.

Pesado: see preceding note.

=La Serenata=: see Introduction, Versification, p. lxviii.

=200.=--6-11. These lines of Pesado are similar to those found in the first stanzas of Su alma by Milan�s. See Hills' Bardos cubanos (Boston, 1901), p. 69.

Calder�n: see note to p. 199.

=202.=--Acu�a: see note to p. 199.

=204.=--15. The language is obscure, but the meaning seems to be: borrarte (� ti que est�s) en mis recuerdos.

19. The forced synalepha of =yo haga= is discordant and incorrect.

=204.=--23 to =205.=--8. That is, when the altar was ready for the marriage ceremony, and the home awaited the bride. The reference, apparently, is to a marriage at an early hour in the morning,--a favored time for marriages in Spanish lands.

=208.=--1. =la alma=, by poetic license, since el alma would make the line too long by one syllable.

=207.=--Peza: see note to p. 199.

=211.=--Dar�o: with the appearance in 1888 of a small volume of prose and verse entitled Azul, by Rub�n Dar�o (1864-) of Nicaragua, there triumphed in Spanish America the "movement of emancipation," the "literary page 314 revolution," which the "decadents" had already initiated in France. As romanticism had been a revolt against the empty formalism of later neo-classicism, so "decadence" was a reaction against the hard, marmoreal forms of the "Parnasse," and in its train there came inevitably a general attack on poetic traditions. This movement was hailed with joy by the young men of Latin America, who are by nature more emotional and who live in a more voluptuous environment than their cousins in Spain; for they had come to chafe at the coldness of contemporary Spanish poetry, at its lack of color and its "petrified metrical forms." With the success of the movement there was for a time a reign of license, when poet vied with poet in defying the time-honored rules, not only of versification, but also of vocabulary and syntax. But as in France, so in Spanish America, "decadence" has had its day, although traces of its passing are everywhere in evidence, and the best that was in it still lingers.

To-day the Spanish-American poets are turning their attention more and more to the study of sociological problems or to the cementing of racial solidarity. These notes ring clear in some recent poems of Dar�o, and of Jos� S. Chocano of Peru and Rufino Blanco-Fombona of Venezuela. The lines given in the text are an ode which was addressed to Mr. Roosevelt when he was president of the United States from 1901 to 1909. The meter of the poem is mainly the Old Spanish Alexandrine, but with a curious intermingling of lines of nine, ten and eight syllables, and with assonance of the even lines throughout. In all fairness it should be stated here that Se�or Dar�o, in a recent letter to the writer of these Notes, said: "I do not think to-day as I did when I wrote those verses" (Dar�o: Ep�stolas y poemas, 1885; Abrojos, 1887; Azul, 1888; Cantos de vida y esperanza, Madrid, 1905; El canto errante, Madrid, 1907). page 315 =212.=--8. Argentina and Chile are the most progressive of the Spanish-American States. The Argentine flag is blue and white, with a sun in the center; the flag of Chile has a white and a red bar, and in one corner a white star on a blue background.

11. This refers, of course, to the colossal bronze Statue of Liberty by the French sculptor, Fr�d�ric Bartholdi, which stands in New York harbor.

14. In a letter to the writer of these Notes, Senor Dar�o explains this passage as follows: "Bacchus, or Dionysius, after the conquest of India (I refer to the semi-historical and not to the mythological Bacchus) is supposed to have gone to other and unknown countries. I imagine that those unknown countries were America. Pan, who accompanied Bacchus on his journey, taught those new men the alphabet. All this is related to the tradition of the arrival of bearded men, strangely dressed, in the American countries.... These traditions exist in the South as well as the North."

16. =Que consult� los astros=: the ancient Peruvians and Mexicans had made considerable progress in the study of astronomy.

=214.=--=Venezuela.= During the colonial period the development of literary culture was slower in the Capitan�a de Caracas than in Colombia, Peru and Mexico. The Colegio de Santa Rosa, which was founded at Caracas in 1696, was made a university in 1721. Not till 1806 was the first printing-press set up in the colony.

Poetry in Venezuela begins with Bello, for the works of his predecessors had little merit. Andr�s Bello (1781-1865) was the most consummate master of poetic diction among Spanish-American poets, although he lacked the brilliancy of Olmedo and the spontaneity of Heredia. Born in Caracas and educated in the schools of his native city, Bello was sent to England in the year 1810 to further the cause of the revolution, and he remained in that country till 1829, when he was called to page 316 Chile to take service in the Department of Foreign Affairs. His life may, therefore, be divided into three distinct periods. In Caracas he studied chiefly the Latin and Spanish classics and the elements of international law, and he made metrical translations of Virgil and Horace. Upon arriving in England at the age of twenty-nine years, he gave himself with enthusiasm to the study of Greek, Italian and French, as well as to English. Bello joined with the Spanish and Hispano-American scholars in London in the publication of several literary reviews, notably the Censor americano (1820), the Biblioteca americana (1823) and the Repertorio americano (1826-27), and in these he published many of his most important works. Here appeared his studies of Old French and of the Song of My Cid, his excellent translation of fourteen cantos of Boiardo's Orlando innamorato, several important articles on Spanish syntax and prosody, and the best of all his poems, the Silvas americanas.

In 1829, when already forty-eight years of age, Bello removed to Chile, and there entered upon the happiest period of his life. Besides working in a government office, he gave private lessons until in 1831 he was made rector of the College of Santiago. In the year 1843 the University of Chile was established at Santiago and Bello became its first rector. He held this important post till his death twenty-two years later at the ripe age of eighty-four. During this third and last period of his life Bello completed and published his Spanish Grammar and his Principles of International Law, works which, with occasional slight revisions, have been used as standard text-books in Spanish America and to some extent in Spain, to the present day. The Grammar, especially, has been extraordinarily successful, and the edition with notes by Jos� Rufino Cuervo is still the best text-book of Spanish grammar we have. In the Grammar Bello sought to free Castilian from Latin terminology; but he desired, most of all, to correct the abuses so common to writers page 317 of the period and to establish linguistic unity in Spanish America.

Bello wrote little original verse during these last years of his life. At one time he became exceedingly fond of Victor Hugo and even tried to imitate him; but his classical training and methodical habits made success impossible. His best poetic work during his residence in Chile, however, are translations of Victor Hugo, and his free metrical rendering of La Pri�re pour tous (from the Feuilles d'automne), is amongst his finest and most popular verses.

It is interesting that Andr�s Bello, the foremost of Spanish-American scholars in linguistics and in international law, should also have been a pre�minent poet, and yet all critics, except possibly a few of the present-day "modernistas," place his American Silvas amongst the best poetic compositions of all Spanish America. The Silvas are two in number: the Alocuci�n � la poes�a and the Silva � la agricultura de la zona t�rrida. The first is fragmentary: apparently the poet despaired of completing it, and he embodied in the second poem an elaboration of those passages of the first work which describe nature in the tropics. The Silvas are in some degree imitations of Virgil's Georgics, and they are the best of Spanish imitations. Men�ndez y Pelayo, who is not too fond of American poets, is willing to admit (Ant., II, p. cxlii) that Bello is, "in descriptive and Georgic verse, the most Virgilian of our (Spanish) poets." Caro, in his splendid biography of Bello (in Miguel Antonio Caro's introduction to the Poes�as de Andr�s Bello, Madrid, 1882) classifies the Silvas as "scientific poetry," which is quite true if this sort of poetry gives an esthetic conception of nature, expressed in beautiful terms and adorned with descriptions of natural objects. It is less true of the Alocuci�n, which is largely historical, in that it introduces and sings the praises of towns and persons that won fame in the revolutionary wars. The Silva � la agricultura, page 318 which is both descriptive and moral, may be best described in the words of Caro. It is, says this distinguished critic, "an account of the beauty and wealth of nature in the tropics, and an exhortation to those who live in the equator that, instead of wasting their strength in political and domestic dissensions, they should devote themselves to agricultural pursuits." Bello's interest in nature had doubtless been stimulated by the coming of Humboldt to Caracas in the first decade of the nineteenth century. In his attempt to express his feeling for nature in poetic terms, he probably felt the influence not only of Virgil, but also of Arriaza, and of the several poems descriptive of nature written in Latin by Jesuit priests, such as the once famous Rusticatio Mexicana by Father Landivar of Guatemala. And yet there is very little in the Silvas that is directly imitative. The Silva � la agricultura de la zona t�rrida, especially, is an extraordinarily successful attempt to give expression in Virgilian terms to the exotic life of the tropics, and in this it is unique in Spanish literature. The beautiful descriptive passages in this poem, the noble ethical precepts and the severely pure diction combine to make it a classic that will long hold an honored place in Spanish-American letters (Obras completas, Santiago de Chile, 1881-93).

During the revolutionary period the most distinguished poets, after Bello, of that part of the greater Colombia which later formed the separate republic of Venezuela, were Baralt and Ros de Olano. Rafael Mar�a Baralt (1810-1860) took part in the revolutionary movement of secession from the first Colombia; but later he removed to Spain and became a Spanish citizen. His verses are usually correct, but lack feeling. He is best known as a historian and maker of dictionaries. Baralt was elected to membership in the Spanish Academy (Poes�as, Paris, 1888).

General Antonio Ros de Olano (1802-1887) also removed to page 319 Spain and won high rank in the Spanish army. He joined the romantic movement and became a follower of Espronceda. Besides a volume of verses (Poes�as, Madrid, 1886), Ros de Olano wrote El doctor La�uela (1863) and other novels. Both Baralt and Ros de Olano were identified with literary movements in Spain rather than in Venezuela.

Jos� Heriberto Garc�a de Quevedo (1819-1871) was a cultivated and ambitious scholar who collaborated with Zorrilla in Mar�a, Ira de Dios and Un cuento de amores. Among his better works are the three philosophical poems: Delirium, La segunda vida and El proscrito (Obras po�ticas y literarias, Paris, 1863). Among the lesser writers of this period are Antonio Mait�n (1804-1874), the best of Venezuelan romanticists (cf. El canto f�nebre, a poem of domestic love); Abigail Lozano (1821-1866), a romanticist and author of musical but empty verses ("versos altisonantes"); Jos� Ram�n Yepes (1822-1881), an army officer and the author of legends in verse, besides the inevitable Poes�as; Eloy Escobar (1824-1889), an elegiac poet; and Francisco G. Pardo (1829-1872), a mediocre imitator of Zorrilla.

Next to Bello alone, the most distinguished poet of Venezuela is Jos� P�rez Bonalde (1846-1892), who was a good German scholar and left, besides his original verses, excellent translations of German poets. His metrical versions of Heine, especially, exerted considerable influence over the growth of literary feeling in Spanish America (Estrofas, N.Y., 1877; El poema del Ni�gara, N.Y., 1880). At least two other writers of the second half of the nineteenth century deserve mention: Miguel S�nchez Pesquera and Jacinto Guti�rrez Coll.

Among the present-day writers of Venezuela, Luis L�pez M�ndez was one of the first to introduce into Spanish America a knowledge of the philosophy and metrical theories of Paul Verlaine. Manuel D�az Rodr�guez (1868-) has written little verse; but he is the best known Venezuelan novelist of to-day [Sangre page 320 patricia, Camino de perfecci�n (essays), �dolos rotos, Cuentos, 2 vols., Confidencias de Psiquis, Cuentos de color, Sensaciones de viaje, De mis romer�as]. The most influential of the younger writers is Rufino Blanco-Fombona, who was expelled from his native country by the present andino ("mountaineer") government and now lives in exile in Paris. At first a disciple of Musset and then of Heine and Maupassant, he is now an admirer of Dar�o and a pronounced modernista. His Letras y letrados de Hispano-America is the best recent work of literary criticism by a Spanish-American author. Blanco-Fombona is a singer of youthful ambition, force and robust love. His verses have rich coloring, but are at times erotic or lacking in restraint (prose works: Cuentos de poeta, Maracaibo, 1900; M�s all� de los horizontes, Madrid, 1903; Cuentos americanos, Madrid, 1904; El hombre de hierro, Caracas, 1907; Letras y letrados de Hispano-America, Paris, 1908. Verses: Patria, Caracas, 1895; Trovadores y trovas, Caracas, 1899; Peque�a �pera l�rica, Madrid, 1904; Cantos de la prisi�n, Paris, 1911).

References: Men�ndez y Pelayo, Ant. Poetas Hisp.-Amer., II, p. cx f.; Blanco Garc�a, III, p. 321 f.; Rese�a hist�rica de la literatura venezolana (1888) and Estado actual de la literatura en Venezuela (1892), both by Julio Calca�o, Caracas; La literatura venezolana en el siglo XIX, Gonzalo Pic�n Febres, Caracas, 1906; Parnaso venezolano, 12 vols., Julio Calca�o, Caracas, 1892; Biblioteca de escritores venezolanos, Jos� Mar�a Rojas, Paris, 1875; Parnaso venezolano, Barcelona, 1906.

Bello: see preceding note.

1. The Lion symbolizes Spain, since from the medieval kingdom of Leon modern Spain sprang. The battle of Bail�n (see in Vocab.) took place in 1808 when Bello was twenty-seven years of age and still loyal to Spain.

=214.=--16 to =215.=--3. =Que... concibes= = que circunscribes el vago curso =al= (= del) sol enamorado, y (t�), acariciada de su luz, concibes =cuanto page 321 ser= (= every being that) se anima en cada vario clima.

18. The use of =quien= referring to inanimate objects is now archaic.

=216.=--19 to =217.=--3. It is said that the banana gives nourishment to more human beings than does any other plant. The fruit is taken when it is still green, before the starch has turned to sugar, and it is boiled, or baked, or it is ground and made into a coarse bread.

6-8. =En que... bondadosa!= = en que (la) naturaleza bondadosa quiso hacer rese�a de sus favores...

9. The student should compare this and the following lines with Vida retirada by Fray Luis de Le�n, p. 9.

19. The rime requires =habita=, instead of habitad.

22-23. =Y... atada= = y la raz�n va atada al triunfal carro de la moda, universal se�ora.

=219.=--10-16. =�Esperar�is... ata?= = �esperar�is que (el) himeneo forme m�s venturosos lazos do el inter�s, tirano del deseo, barata ajena mano y fe por nombre � plata, que do conforme gusto, conforme edad, y (= both) elecci�n libre y (= and) mutuo ardor ata los lazos? Note that, by poetic license, =ata= agrees in number with the nearest subject, although it has two.

=220.=--8-11. As this poem was written after the Spanish-American colonies had revolted against the mother country, Bello no longer rejoices at the success of Spanish arms nor grieves over their losses, as he had done when he wrote � la victoria de Bail�n.

P�rez Bonalde: see note to p. 214.

=222.=--5. The Venezuelan flag is yellow, blue and red with seven small white stars in the center.

=225.=--=La carcelera=: the words and music of this song and of the first that follows are taken from the Cancionero salmantino (D�maso Ledesma), Madrid, 1907.

=227.=--=La cachucha=: the words and music of this song and of the five that immediately follow are taken page 322 from Poes�as populares (Tom�s Segarra), Leipzig, 1862.

=238.=--=El tr�gala=: (lit., the swallow it) a song with which the Spanish liberals taunted the partizans of an absolute government.

=242.=--=Himno de Riego=: a song to the liberal general, Rafael de Riego (1784-1823), who initiated the revolution of 1820 in Spain and proclaimed at Cabezas de San Juan the constitution of 1812. Cf. Versification, p. lxxix.

=251.=--=Himno Nacional de Cuba=, called also the =Himno de Bayamo=, on account of the importance of Bayamo (see in Vocab.) in the Cuban revolution of 1868. Note the ternary movement of this song, and see Versification, p. lxxiii.

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