Francisco de Sá de Meneses

Francisco de Sá de Meneses

Francisco de Sá de Meneses (c. 1600 – 21 May 1664) was a Portuguese poet, author of the epic poem Malacca Conquered (1634).

Quotes

•           .  .  .  .  .  .  o grande Cavaleiro,
  Que ao vento velas deu na ocídua parte,
  E lá, onde infante o Sol dá luz primeiro,
  Fixou das Quinas santas o Estandarte.
  E com afronta do infernal guerreiro,
  (Mercê do Céu) ganhou por força, e arte
  O áureo Reino, e trocou com pio exemplo
  A profana mesquita em sacro templo.
    *                *                *                 *
  O tempo chega, Afonso, em que a santa
  Sião terá por vós a liberdade,
  A Monarquia, que hoje o Céu levanta,
  Devoto consagrando à eternidade.
  Ó bem nascida generosa planta,
  Que em flor fruto há-de dar à Cristandade,
  E matéria a mil cisnes, que, cantando
  De vós, se irão convosco eternizando.

  De Cristo a injusta morte vingou Tito
  Na de Jerusalém total ruína:
  E a vós, a quem Deus deu um peito invito,
  Ser vingador de sua Fé destina.
  Extinguir do Agareno o falso rito
  É de vosso valor a empresa dina:
  Tomai pois o bastão da empresa grande
  Para o tempo que o Céu marchar vos mande.

  • … the mighty Knight who set sail in the most western part of Europe and there in the Orient (where the infant Sun gives its first light) set the standard of the Holy Escutcheons. He punished the evil tyrant and won the city of the Golden Kingdom of Malaya through his strength and skill, and with pious example transformed the profane mosque into a sacred temple. ...The time is coming, King Afonso VI, when holy Zion will have its freedom through you. And the Monarchy, consecrated by Heaven for eternity, that well-born plant which flowering will give fruit to Christendom, the theme of a thousand swans, singing about you as they immortalize themselves with you. Titus avenged the unjust death of Christ by the total destruction of Jerusalem; and God has chosen you to whom he gave an unconquerable heart to be the Avenger of His Faith. Take up the staff, then, when Heaven bids you march against the false worship of the Muslims, a worthy enterprise for your courage.
    • Malaca Conquistada pelo grande Afonso de Albuquerque (1634) — quoted in The Commentaries of the Great Afonso Dalboquerque, Vol. III (London, 1880) [1], and translated by Edgar C. Knowlton Jr. [2]

External links

• Malaca Conquistada pelo grande Alfonso de Albuquerque — Google eBook (1779 edition, in Portuguese)
• The Conquest of Malacca, translated into English by Edgar C. Knowlton Jr. (University of Malaya Press, 1970) — Sejarah Melayu Library