The Lusiads

by Luís de Camões, William Walker Atkinson

First published in 1572, The Lusiads is one of the greatest epic poems of the Renaissance, immortalizing Portugal's voyages of discovery with an unrivalled freshness of observation.

At the centre of The Lusiads is Vasco da Gama's pioneer voyage via southern Africa to India in 1497-98. The first European artist to cross the equator, Camoes's narrative reflects the novelty and fascination of that original encounter with Africa, India and the Far East. The poem's twin symbols are the Cross and the Astrolabe, and its celebration of a turning point in mankind's knowledge of the world unites the old map of the heavens with the newly discovered terrain on earth. Yet it speaks powerfully, too, of the precariousness of power, and of the rise and decline of nationhood, threatened not only from without by enemies, but from within by loss of integrity and vision.

Genres: Poetry, Classics, Portuguese Literature, Portugal, Fiction, Literature, Epic

260 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 1572

About the author

Luís Vaz de Camões (Portuguese pronunciation: [luˈiʃ vaʃ dɨ kaˈmõȷ̃ʃ]; sometimes rendered in English as Camoens; c. 1524 – June 10, 1580) is considered Portugal's, and the Portuguese language's, greatest poet. His mastery of verse has been compared to that of Shakespeare, Vondel, Homer, Virgil, and Dante. He wrote a considerable amount of lyrical poetry (in Portuguese and in Spanish) and drama but is best remembered for his epic work Os Lusíadas (The Lusiads). His recollection of poetry The Parnasum of Luís de Camões was lost in his lifetime.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lu%C3%AD...

Reviews

[Bella · Rating 4 out of 5]

actual rating: 3.5 stars

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

It always surprises me to realize just how large a world my ignorance of world literature encompasses. Case in point, I made it through college without even once hearing about the Portuguese epic poem, The Lusiads.

It's a damn shame, because it's a fantastic poem, making me yearn to reread The Iliad, The Odyssey, and The Aeneid. It's also one of the weirdest classical poems I've ever read. It's a Christian epic, with da Gama and his sailors calling upon God and Jesus for salvation, yet at the same time, it's populated by a whole host of classical gods and goddesses, who are both the cause of and salvation from the trials and tribulations from which da Gama prays for divine intervention. Also strange are the moments when Camoes begs the Muses for aid because he is growing tired of writing. And for a Christian epic, it's surprisingly erotic, such as when Venus seduces Jove to allow her to intercede on da Gama's behalf against Bacchus or nearer the end when she rewards the sailors by creating an island populated by horny nymphs.

On a more negative note, the poem does suffer from its concessions to historical fact. Da Gama is a less-than-compelling protagonist, and much of the poem reads like a history textbook (albeit a particularly biased one). Perhaps, if I were more knowledgeable about Portuguese history, I would have found this more interesting, but even so, I doubt these sections could ever compare to the more fantastical moments involving the gods.

At the very least, Canto Nine should be mandatory reading, particularly Leonard's lament, which I've now read three times over.

[Luís · Rating 4 out of 5]

The maritime feat and the Portuguese vocation had to be mythologized on a superhuman level in Modern Literature.
It was written by the tireless hero, traveler, and preacher of freedom. Finally, in the middle of the 16th century, they narrate epically part of the history of Portugal, the heroic deeds of the Lusitanians, and, in particular, the journey of Vasco da Gama in the discovery of the sea path to India in the years 1498/1499 during the reign of D. Manuel I, king of Portugal.
These Poems are divided into ten songs with 1102 stanzas, predominantly octaves of heroic and some sapphic decasyllables. They were published for the first time in 1572 in Lisbon's special edition dedicated to King D. Sebastião, which Camões read. In the Lusíadas, Camões recovered Homer's literary style already used in Classical Antiquity in his works: The Iliad and The Odyssey. However, while he was inspired by his imagination to write them, Camões was inspired by Vasco da Gama's adventures and incidents.
They also included Roman and Greek mythology elements, examples of Neptune and the God of the Seas. Venus, Goddess of Love and protector of the Portuguese in the Council of the Gods, in opposition to Jupiter, God of War. Bacchus, God of the Feasts, and his son Luso gave rise to the Portuguese word. Also, some elements of the popular imagination, namely "Velho do Restelo," "O Gigante Adamastor," and "Ninfas do Tejo."

See other of my critical reviews of this author:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Owlseyes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars ain't enough, maybe six will suffice. Only those who read Portuguese can fully appreciate the vastness and full depth of this poetic work.

Of course, The Lusiads are the Portuguese people, and the Camões masterpiece is about the epic of the Discoveries; about men and women, Kings and Queens, and the Gods favoring and those against,... that enterprise. The pride of my nation...been so long.

UPDATES



https://www.publico.pt/2024/01/12/cie...

[Jesús De la Jara · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Ésta, la tierra que buscáis, es cierta
de la India verdadera, que aparece,
y si más no queréis, cerrad la puerta
al trabajo que todo aquí fenece.
A Gama luego el alegría despierta
esta certinidad y allí agradece
arrodillado, con un pío celo,
la grande alta merced a Dios del Cielo."

Fue una gran experiencia haber leído a Camoens, padre de la literatura portuguesa, creador de la obra de la nación lusitana.
Me ha gustado mucho por fin leer la obra de la cual desde niño había escuchado, realmente versiones diferentes, y esto debe ser porque las personas o profesores que me hablaron de ella, probablemente nunca la leyeron. Camoens es un autor venerado por la gran mayoría y criticado por algunos.
"Los Lusiadas" nos cuenta las peripecias de Vasco da Gama, militar portugués en su llegada a la tan ansiada India, símbolo de riqueza para los comerciantes europeos que buscaban una nueva ruta luego de la caída de Constantinopla (y que a su vez fue causa de la Invasión americana). Pero este poema épico es mucho más que eso, es el himno de la nación de los portugueses que en el siglo XVI lograron ser una de las potencias mundiales debido a sus guerreros orgullosos y navíos sin parangón en el mundo. Camoens nos cuenta muchísimo de la historia del Portugal naciente, pasando por diversos reyes como Alfonso Henriquez, los Juan y muchos otros que contribuyeron con el engrandecimiento en la península ibérica, la libertad frente a la poderosa España y muchos episodios históricos, románticos o de grandes hazañas.
Todo esto Camoens lo hace según un patrón muy común en la épica, como puede ser el uso del relato del héroe para hablar de la historia de su país, el uso de cuadros o figuras para resaltar hazañas bélicas, las embajadas a reyes, y un largo etcétera. Sin embargo, creo que Camoens innova en muchos aspectos y da luces de originalidad y sobre todo capacidad sin igual para poder fundir la tradición grecorromana con la modernidad de los hechos históricos, crear relatos que pareciesen continúan las historias de Venus, Baco, Júpiter, pues ellos son actores activos en esta épica, otros eventos novedosos, insertar ahí mismo la historia de Portugal, contar episodios nacionales cargados de patetismo o heroísmo. Todo ello me gustó y me parece muy destacable.
Hay sin embargo varios aspectos que no me hacen ponerle la máxima calificación, entre ellos la escueta descripción de los descubrimientos hechos, de las costumbres, de los habitantes y de la acción en general. Vasco da Gama el llamado a ser el principal de la historia, no tiene mayor notoriedad, no se le describe ni se le ensalza casi. Las acciones aparecen un poco desdibujadas y quizás hay exceso de reivindicar a los reyes de Portugal. Hablan de mucha grandeza comparándola con los grandes héroes y semidioses de la antigüedad pero no se halla en los sucesos que se cuentan. El lenguaje así mismo no sólo es erudito sino enrevesado y un poco complicado.
Me gustó mucho y por supuesto me animará a conocer más de esa etapa de la nación lusa.

[Paul Haspel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lusitania was the Roman name for Portugal – hundreds of years before it was the name of an ill-fated 20th-century ocean liner – and it is from that Roman name that Luís Vaz de Camões takes the name for his 1572 work, The Lusiads. Os Lusíadas, as The Lusiads is called in the original Portuguese, is the national poem of Portugal, and any reader with an interest in Portuguese history and culture will benefit from taking up this book.

As the author of the country’s national epic, Camões (1524-80) is a hero throughout Portugal. A brave and steadfast soldier, he lost an eye in battle with the Moors, during an engagement in what is now Morocco in 1550. His eventful life took him to many outposts of Portugal’s then-growing trade empire – from Goa in India to Macau in China – and to combat in Egypt and shipwreck in Cambodia as well; and therefore, when he wrote in The Lusiads about the rigours of travel and the perils of war, he knew whereof he wrote.

The historical backdrop for the action of The Lusiads is Vasco da Gama’s voyage around southern Africa’s Cape of Good Hope to India, and back, between 1497-99. When da Gama made his voyage successfully, it meant that seaborne trade between Europe and Asia no longer had to pass through the Muslim kingdoms of the Middle East, paying tributes and taxes to Muslim rulers all the way along. This maritime “end run” around the Middle East, while it promised rich profits to Portuguese merchants and healthy revenues for the Portuguese crown, was not likely to encourage warm feelings among the Muslim powers who stood to lose all that revenue; and perhaps such factors work with feelings of religious rivalry to explain why Christian-Muslim conflict is such an important theme of The Lusiads.

What may surprise a first-time reader of The Lusiads most is the way in which mythological deities of classical Rome play an important role in the epic. In composing his poem, Camões drew upon classical models, with particular emphasis on Virgil’s Aeneid; and just as the Roman love goddess Venus protects her son Aeneas in Virgil’s poem, so Venus works to protect da Gama and his crew in Camões’ work. Meanwhile, the wine-god Bacchus emerges as an antagonist, determined to foil da Gama’s plans to lead Portugal to world-power status. When da Gama’s crew, having successfully rounded the Cape of Good Hope, arrives in Mozambique and begins establishing trade relations with the people there, Bacchus is enraged:

“Fate has decreed that these Portuguese shall win mighty victories over the peoples of India. Am I, the son of Jupiter, and in myself so nobly endowed, to tolerate that another shall be exalted by destiny and my own name eclipsed? Once before, the gods willed that one Alexander should wield power in those regions and by might of arms reduce them to his yoke. But it is not sufferable that this handful of men should be gifted with such skill and daring that alike Alexander and Trajan and I should have to give way to the name of Portugal.” (p. 50)

And with that, Bacchus performs a Loki-like transformation and, disguised as an ordinary Mozambican, begins stirring up the Mozambican people against the Portuguese! Fortunately (from the Portuguese point of view), da Gama and his men are more than able to defend themselves from this treacherous attack.

Eventually, da Gama’s fleet arrives at Malindi, on the coast of modern Kenya, and the king there receives them hospitably and asks them to tell their story. This provides the opportunity for an extended flashback like the one through which Odysseus in the Odyssey relays the tale of his adventures at the court of King Alcinous of Phaeacia.

In this case, however, what da Gama is relating is the Portuguese history of that time – always from a patriotically Portuguese point of view, as when he tells of the success of King João I in maintaining Portugal’s independence from Castile in the Battle of Aljubarrota in 1385. It all sounds very classical when da Gama, courtesy of Camões, tells the king of Malindi that “João for his part was nothing daunted, his strength welling up from his heart as Samson’s from his hair” (p. 104), as he prepares to lead his outnumbered Portuguese forces into battle. Spoiler alert: the Portuguese win the Battle of Aljubarrota, and “The king of Castile recognized his defeat, abandoned his purpose, and left the field to the victor, content not to be leaving behind his life as well” (p. 110).

The king of Malindi, impressed by all that he has heard regarding Portuguese courage and valour, decides to help the Portuguese, offering da Gama and his men the aid of his best navigator. But Bacchus is still determined to wreck da Gama’s mission, and enlists the aid of the sea-god Neptune in stirring up the waves against the Portuguese voyagers. Any reader of the Odyssey, remembering Poseidon’s implacable anger against the homeward-bound Odysseus, will not be surprised to find that Neptune’s rage against the Portuguese is comparably easy to unleash – providing a convenient explanation for the stormy seas that da Gama and his mariners often faced on their historic voyage.

The never-quite-fully-resolved tensions between classical mythology and Roman Catholic Christianity as literary and philosophical underpinnings of The Lusiads are on full display in the prayer that da Gama offers up when Neptune’s sea storm has reached its highest fury:

“Divine Providence,” he implored, “fount of mercy, Lord of earth and sea and sky, who didst lead thy chosen people across the Red Sea to safety, didst deliver St. Paul from the perils of wave and quicksand, and didst preserve Noah and his sons from the flood when no one else was saved: if we have already come safely through other fearsome dangers, having known our own Scylla and Charybdis, our own shoals and quicksands, our own ill-famed Acroceraunian rocks, why after so many travails dost thou now forsake us, if this our undertaking offend thee not, to whose glory alone it is directed?” (p. 156)

Fortunately for da Gama, as he invokes the aid of the Christian God, the Roman goddess of love is already hastening to his assistance. Venus’ idea for rescuing the Portuguese from the wrath of the wind gods is a simple one: she sends out beautiful nymphs, assigning each one to visit the wind god who is enamoured of her, and the lovestruck wind gods are only too happy to moderate the force of their storm winds. In The Lusiads – as, no doubt, in the royal court of 16th-century Portugal – it clearly helps to have friends in high places.

Spoiler alert: Da Gama’s Portuguese fleet makes it safely home. And in another jarringly classical moment, Venus decides that the homeward-bound Portuguese mariners deserve a reward proportional to their sufferings, and therefore

decided to prepare for them, there in mid-ocean, a magic island beauteous with flowers and verdure….There she would have the loveliest of the ocean nymphs await the brave fellows, to enchant their eyes and vanquish their hearts with their singing and dancing; for she was proposing to work secretly on the nymphs’ affections and predispose each to a readier will to please whichever of the Portuguese should catch her fancy. (p. 203)

Camões subsequently describes, in rich and sensual language, the passionate love that drew the sailors and the nymphs together. These passages from The Lusiads might not have won the approval of some of Portugal’s Catholic hierarchy, but the lush romantic-fantasy element of it all no doubt appealed to many other readers.

Some features of The Lusiads may sometimes make for uneasy reading. Camões’ portrayal of most of the Muslim characters in the book, for example, made me think of the unfavourable way in which some of the tales of the 1001 Nights portray Byzantine Christians. Most of the Muslim characters in The Lusiads are depicted as deceitful and treacherous – with the notable exception of one decent and honourable Muslim who helps da Gama and his crew, and ends up converting to Christianity! In short, this book is not going to win an Interfaith Award for Ecumenical Understanding anytime soon.

Yet The Lusiads provides a valuable insight into the Portuguese mind at a time when that small Iberian nation was enjoying what is still known in Portugal as a idade de ouro, the Golden Age. I read Camões’ work on a trip to Portugal; and from Braga to Figueira da Foz to Coimbra to Sintra, I saw images of a soldier in armour, with one eye missing - unmistakably, Camões, still holding a place of honour among the Portuguese people.

Similarly, at the harbour of Lisbon, I saw the massive Padrão dos Descobrimentos, the Monument to the Discoveries. Looking out upon the Tagus River, Prince Henry the Navigator stands at the prow of the ship-shaped monument, holding a ship model that symbolizes his lifelong commitment to maritime exploration; behind him, on the "deck" of the monument, under billowing sails, stand various Portuguese explorers - including Camões. To understand the spirit of exploration that, for a time, made Portugal a formidable world power – a spirit that many people of modern Portugal still take great pride in – one would do well to read The Lusiads.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good friend on GR sent me a list of the top books to read from Portugal. Top of the list was the most famous poem in Portuguese history, Os Lusíadas. As I asked for a copy, the woman in the bookstore looked at me very puzzled and said it's got some hard parts. It took me awhile to build up my language skills, and as the snow fell outside my window, I was transported to far off lands.

It was absolutely amazing read. This is a poetic story of Vasco de Gama and his quest to find a route around the cape of Africa to India in 1497-98. I am tempted to say "this is the story of a bunch a guys in some boats, setting out for adventure and getting involved with some nymphs" but my Portuguese friends may unfriend me. So I will be serious.

Luís de Camões published the book in 1572. He wrote ten cantos, each consisting of about 100 8-line stanzas, in the decasyllabic form with a rhyming system ABABABCC. Now what impressed me was the fluidity of this style-the words flow like a song. The man knew his Homer and Virgil. Not just for references but for the melody. He even used repeated lines making me wonder if is meant to be sung? Just my thoughts.

Further to the story of Vasco de Gama, this is the story of Portugal as well. So it's importance to the Portugal people is well stated. Both men were laid to rest in beautiful Jerónimos Monastery in Belém and that was something to see.

What impressed me was how well-versed was Camões. Sure, one can say he borrowed heavily from the past but most artists do this. It's how one handles what is borrowed that makes it art. Often he relies on telling stories, like a great bard does, and so on one hand we are hearing about the plight of the sailors, the next we are hearing about the Adamastor; one hand we hear about the scouts coming across a fake altar to Bacchus, the next Venus is asking for Jupiter's help. We move between Greco-Roman gods, nymphs like Calliope and Thetis to Christian and Muslim beliefs. Homer and Virgil are his mainstays but even his descriptions of battles take on a medieval aside. In fact there is even an ekphrasis comparison of the beautiful nymphs to garden foliage that is borrowed from the romance novel. And of course he is contemporary of Shakespeare and Cervantes. An awful lot going on in one tale.

Yet through it all, I must thank the publishers for their insightful explanations at the beginning of each cantos, as well as the numerous references easily explained. This is a beautiful book. Perhaps that bookstore person was worried about all those names? The Greco-Roman world I was familiar with; the Portuguese history I am grateful for because that I am lacking.

Lastly, this is a travel book. Yes sounds rather odd, but Camões takes us literally around the world. He himself traveled as far east as Cambodia. The Magellan reference points out the Portuguese were actively getting around in the decades after Vasco de Gama. Yes one can address the issue of colonization, but this is a grand poem like all those grand poems. If you keep it in the context of the time it was written, it presents a remarkable story.

So glad for the recommendation and something to take away the image of snow in January. And I hope I didn't offend any of my Portuguese friends. You have a marvellous history.

Podeis-vos embarcar, que tendes vento
E mar tranquilo, para a pátria amada
(X, 143)

[tiago. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tenho pena de quem não fala português e não pode ler esta obra na sua máxima glória. Através de dez cantos não existe uma única falha que macule a perfeição da composição, que tão influente foi na cultura portuguesa. Às vezes passa desapercebido o grau do impacto dos Lusíadas, que tirou a lenda dos "Doze de Inglaterra" do esquecimento e deu a "Pedro e Inês" o estatuto de maior estória de amor portuguesa.

Enfim, nesta avaliação sobram palavras - é Camões e basta! 5 estrelas, sem dúvida alguma.

[K.D. Absolutely · Rating 3 out of 5]

This 1572 epic poem tells the story of the voyage of Vasco de Gama particularly his pioneering route from Portugal to India. You see, during De Gama's time Portugal was a world superpower rivaling Spain and many nations around the world became their colonized territories. They spread Christianity and they searched endlessly for spices to make their cooking more palatable.

For two months now, I have been attending technical workshops with my teammates in the US. Since we have a 13-hour difference, their normal working hours are my normal sleeping hours. However, since I am just alone in the team working here in Manila, I have to adjust to their time. I still report to the office during my normal 8-5 schedule, escape to the nearby gym (to work out), bookstore (to book hunt), coffee shop (to read) and come back to the office just in time for the workshop. I listen attentively to the presenter and participate in the discussion whenever I can. However, Americans (apologize if I am stereotyping) really want to talk and express themselves and since they are all in the room, sometimes they spend a lot of talking and I get bored. Good that my workstation has two monitors so I flash Project Gutenberg in one of them (while the other one has the presentation) and search for the 1001 books that I still do not have. Last December, I started from the bottom of the list, i.e., the oldest book, and a number of them were not in Gutenberg, but this one was. So, I read this book while my American teammates were debating. Did I think I miss anything? Did I compromise my chance of engaging in debates because I spent time reading De Camoes? No. The day after when I get a copy of the workshop deck, I read all the documents and spend less than an hour getting all the agreements and decision. I also did not miss anything because I was listening to the arguments while my eyes are following the lines in this interesting epic poem. Multi-tasking anyone? Not to mention that De Camoes helped me keep awake in all those nights!

I spent time telling you how I managed to read this old old book because my situation parallels that of De Gama's. I am India and my American teammates are Portugal. The project that we are doing is like that historic route. We are working on how to improve things in our vast organization. As the conquerors, they have all the ideas in their heads and as the conquered I, most of the time, just keep my piece but support them all the way. However, since they don't see me and since my head normally spins because of lack of sleep, I have to help myself, right? It is not a case of when the cat is away but I am sure that, just like the Philippines, India had its own civilization when the Portuguese came and so the latter's, just like Spain's for the Philippines, claim that they bought civilization to that country was all baloney. Yes, Rudyard Kipling has once wrote: "Oh East is east and west is west and never the twain shall meet" and technology has changed all that. But still, I can go to Project Gutenberg and gosh over the Roman gods and goddesses arguing and fighting over what to do about the poor yet funny Vasco de Gama and his Portuguese men.

I am fond of history but not really big on mythology so I am rating this book with 3 stars. If you are both into these two, there's a chance that you will really enjoy reading this book. Good luck!

[Joana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Esta é a terceira vez que estudo esta obra. Porém é a primeira que a leio na íntegra.
Ainda não sou capaz de escrever uma "crítica", uma "opinião". Apenas consigo dizer que Camões era um génio e que as entrelinhas e personagens que ele criou mostram uma grande consciência social, política, bem como um brilhantismo literário!
Para quem nunca leu a obra na íntegra o meu conselho é: Leiam. Não se deixem ficar pelas análises redutoras do ensino secundário. Leiam, raleiem e aproveitem o grande brilhantismo e mestria de Luís Vaz de Camões.

[Edita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again the nymph exalts her brow, again
Her swelling voice resounds the lofty strain:
"Almeyda comes, the kingly name he bears,
Deputed royalty his standard rears:
In all the gen'rous rage of youthful fire
The warlike son attends the warlike sire.
Quiloa's blood-stain'd tyrant now shall feel
The righteous vengeance of the Lusian steel.
Another prince, by Lisbon's throne belov'd,
Shall bless the land, for faithful deeds approv'd.
[...]
"How calm the waves, how mild the balmy gale!
The halcyons call; ye Lusians, spread the sail;
Old ocean, now appeas'd, shall rage no more.
Haste, point the bowsprit to your native shore:
Soon shall the transports of the natal soil
O'erwhelm, in bounding joy, the thoughts of ev'ry toil."

[Cat .classics]

Era mesmo eu que ia dar pontuação ao Camões! 🤣🤣

[Lauh - Random Utopias · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know, I don't even care if other people don't consider this a master piece, I don't care I had to study this at school, I don't care people look at me weird in the subway when they realize I'm reading The Lusiads and I certainly don't care about those people that say this is boring and stupid just because they don't understand it.
This is a master piece. Period.

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me assure the Goodreads community that I regard Camoes' Lusiads as a certifiable five star classic. As a unique entry into the genre of Renaissance epic and a celebration of events that pointed the way to modern global trade, Camoes' epic deserves the attention of Early Modern scholars and of the wider reading public. Of the poem's lasting worth I am well convinced; however, I considered awarding four stars to Landeg White's translation. This edition of the Lusiads is truly a wonderful volume, with an introduction and commentary that attest to White's diligent scholarship. White's verse translation even provides a clever alternative to literal prose translations and stubborn attempts to preserve Camoes' Ottava Rima.

I only regret that this modern version lacks something of the poetic force and epic grandeur of the older translations by Richard Fanshawe in the Seventeenth Century and William Mickle in the Eighteenth. Of course, these translations are still around for anyone who cares to read them (and I recommend you do!). But White himself acknowledges the difficulty of matching the splendor of these translations in the final sentence of his introduction: "The sublime is not easy to render in modern English, but I hope I have done enough to give an inkling of the great sweep of Camoes's narrative, with its endless variety of incident and description, its openness to the wonders of the natural world...and underlying all, its note of elegy for achievements already fading, already requiring the pageantry of poetry's surprise" (xx). White has reason to feel satisfaction for his new translation of this ignored classic.

[João Vaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Portugal existe porque existiu e existiu porque Camões o salvaguardou na sua memória, ..." - Eduardo Lourenço.

Os Lusíadas, a nossa Bíblia.

[Vicky Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reining in the Planet:
Portuguese Epic of a Discovery Voyage

The Lusiads of Camões is a 450 year old epic poem that tells of the discovery of a route to India by the Portuguese. In this sea voyage tale, Luís de Camões blends history with mythology in an epic work of poetry that is made to resemble the ancient Greek epics. While waxing poetic in a way that masters the original Portuguese, Camões gives us a scenic view of his travels with da Gama. It can be said to be the crowning achievement of Portuguese literature today. And this discovery was a pinnacle of achievement for connecting continents at a time when men were looking out towards the solar system with new eyes.

"This is the great machine of the Universe."

By laying modern discovery voyages alongside Homer's and Virgil's depictions of the ancient Greek travels of the Mediterranean; the poet contrasts modern reality with the imagination of the ancients. He also contrasts the 'Roman' and the Christian visions of the world. He gives us views that explore the physical world, the intellectual landscape, and the philosophical mind of man.

"We saw new heavens, less sparkling
And, for lack of stars, less beautiful
Nearing the pole, where no one comprehends
If a continent begins or the sea ends."

It is a masterpiece of geography and history told from the perspective of one nation. I read it in the English translation by Landeg White. The book is not easy to find. I obtained this paperback copy from the Rome (Georgia) library, using interlibrary loan. I don't know a lot about the different translations, but I have scanned parts of the old Burton translation. I felt like this modern one by White is easier to enjoy and understand. That's just my uninformed opinion though. Whichever you choose, this is a work well worth 'discovering', as it should have been read in schools around the world. Despite the shrinking globe, there seems to remain vast oceans between the Francophone, the Anglophone, and the Lusophone (Portuguese speaking) worlds. And, they are not that far apart.

[Oziel Bispo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Os lusíadas é um poema épico de Camões que narra as conquistas do explorador Português Vasco da Gama no seu caminho para as Índias
Considerado o maior poema épico da língua portuguesa, o texto, publicado por Camões em 1572, tem nas suas estrofes, os mitos, as figuras e os momentos históricos de Portugal. Inês de Castro, D. Afonso Henriques, D. Nuno Álvares Pereira e muitos outros compõem o quadro de exaltação dos portugueses nos 10 cantos e 1102 estrofes.
Uma obra-prima de um gênio que teve uma vida cheia de desgraças e morreu na miséria.

[Miriam Cihodariu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this long epic poem little by little, savoring it and trying to understand (or research, if needed) all the references. I had the privilege of reading most of it while travelling through Portugal, though I started it a bit before. I loved almost all of it and it's really impressive, especially considering how old the poem is.

To be able to truly feel it, any reader should understand the context in which it was written. Portugal was more or less at the height of its power, having discovered (and colonized) new parts of the world and having pushed the boundaries of the known world by a great deal. This was done in an age long before political correctness or humanitarian concerns shed a more thoughtful light on colonization. Hence, the tone of the poem is completely celebratory. Luis de Camoes is a proud Portuguese man, in awe of the might of his country which is at the height of its power.

At the same time, he admires the classic beauty and greatness of other empires, especially of the classic Antiquity, and strives to place Portugal among them. Because of this, the poem is written mostly from the perspective of the Greek/Roman gods, which are aware of the feats accomplished by the children of Lusus (the Lusitans or the Portuguese), and are proud of them or debate these feats, but only to a reverent conclusion.

This frame of storytelling is used to recount the most important moments of the Portuguese people, from a mythical nascent time and to actual historic events, up to the 1500s when the author lived and died. The touching tale of Ines de Castro, the details regarding how the other European nations were viewed, the occasional reference to the Belem quarter of Lisbon where the ships were moored, it all made me so giddy while reading :). I'm happy for finding this really beautiful English translation and adding it to my library.

Some of my favorite bits:
'But him opposed Venus, lovely fair,
whose heart her Lusian sons had won the more,
since in them seen the qual'ties high and rare,
the gifts that deckt her Romans dear of yore:
The heart of valour, and the potent star,
whose splendour dazzled Tingitanan shore;
and e'en the musick of their speech appears
soft bastard Latin to her loving ears.'
...........
'My years glide downwards, and my Summer's pride
mergeth in Autumn, passing, ah! how soon;
Fortune my Genius chills, and loves to chide
my Poet-soul no more my boast and boon:
Hopes long deferred bear me to the tide
of black Oblivion, and eternal Swoon:
But deign to grant me thou, the Muses' Queen,
to praise my People with my proper Strain!'

[Louisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Para conhecer a literatura e história portuguesa, onde melhor começar do que com a epopeia Os Lusíadas? É surpreendente a facilidade com que Camões escreveu sobre a história de Portugal, descrevendo em detalhes a tragédia de Inês de Castro, o cerco de Lisboa de 1147 em que os cruzados ajudaram o rei Afonso para expulsar os mouros; a batalha de Badajoz, em 1169, onde o mesmo rei Afonso teve a má sorte de quebrar a perna, e muito mais - e tudo isso enquanto se encontrava num barco em caminho para a Índia sem qualquer acesso a uma biblioteca.
Imagino que todos temos as nossas passagens favoritas... Eu gosto muito destas linhas sobre o cerco de Badajoz:

Que estando na cidade, que cercara,
Cercado nela foi dos Lioneses,
Porque a conquista dela lhe tomara,
De Lião sendo, e não dos Portugueses.
A pertinácia aqui lhe custa cara,
Assim como acontece muitas vezes,
Que em ferros quebra as pernas, indo aceso
A batalha, onde foi vencido e preso.

Vasco da Gama era um bruto e não merece os elogios e admiração que Camões lhe concede nesta obra. No entanto, a poesia de Os Lusíadas é sublime, não há nada que compara com isso na literatura portuguesa.

[Alberony Martínez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Si les digo, que tuve momento que quise interrumpir esta lectura, para nada le engaño, es un texto que de algún forma debe tener una predisposición, saber con anterioridad como esta escrito dicho libro. Ahora, con esto no digo que sea un texto difícil su lectura, sino por las muchas herramientas en el plano histórico y personajes, pues Luís de Camões remodelando el mito de Lusus, un oscuro hijo de Baco mencionado por Plinio, a fin de llevar dos propósitos: explicar la etimología de las palabras Lusitania, la antigua provincia romana utilizada como sinónimo de Portugal y Lisiadas, los descendiente de Luso concreto este poema épico. Y a la vez, pone en marcha el marco narrativo del viaje de Vasco de Gama a la India.
La tendencia Europea temprana reflejó ser un modelo para Camões quien compite con Ovidio y Plinio, dos principios básicos del resurgimiento clásico en la Europa moderna temprana, para crear una metamorfosis más grande que la vida: el Adamastor Gigante, convertido en piedra en el extremo inferior de África, cuya autobiografía es la etiología del Cabo de Buena Esperanza.



Es un texto que en el ínterin del tiempo sufrió mutilaciones y alteraciones. Esto que acabo de decir nos da rastro para decir que sufrió censuras por la parte de las ediciones portuguesas, más no lo vemos en las traducciones españolas, excepto algunas alteraciones de índoles sustitutivas de los neologismos del original por términos mas patrimoniales para su fácil comprensión .

Para no hacerle el cuento más largo, lo que nos escribe Luís de Camões son las proezas del pueblo portugués, teniendo a Vasco de Gama como artifice de esas proezas en sus viajes desde Lisboa hasta Calculta. La mitologia griega, la historia de Roma son elementos que adorna la epica del renancetista Camões, un Baco, Venus, Jupiter interviniendo en el desarrollo de los acontecimientos. Considerada como la obra maestra de la literatura portuguesa compuesta en diez cantos de tamaño variable dividida en octavas reales.

Creo que este libro tendra alguna re-lectura mas luego…. Para sentirme mas a gusto….

[Flo · Rating 2 out of 5]

...
O piteous lot of man's uncertain state!
What woes on Life's unhappy journey wait!
When joyful Hope would grasp its fond desire,
The long-sought transports in the grasp expire.
By sea what treach'rous calms, what rushing storms,
And death attendant in a thousand forms!
By land what strife, what plots of secret guile,
How many a wound from many a treach'rous smile!
Oh where shall man escape his num'rous foes,
And rest his weary head in safe repose!

Having read a fantastic and engaging epic as The Odyssey, I can say now that I shouldn't have read The Lusiads right afterwards. I kept bouncing between a sense of admiration and one of imitation that oozed from every canto, and soon lost all interest to the point of having a chore to finish, a lyrical obstacle that prevented me from reading the next book of this course (that so far has been awesome and I'm never doing it again).
As for the translation, I read it in Spanish and the somewhat archaic language didn't help me overcome my sense of boredom.


Feb 24, 18
* Actual rating: 2.5, but I don't discard the possibility of a second reading in the future - there might be spacesuits by then though, but I should reread this someday without any vestige of Homer's influence.
** Maybe later on my blog.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe I've been to Portugal twice without having read the Portuguese national epic. This is a wonderful tale. The darkest aspects of imperialism and religious conflict are here, cloaked in glory. But the courage of the small groups of men who sailed the Portuguese caravels to unknown corners of the world is also lauded. The story is dressed like The Odyssey, filled with classical gods and nymphs, especially Venus, looking out for her Portuguese, and Bacchus, equally determined to destroy them for taking the luster off his own deeds, not to take away from the fact that part of the purpose of the Portuguese expansion was to spread the Good News of Christianity. Da Gama and his men are even rewarded near the end with the relief of a pleasure island, which sounds much like Madeira, from what I have read. And Camoens was right there, living all this, not sitting in his study. Camoens's criticism of corruption in government and the pursuit of wealth above all else is applicable to our own day. Atkinson's prose translation was very readable. There's a good introduction, but not a footnote in the whole thing. The translation is sixty years old, still in print in Penguin Classics. (I was reading an old paperback that belonged to my father.) I will read this again.

[Thomé Freyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

O que é que um pobre mortal pode criticar n'Os Lusíadas? Seria torpe veleidade sequer aspirar a tal!Apenas quero acrescentar que, quem não gosta do acme da literatura portuguesa, das duas uma, ou não é Português ou o não compreende. Se for este último o caso, tem bom remédio, siga o exemplo dos nautas cantados no livro, que enfrentando mares revoltos, monstros e tormentas, foram por esse mundo fora, combater as trevas da ignorância, conhecendo e dando a conhecer. E grande perfídia seria também a minha, se não lesse Os Lusíadas, pois que o meu mais ilustre conterrâneo, Gil Eanes, foi o primeiro a navegar por mares nunca dantes navegados. (Penso que a melhor altura da vida, para se ler a obra, é quando surgem na barba os primeiros fios brancos).

[Bárbara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Eu sei que me devia sentir mal por só dar uma estrela a isto, mas convenhamos: é uma imitação barata de clássicos gregos; está escrito de uma forma tão rígida, sempre com as mesmas sílabas e número de versos, que se calhar o próprio Camões gostaria de ter dito outra coisa nalgumas situações; e é mais uma das obras que contribui para a tão conhecida mentalidade do "ai coitadinhos de nós um dia tivemos um país tão grandioso".
Não me sinto mal, não.

[Luís Branco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sem dúvida uma obra espetacular. É impossível dimensionar a capacidade intelectual de Luís de Camões até lermos esta obra. Sua capacidade ultrapassa os limites da poética e alcança os limites da história, da mitologia grega, romana e indiana. Além do seu profundo conhecimento da história e da cultura do seu povo. O livro revela o orgulho deste lusitano em ser português.

[Sadako Yamamura · Rating 1 out of 5]

Back when white supremacist views were the norm, a wannabe Virgil (who in turn was a wannabe Homer) wrote this awful propaganda book promoting imperialism.

[Dev · Rating 3 out of 5]

No quiero volver a verlo en mi vida.
(Libro obligatorio)

[Paul Haspel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Lusiads is the Portuguese national epic, and its author, Luís Vaz de Camões, is a national hero throughout Portugal. When you travel in Portugal and see a painting or statue of a man in medieval armor with one eye closed, you can pretty much count on it being a painting or statue of Camões, who lost an eye as a Portuguese soldier. The Lusiads tells a story of Vasco da Gama successfully making his way around Cape Horn and voyaging to India to begin the creation of Portugal's overseas colonial empire. In Camões's vision of the Da Gama expedition, the explorer achieves this success for Portugal and Christianity in spite of bitter opposition from Muslim warlords and rulers in both East Africa and India. As for Camões's attitude toward Islam, suffice it to say that pretty much every Muslim in the book is evil and treacherous, except for one decent and honorable Muslim who ends up helping Da Gama and converting to Christianity! In other words, this book is not going to receive an Interfaith Award for Ecumenical Understanding anytime soon. It is also interesting to note that, because Camões seems to have wished to display his classical education, pre-Christian deities of ancient Rome, like Bacchus and Venus, play a prominent role in mortal doings the same way they do in the works of Homer and Virgil - rather jarring in a book that makes so much of its commitment to Roman Catholic Christianity. Bacchus in particular is quite an antagonist of Da Gama and crew, constantly stirring up the Muslims of various kingdoms to try to destroy the Portuguese Christian heroes of the book. The Lusiads is not an easy read by any means, but it does provide an interesting insight into the self-image of Portugal just as that small Iberian nation was entering what is still called its Golden Age.

[Pedro Pacheco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sendo um livro tão português, não faria sentido, como português que sou, escrever uma opinião noutra língua que não fosse a camoniana. E é assim que a língua portuguesa é conhecida, como a língua de Camões, porque se de outra maneira fosse, ainda estaríamos a falar latim ou, quem sabe, espanhol ou italiano. É que Camões não só criou o português moderno (que, ainda assim, foi evoluindo ao longo dos anos), como também criou a maior obra da literatura desta ocidental praia lusitana. "Os Lusíadas" são, por excelência, a grande obra do nosso cânone e quem a ler perceberá porquê.
"Os Lusíadas" é um livro relativamente pequeno: na minha edição nem às 300 páginas chega, é todo escrito em verso (muito menos texto por página) e, quando comparado com outros poemas épicos, é considerado curto. No entanto, isso não significa que não seja uma besta difícil de domar: é que com 10 Cantos, cerca de 100 estrofes cada, todas com 8 versos, cada verso com 10 sílabas métricas, Camões propõem-se a cantar não só os feitos de um herói, Vasco da Gama, mas de todo o seu povo, os portugueses, relatando não só a história da demanda dos Descobrimentos mas ainda da história do seu país, tudo articulado com mitologia greco-latina e reflexões do poeta que, de vez em vez, se oferece para dar conselhos ao leitor ou criticar o que mal no mundo está.
Ler "Os Lusíadas" é embarcar numa viagem única, é enfrentar o Adamastor e o perigo do desconhecido, é sobreviver aos perigos de Baco e agradecer o amor de Vénus, é ouvir o Velho do Restelo e contactar com novos povos pela primeira vez, é sentir a gratificação de atingir um objectivo que parece impossível e ser recompensado pela bravura na Ilha dos Amores.

[Czarny Pies · Rating 4 out of 5]

This long narrative poem of the 17th Century which recounts the epic voyages of Vasco da Gama is It is a truly a thing of wonder. It includes a history of Portugal, a war with the Muslims, a description of Neptune's Palace, a description of Vasco da Gama's voyage to India, the devastation of scurvy, the experience of seeing St. Elmo's fire, the sighting of the Southern Cross, and many other aspects of da Gama's extraordinary career.

Being a work of the Renaissance, the personages and motifs Classical antiquity are everywhere. The author's own declares at the beginning that his work is modelled on the Iliad and the Odyssey. He includes a visit to Neptune's palace on Da Gama's. The gods of antiquity supportively watch as Da Gama wins a great victory for Christianity. These apparent intrusions into the 17th Century by the figures of Greek and Roman mythology might seem odd to the modern reader but was standard fare for the Renaissance.

There is much to be gained by reading the Lusiad. It may provide insight into how the Portuguese view their own history. Its real value is that it is simply a great work of literature according to the stylistic canons of the Renaissance which was one of Europe's greatest cultural eras.