Chapter 11

=653. vos=: antiquated for =vosotros=. Don Diego alone is addressed. After =Esperad, que= may be understood; such omissions of the conjunction are common in poetry. Punctuating differently, we might place a period after =Esperad=, in which case =Cuente= might be taken as a first person imperative.

=676. juego=: such is the reading of the 1840 edition. Some later editor emended to =fuego=. Though this emendation is plausible, the change seems to me both unnecessary and unhappy. It is characteristic of Don Félix's cool insolence that he should refer to his affair with Elvira as a "game" rather than as a "passion."

=692.= The Fourth Gambler's remark is somewhat ambiguous, but the sense demands that we take =lo= as referring to Don Félix. Remember that it was the Fourth Gambler who had resented Don Félix's overbearing conduct. He acted the coward and now talks like a coward. The Third Gambler is the most skeptical regarding changes of luck, because he himself has experienced the greatest ups and downs of fortune in the game just finished.

PARTE CUARTA

Miguel de los Santos Álvarez (1818-1892) was a friend and imitator of Espronceda and the last surviving member of his school. He was one of several who attempted the vain task of completing the "Diablo Mundo." He was a guest of honor with Espronceda at the first reading of "El Estudiante de Salamanca" at Granada in 1837. His verse is mediocre, and he is best known for the _Cuento en prosa_ here quoted. This Fitzmaurice-Kelly terms "a charming tale," and Piñeyro praises it for the grace and naturalness of its irony. Rubén Darío gives some interesting reminiscences of Santos Álvarez in his old age, "La vida de Rubén Darío escrita por él mismo", Barcelona, n.d., chap. xxvii. Apparently Santos Álvarez never outgrew the bohemianism of his youth.

The second quotation is from Mark xiv, 38: "The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak."

=693.= The narrative begun in Part First is now resumed at the point where it was interrupted. We now know that it was Don Diego Pastrana who lost his life in the duel described in the opening lines.

=717.= The omission of the usual accent of =impio= is intentional and indicates how the word should be stressed in this verse. =Impío= is a "word of double accentuation". See Introduction.

=729.= Notice how the absolute phrase =Los ojos fijos= is broken by the insertion of the proper name. Poets depart from the usual word-order with the utmost freedom.

=737. néctar jerezano:= sherry wine.

=738, 740. bastara, intentara=: to be translated as pluperfects.

=766.= It is necessary to supply a =que= to serve as the object of =achaca=. This is readily to be inferred from the =que= in the verse before, which is, however, used as a subject.

=793.= In this speech of Don Felix's there is rapid alternation between direct address, in the second person, and side remarks in the third person about the person addressed.

=800. tengo de=: we would have he de in modern prose.

=811.= The =que= in this verse is the =que= regularly following oaths and asseverations. Cf. Tobler, "Vermischte Beiträge zur französischen Grammatik," Leipzig, 1912, Article 17, pp. 57 f. Tobler gives the following example from Calderón: =¡Vive Dios! que no he salido.= ("El Mágico Prodigioso," Act III, v. 387.) In these examples, the =¡vive dios!= is hardly more than an emphatic =digo=, and is followed by =que= just as =digo= would be. Verse 810 is parenthetical.

=828. del=: construe with =mar=.

=833.= For the conclusion of the sentence here begun it is necessary to turn to line 883. We have to do with a sentence of 54 lines.

=840.= The 1840 edition lacks the third =su=.

=853. fueron=: 'are past and gone.'

=861. del=: the later editions read =el=. Ditto in lines 862, 863, 866. =De= is also omitted in 865.

=868. jamás=: I restore the 1840 reading. Later editions read =y no=.

=916. que=: a conjunction introducing a clause, the verb of which (=pese=) has to be supplied.

=921.= The usual accent is intentionally omitted from =veame=. To read this verse correctly the second syllable, and not the first, must bear the stress. The bad prosody of this verse is discussed in the Introduction.

=943.= The Dance of Death begins.

=1012. misteriosa=: late editors wrongly change to =misterioso=. Espronceda is using =guía= as a feminine.

=1040. Dale=, etc.: 'plague take the tolling of the passing bell and these towers dancing in tangled confusion to the measure of such a concert.'

=1046. llegue=: I have emended =llegué= (which I believe Espronceda did not intend on account of the "obstructing syllable" which that accentuation would give to the verse) to =llegue=. I take =llegue= to be the subjunctive of emphatic asseveration. See Bello-Cuervo, "Gramática Castellana," paragraph 463. Other editors are perhaps right in interpreting the passage differently. They suppress the period after =maravillas=, the exclamation point before =Que=, and write =llegué=. This makes equally good sense and is just as grammatical, but the verse is less harmonious. This last point, however, is not a vital objection. The two ways of editing this passage seem to me to offer little choice.

=1062.= Construe =en que= with =ha dado=, above.

=1112.= The quotation from Mark xiv, 38 applies especially to this passage. Also to ll. 1626-1633.

=1121.= The three forms of address used by Don Félix in addressing _el enlutado_ indicate his change of manner from politeness to insolence. He begins with the polite third person singular form. Then, enraged by the answer, he is intentionally insulting in verse 1126, wishing to provoke a duel. As the other puts up a brave front, he next addresses him as an equal (verse 1127) by using the second person plural. This was the usual form of address between gentlemen of equal standing during the Renaissance period. But, again losing his temper, he relapses into the insulting second person singular (verse 1133 and following).

=1133. haga=: an instance of the use of the subjunctive after oaths and asseverations. See Bello-Cuervo, "Gramática Castellana," paragraph 463.

=1311. una=: goes with =gradería= in the following verse.

=1385.= Beginning with this verse and ending with l. 1680, the poet attempts to indicate the gathering and abating fury of the ghostly revel by the successive lengthening and shortening of the verses. The final verses also express Don Félix's waning strength. This device is an attempt to imitate the _crescendo_ and _diminuendo_ effect of music. This whole passage is an obvious imitation of Victor Hugo's "Les Djinns," a poem included in "Les Orientales." Nowhere has Espronceda shown greater virtuosity in the handling of meter.

=1448.= The nouns and infinitives in this and the following lines are objects of =siente=, l. 1456.

=1703. Y si, lector=, etc.: 'And if, reader, you say it is a fabrication, I tell it to you as they told it to me.' León Medina, "Frases literarias afortunadas," _Revue hispanique_, Vol. XVIII, p. 226, states that these two verses are a quotation from Juan de Castellanos, an obscure poet of the sixteenth century, author of _Elegías de Varones Ilustres de Indias_. (The first three parts of this work may be found in Vol. IV of the _Biblioteca de Autores Españoles_; Part IV has been edited by Paz y Melia for the _Colección de Escritores Castellanos_, Vols. XLIV and XLIX. The passage in question may be found in Canto II, octave 8.) Churchman, "Byron and Espronceda," _Revue hispanique_, Vol. XX, p. 210, adds the information that Espronceda probably took the lines directly from Villalta, who had quoted them in his historical novel _El Golpe en Vago_, Madrid, 1835. This is made probable by the fact that whereas Castellanos had written correctly =os lo cuento=, Villalta wrote =te lo cuento=, Espronceda following him in this grammatical error.

The form =dijerdes=, an old form for the second plural of the future subjunctive (modern =dijereis=), represents the syncopation of a still older =dijéredes=. Grammatically the pronoun =os= should have been used. Evidently both Villalta and Espronceda considered =dijerdes= to be a second singular form. A modern editor cannot undertake to correct a mistake made by the author. In Old Spanish infinitives could be very loosely used. It was not necessary that the subject of a dependent infinitive should be the same as that of the verb on which it depended.

The word =comento= here has the meaning "fiction," "fabrication." I find this meaning given in none of the dictionaries, but it can readily be inferred from the word =comentador=, which had as one of its meanings "an inventor of false reports." =Comento=, like Latin _commentum_, has as one of its meanings "fiction," "fabrication."

The writers of =leyendas= were fond of stressing the traditional nature of their poems. Thus Zorrilla concludes his "Capitán Montoya":

El pueblo me lo contó Sin notas ni aclaraciones, Con sus mismas espresiones Se lo cuento al pueblo yo.

CANCIÓN DEL PIRATA

=7. en todo mar conocido=: I follow the reading of the text as it originally appeared in _El Artista_. The later version of 1840 is peculiar in the reading =en todo el mar conocido=. We cannot be certain that this is a change made by Espronceda himself.

=84.= Instead of =negro= the 1840 edition reads =ronco=.

EL CANTO DEL COSACO

Attila, king of the Huns, reigned from 433 until his death 453 A.D. He is noted for the barbaric ferocity of his campaigns against the Eastern and Western Roman Empires and the Germanic kingdoms of the West. In 447 he ravaged seventy cities in Thrace, Macedonia, and Greece, and all but captured Constantinople. In 451 he crossed the Rhine and sacked the cities of Belgic Gaul. He was decisively defeated at Troyes by the Gothic leader Theodoric in league with the Roman general Aëtius. He then entered northern Italy, where he continued his depredations and advanced upon Rome. The Emperor Valentinianus II saved the city by paying tribute. Legend has it that while in Gaul a hermit called Attila to his face the "scourge of God." Attila accepted the designation and replied with the remark quoted in the text. This story is not found in Jordanes, Priscus, or any of the contemporary historians. Gibbon says: "It is a saying worthy of the ferocious pride of Attila that the grass never grew on the spot where his horse had trod" ("Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," London, 1897, III, p. 469). This poem is a magnificent expression of barbaric battle-lust. Espronceda felt as a youth that wholesale destruction must precede the new order of things in Spain and Europe.

=50.= The poet hopelessly confuses the exploits of the Huns, the Goths, and the Cossacks. Neither the Cossacks nor the Huns ever captured Rome. Alaric the Goth took Rome in 410 A.D.

=65.= The principal Cossack invasion of Poland was in the first half of the seventeenth century, when Chmielnicki, hetman of the Cossacks, with the aid of his Tartar allies ruthlessly devastated the Polish provinces. This war has been vividly described by Sienkiewicz in his novel "With Fire and Sword."

=79.= The Huns are said to have carried raw meat beneath their saddles as they rode. At the end of the day's ride they would eat it.

EL MENDIGO

=108.= The poet has paraphrased the proverb =Allá van leyes do quieren reyes=, the idea of which is that a tyrant can twist the law to serve the purposes of his tyranny.

A TERESA. DESCANSA EN PAZ

For an account of Teresa, see the Introduction. For Miguel de los Santos Álvarez, see the note to "El Estudiante de Salamanca," Part IV.

=41.= The poet describes his three youthful passions: liberty, romantic literature, and love.

=49. Catón=: Caius Porcius Cato (95-46 B.C.), commonly called Cato of Utica, was a stalwart defender of Roman republicanism against Caesar and his party. His suicide after the defeat of the republican cause at Thapsus was regarded as an act of stoic heroism.

=50. Bruto=: it is not clear whether the poet refers to Lucius Junius Brutus, who drove from power Tarquinius Superbus, founded the Roman republic, and displayed his rigid justice by condemning to death his own sons, or Marcus Junius Brutus, who assassinated Cæsar in the name of liberty.

=51. Scévola=: a hero of early Rome who was captured by the enemy and threatened with death by fire if he refused to give important information. He replied by deliberately holding his hand in a flame.

=52. Sócrates= (469-400 B.C.): the celebrated Grecian philosopher. He believed in the immortality of the soul.

=54. Del orador de Atenas=: Demosthenes (385-322 B.C.), especially famous for his Philippics, a series of twelve orations directed against Philip of Macedon, the _tirano macedonio_ here alluded to. All these classical allusions seem to show that Espronceda, like most of the leaders of the French Revolution, was influenced by Plutarch.

=57.= In this octave the poet voices his enthusiasm for the Middle Ages and romantic literature in general. In his desire to embrace in his own life the careers of knight and troubadour, Espronceda is harking back to the "arms and letters" ideal of many of Spain's greatest writers.

=77. Soñaba al héroe=: =con= is the usual complement of =soñar= in prose.

=89.= Espronceda's first meeting with Teresa took place in Portugal in the beautiful region around Cintra.

=131. La sacra ninfa que bordando=, etc.: according to Menéndez y Pelayo, these two verses are taken from the "Fábula de Genil" of Pedro Espinosa, an author whom he says Espronceda knew by heart. (See "Discursos leídos ante la Real Academia Española en la recepción del excmo. señor D. Francisco Rodríguez Marín, el día 27 de octubre de 1907," Madrid, 1907, p. 86). The verses in question are:

Corta las aguas con los blancos brazos La ninfa, que con otras ninfas mora Debajo de las aguas cristalinas En aposentos de esmeraldas finas.

And farther down,

El despreciado dios su dulce amante Con las náyades vido estar bordando.

This in turn, it seems to me, may be reminiscent of Garcilaso de la Vega's _Égloga Tercera_. Apparently P. Henríquez Ureña has made this discovery independently. See _Revista de Filología Española_, IV, 3, p. 292.

=170.= The usual accent has been intentionally omitted from =aerea=.

=201.= "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning." Isaiah xiv, 12.

=232.= The story of the man who spits upon himself while trying to spit upon the sky is as old as Berceo in Spanish literature.

=238.= One has to supply a =se= with =convirtieron=. This may readily be inferred from the preceding verse.

=352.= Foulché-Delbosc thinks that this last verse was suggested by Hugo, "Les Feuilles d'automne, XXXV, Soleils couchants." See _Revue hispanique_, XXI, p. 667.

VOCABULARY

The sign "-" means the word which stands in black type at the head of the paragraph; thus, =-se= under =abrir= means =abrirse=.

_acc._ = accusative. _adj._ = adjective. _adv._ = adverb. _art._ = article. _card._ = cardinal numeral. _cf._ = compare. _conj._ = conjunction. _dat._ = dative. _dem._ = demonstrative. _f._ = feminine. _impers._ = impersonal. _inf._ = infinitive. _interj._ = interjection. _interrog._ = interrogation, interrogative. _Ital._ = Italian. _m._ = masculine. _neut._ = neuter. _p.p._ = past participle. _pers._ = person, personal. _pl._ = plural. _poss._ = possessive. _pr. n._ = proper noun. _prep._ = preposition. _pron._ = pronoun. _refl._ = reflexive. _rel._ = relative. _sc._ = to wit. _sing._ = singular. _viz._ = namely.