Gomes Eannes de Zurara

“ The great men of the fifteenth century, formed in the school of the Infant Don Henry, were unquestionably possessed of great erudition for those times—an erudition and knowledge which at first eludes observation, through being muffled up in the rudeness of a language without polish, and which was more energetic in action than explicit and agreeable in writing, but it is nevertheless clear that they knew all that was known in their age. ”

“ But being satisfied of the peril, and seeing no hope of honour or profit, they left off the attempt. For, said the mariners, this much is clear, that beyond this Cape there is no race of men nor place of inhabitants: nor is the land less sandy than the deserts of Libya, where there is no water, no tree, no green herb—and the sea so shallow that a whole league from land it is only a fathom deep, while the currents are so terrible that no ship having once passed the Cape, will ever be able to return. ”

“ For they turned upon our men as they were carrying off the booty, and attacked them so boldly that there were some there who would willingly have left a part of that spoil to any who would have secured them from destruction. But that bold and good esquire Diego Gonçalvez, forgetting not his courage, stoutly took a crossbow from the hands of one of those archers there, and also the bolts and quiver, and placing himself among our men shot at the Canarians; and so much did he toil in the using of his arrows that in a very brief space he killed seven of those enemies. ”

“ I hear the prayers of the innocent souls of those barbarous peoples, almost infinite in number, whose ancient race since the beginning of the world hath never seen the divine light, but who are now by thy genius, by thy infinite expense, and by thy great labours, brought into the true path of salvation, washed in the waters of baptism, anointed with the holy oil, and freed from that wretched abode of theirs, knowing at this present what darkness lay concealed under the semblance of light in the days of their ancestors. ”

“ The Infant drank wine only for a very small part of his life, and that in his youth, but afterwards he abstained entirely from it. He always shewed great devotion to the public affairs of these kingdoms, toiling greatly for their good advancement, and much he delighted in the trial of new essays for the profit of all, though with great expense of his own substance. And so he keenly enjoyed the labour of arms, and especially against the enemies of the holy faith, while he desired peace with all Christians. Thus he was loved by all alike, for he made himself useful to all and hindered no one. ”

“ And this surmise was not confined to a few, but prevailed throughout the greater part of the rank and file. "Friends," said the captains, "it is for war, and for war alone, that we are come to this land; and this being so, we must not be timid, for if we fight our battle by day it will be much more to our honour than if we fight by night—attacking the Moors of this island, and expelling them, by sheer force of arms rather than by any cunning or stratagem. ”

“ For he took no small delight in finding the means to profit all. Where could you find another human body that would endure the toil he underwent in arms, a toil that was but scantly diminished in the time of peace? Certainly I believe that if fortitude could be depicted, it would encounter its true form in his face and members, for he did not prove himself strong in some matters only, but in all. And what courage, what endurance, could be greater than that of the man who is victor over himself? ”

“ The Moors are here, just ready to move away. They are more in number than we: if you will only labour the victory is ours. Strengthen your hearts and make your feet swift, for on the first encounter will depend the whole of our victory."
It were impossible to tell how great was the exultation then felt by all, for scarcely had Lançarote finished these words of his when all moved off at a run. Yet so well did they do this that they moved without noise till they were upon the sandhills, but when they arrived there they were not able to control their desires that urged them to cry out. ”

“ Where couldst thou find one so religious, one so catholic, one so prudent, one of so good counsel, one so temperate in all his actions? Where couldst thou light on such magnanimity, such frankness, such humanity, such courage, to support so great and so many toils as his?—for of a surety there was not a man of his time who would have dared to continue in the practice of such severity of life. ”

“ None of the natives had any boats, and there was no good store of harbours. On one island was a mountain, which they reckoned as 30,000 feet high, and on its summit a fortress-like rock, with a mast atop of it rigged with a yard and lateen sail—a manifest proof of enchantment. No wealth was found in any of the islands, and hence perhaps the venture of 1341 was not followed up by Portugal for many years; but it is probable that the results of this year are commemorated in the delineation of the Fortunate Isles upon the Laurentian Portolano of 1351. ”

“ And you who are so busy in making that division of the captives, look with pity upon so much misery; and see how they cling one to the other, so that you can hardly separate them.
And who could finish that partition without very great toil? for as often as they had placed them in one part the sons, seeing their fathers in another, rose with great energy and rushed over to them; the mothers clasped their other children in their arms, and threw themselves flat on the ground with them; receiving blows with little pity for their own flesh, if only they might not be torn from them. ”

“ Returning now to the deed of Gomez Pirez, let us suppose that council to be ended and consider that they are faring on their way, guided by those Moors whose words persuaded them to leave their ship. And it was so, that as they were already going near unto where they were told the village stood, they espied the Moors coming out of their encampment, and Gomez Pirez, catching sight of them, shouted lustily to the others to pursue them. "Run," said he, "for all our victory is in the speed of our feet, as you see that the foemen are beginning to make them ready." ”

“ All the men opposed to us are not sufficient to withstand ten of ours in a fight. For they are but a handful of Moorish knaves, who have never learnt to fight except like beasts, and the first man to be wounded among them will frighten all the others, so that they will not know how to face our arms any longer. Bold indeed would be the men that have their armed ships in the Strait of Ceuta, and through all the Levant Sea, if they were to dread such a hostile gathering as this. ”

“ And what man in his right judgment could trust in the motions of the head, or the signs of the hands, which a Moor made him? Might it not chance, too, that that Moor, for the purpose of getting free, or perchance to get vengeance over his enemies, should show them one thing for another, and (under pretence of bringing them to a place where, on his showing, our people might expect to win a victory) should lead them into the middle of such a host of foes that they would escape little less than dead? Certainly no judgment in the world could think the contrary. ”

“ So Pallenço straightway made ready his pinnace to go on shore, and although the sea was very calm, yet there was a very great surf on the coast which never permitted the pinnace to touch the beach; but he, desirous of finishing what he had begun, said to his company: "You see, my friends, that the roughness of the sea near this coast will not allow us to touch the shore; nevertheless my will would be to land, but as I know not how to swim, it would be folly for me to dare such a thing. ”

“ Then they took counsel about their intended actions and Lançarote began to set forth his reasons in this manner:—"My friends! we have left our land to do service to God and to the Infant our Lord, who may expect from us with good reason some performance to his advantage; both from the bringing up that some of us have had of him; and because we are men of such a kind that very shame should force us to do more and greater things than any who came here before. For with such a fleet, it would be matter for great shame to turn back to Portugal without a worthy booty. ”

“ Then Alvaro Vasquez called Diego Gil, that other esquire of whom we spoke before, for he knew him for a brave man and one of his own upbringing; and they went through the other caravels in such wise that they gathered together those persons whom they thought sufficient for their safety. And all together they went on shore—there being yet some part of the night left for their march—but ere they had pressed on any farther, Alvaro Vasquez, wishful to admonish them, spake unto them thus. ”

“ But how plaintive do I find the people of our nation because I place the testimonies of some other race before theirs. For here in Portugal I meet with great lords, prelates, nobles, widowed ladies, Knights of the Orders of Chivalry, Masters and Doctors of the holy faith, with many graduates of every science, young scholars, companies of esquires, and men of noble breeding, with mechanics and an untold multitude of the people. And some of these shew me towns and castles; others villages and fields; others rich benefices; others great and wealthy farms ”

“ Every work to be perfect requireth to be placed in the ternary number, that is to say, it must have a beginning, a middle, and an end; and for the more perfect understanding of this, it is well we should know that there are three ternaries in the General Universal of the world, and the first of these we call "super-excellent," and we can find no certain name to signify its perfection to us, for it is unknown of sensuality, and common natures cannot understand it; but an obedient faith, with great humility, rendered more lively by the grace of God, placeth in it a steadfast strength. ”

“ How Antam Gonçalvez, and afterwards Nuno Tristam, came before the Infant with their booty.
I cannot behold the arrival of these ships, with the novelty of the gain of those slaves before the face of our Prince, without finding some delight in the same. For meseemeth [pg 51] that I behold before my eyes that pleasure of his, of what kind it would be. For just in so far as things are more desired, and more numerous and heavy labours are undergone for them, so much the greater delight do they bring with them when a man obtaineth them. ”

“ Therefore, my lord, since your Grace gave order to seek for this land of Guinea, you know well how in this place you have fitted out the more part of your armaments, wherein you received all the service that lay in our power. And since, my lord, after the due obedience we must render to the King, your nephew, our lord, we are most chiefly bound to love and serve you, we have been considering some manner in which our service to you may [Pg 148] be of special moment, in such wise that by the desert of our great toil, our honour may be exalted in the memories of the men of future ages. ”

“ I count it as a service that you wish for news of my health, and, thanks be to God, I am well in body as in other respects, though on the sea of this world one is constantly buffeted by its waves, especially as we are all on that plank since the first shipwreck, so that no one is safe until he reaches the true haven that cannot be seen except after this life, to which may it please God to conduct us when He thinks it time, for He is sailor and pilot, and without Him no man may enter there.... ”

“ The news of this sight ran through all the caravels, as they came up one after another, and in this all received great pleasure, and especially the common people, in that they saw the captains had taken their determination to attempt the enterprise, and would not now be hindered by the non-arrival of the others, as hath been written above. And as people who did not know how to conceal their gladness, they made their instruments to sound, and raised chants, and so fell to eating and drinking as men full of good confidence of victory. ”

“ Speak to us, for we traverse the lands and encircle the circumference of the Earth, and know the Courts of Princes and the houses of great lords. Know that thou wilt not find another that can equal the excellency of the fame of this man, if thou judgest by a just weight of all that pertains to a great prince. ”

“ How the Infant replied to the men of Lagos, and of the armament that was made ready against the said island.
"Great matters," replied the Infant, "be often disprized where things of small moment are much commended; for better is the mean man who liberally offereth his whole self than the grandee who in niggardly wise tendereth his share. And, moreover, the offering of your good wills is of greater price than the great services of more powerful men, which were not granted me with so good a grace. ”

“ For, as I wrote not many days ago in a letter I sent to the Lord King, that although it be written that the wise man shall be Lord of the stars, and that the courses of the planets (according to the true estimate of the holy doctors) cannot cause the good man to stumble; yet it is manifest that they are bodies ordained in the secret counsels of our Lord God and run by a fixed measure, appointed to different ends, which are revealed to men by his grace, through whose influence bodies of the lower order are inclined to certain passions. ”