But while the joyous fleet that way incline,
The Goddess, in Cythæra far renowned,
Beholding how they left their certain line,
Unwittingly on their destruction bound,
Wills not in land so distant such design
Should slay the people whom so dear she found ;
And turns them with opposing winds aside
From where the pilot's scheme would take and guide.
But the malignant Moor, not able now
That same resolve of his to put in force,
Dealing another foul and wicked blow,
Persisting in his schemes without remorse,
Declares that, as opposing currents flow,
They must be driven beyond their proper course,
And that another island's near, whose race
Doth Moors and Christians equally embrace.
But in these words to him he also lied,
As by instructions, which in truth he bore,
For here no Christian people did abide,
But only those who Mahomet adore ;
The Captain to the Moor did all confide,
And, veering sail, struck for the island shore,
But (not approving it the Goddess-guide)
He does not pass the bar, but lies outside.
The island lay so very near the land,
That a small channel did the two divide :
A city, there, was also seen to stand,
Which facing on the sea was now descried;
It was composed of edifices grand,
As could be seen from far away outside;
An aged King ruled o'er it, and for name,
Mombaça, isle and city had the same.
E sendo a ella o Capitão chegado,
Estranhamente ledo; porque espera
De poder ver o povo baptizado,
Como o falso piloto lhe dissera :
Eis vem bateis da terra com recado
Do Rei, que já sabia a gente que era ;
Que Baccho muito de antes o avisara
Na forma d'outro Mouro, que tomara.
O recado, que trazem, he de amigos,
Mas debaixo o veneno vem coberto;
Que os pensamentos eram de inimigos,
Segundo foi o engano descoberto.
Oh grandes, e gravissimos perigos !
Oh caminho de vida nunca certo!
Que, aonde a gente põe sua esperança,
Tenha a vida tão pouca segurança !
No mar tanta tormenta, e tanto dano,
Tantas vezes a morte apercebida !
Na terra tanta guerra, tanto engano,
Tanta necessidade aborrecida !
Onde pode acolher-se hum fraco humano,
Onde terá segura a curta vida?
Que não se arme, e se indigne o Céo sereno
Contra hum bicho da terra tão pequeno!
And having now arrived, o'erjoyed with glee-
For the good Captain had to hope been led
The baptized people that he now should see,
As the false pilot, promising, had said-
From shore come boats with welcome, presently,
By the old King, who knew the strangers, sped;
For Bacchus long ago had this advised,
In likeness of the other Moor disguised.
The message that they bring appears of friends,
But underneath the poison comes concealed,
Because their thoughts were all with hostile ends,
E'en as the fraud was afterwards revealed :
Oh! path of life that ne'er to safety tends!
Oh! great and gravest perils aye afield!
For whereso'er man's choicest hopes are stored,
There life such little safety doth afford!
At sea, so many storms and loss so great,
So often death arrayed and seeming sure,
On land, so many wars, so much deceit,
And so much wretched misery to endure !
Where shall weak man discover a retreat,
Where may he deem his short life's hour secure?
That calm Heaven's might and vengeance may not fall
Upon a worm of earth so weak and small!
JÁ neste tempo o lucido planeta,
Que as horas vai do dia distinguindo,
Chegava á desejada e lenta meta,
A luz celeste ás gentes encobrindo,
E da casa maritima secreta
Lhe estava o deos nocturno a porta abrindo ;
Quando as infidas gentes se chegaram
As naos, que pouco havia
D'entre elles hum, que traz encommendado
O mortifero engano, assi dizia :
'Capitão valeroso, que cortado
Tens de Neptuno o reino, e salsa via,
O Rei, que manda esta ilha, alvoroçado
Da vinda tua, tem tanta alegria,
Que não deseja mais, que agasalhar-te,
Ver-te, e do necessario reformar-te.
'E, porque está em extremo desejoso
De te ver, como cousa nomeada,
Te roga que, de nada receoso,
Entres a barra tu, com toda armada :
E porque do caminho trabalhoso
Trarás a gente debil, e cansada,
Diz, que na terra podes reformal-a ;
Que a natureza obriga a desejal-a.
'Twas now the time at which the planet bright,
Who in his circuit doth day's hour define,
Withdrawing from mankind his heavenly light,
Did slowly towards his longed-for goal decline;
To whom, as he approached, the God of Night
Opened the gate of his dark ocean mine,
When the false people flocked the fleet around,
Which, but a little, anchorage had found.
Then one among them, to that end employed,
Bearing the deadly falsehood, thus did say:-
'O valorous Captain! who hast crossed the void
Of Neptune's kingdom and his briny way,
The King who rules this island, overjoyed
That thou art come, such pleasure doth display,
That only to receive thee he desires,
See thee and furnish all thy need requires.
'And as he is desirous in the extreme
To see thee as a person famed afar,
He begs that nought of danger thou wilt dream,
But come with all thy fleet within the bar ;
And as thy voyage laborious doth seem,
And that thy people weak and weary are,
He says that they may be refreshed on land,
For Nature must, perforce, this much demand.
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