With reckless confidence, Portugal was discussing art. Would anyone dare to crush her, while she was venerating the arts? She had unveiled all her glories. Would anyone dare to crush her, amid her wonders? She flaunted her great men. With no army and no cannons, she had pitted all her stone sentries against the invaders’ ironware: her poets, her explorers, her conquistadors. Lacking army or cannons, Portugal’s entire past blocked the way. Would anyone dare to crush her, as she brandished the legacy of her glorious history?
