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The Old Man of Restelo (Portuguese: Velho do Restelo), also known as the Old Man of Belem, is a fictional character introduced by the Portuguese epic poet Luís de Camões in Canto IV of his work Os Lusíadas (The Lusiads).[1] The Old Man of Restelo is variously interpreted as a symbol of pessimism, or as representing those who did not believe in the likely success of the then upcoming Portuguese voyages of discovery. The character appears at the embarkation of the first expedition to India (1497), giving warnings about the odyssey that was about to happen.
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The Old Man's speech
editThis episode begins at the outset of the voyage of Vasco da Gama across unknown oceans. An old man (the Old Man of Restelo) goes down to confront the occupants of the ships, and argues that the reckless navigators, driven by greed for fame, glory and riches, are courting disaster for themselves and the Portuguese people.[2][3]
This is the argument of the Old Man of Restelo against the voyage that Vasco da Gama and his crew were about to undertake:
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94
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96
97
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- Os Lusíadas, Canto IV, 94-97: Burton's translation (1880)[4]
Portuguese original
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The position of Camoes
editIt remains uncertain to what degree the monologue of the Old Man reflects Camões's own views. There seems to be a contradiction between the writing of a large epic on maritime expeditions, in which there was a clear enthusiasm for the undertaking, and, on the other hand, the fear and pessimism that emerges in this speech and certain other passages in the work.[6][7] Historian Sanjay Subrahmanyam lists different possible interpretations of the passage: that Camões was criticizing the degenerated moral state of the Portuguese empire in the East in his own time; that he was utilizing a standard theme of nostalgia for Portuguese agrarian life as opposed to its "destiny overseas" (Subrahmanyam considers this less likely); or that Camões was merely acknowledging the historical reality that overseas expansion had its opponents in Portugal in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries.[6]
Modern references
editSubsequent allusions in Portuguese to the Old Man of Restelo have tended to portray him in a negative light – as a "doubting Thomas", not as a "Cassandra" who expresses apposite cautions.[2] For example, in a speech in 2013, the Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said that Brazil would not have been discovered (by Europeans) if "the Old Man of Restelo had prevailed at that time, on that beach, there on the Tagus in Lisbon."[8]
References
edit- ^ Albin E. Beau (2020). "Camões, Luís Vaz de: Os Lusíadas". Kindlers Literatur Lexikon (KLL). Stuttgart: J.B. Metzler. pp. 1–4. doi:10.1007/978-3-476-05728-0_2979-1. ISBN 978-3-476-05728-0. S2CID 229220757. Retrieved 2022-10-17.
- ^ a b Douglas L. Wheeler; Walter C. Opello (10 May 2010). Historical Dictionary of Portugal. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810870758.
- ^ Robert Burden; Stephan Kohl (2006). Landscape and Englishness. Rodopi. p. 117. ISBN 90-420-2102-0.
- ^ [1] Os Lusíadas, Canto IV, 94-97: translated Richard F. Burton, ed. Isabel Burton, Tinsley Bros., London, 1880: pp. 170–171.
- ^ "Os Lusíadas de Luís de Camões" (in Portuguese). Tabacaria.
- ^ a b Sanjay Subrahmanyam (1998). The Career and Legend of Vasco Da Gama. Cambridge University Press. p. 158. ISBN 978-0-521-64629-1.
- ^ Josiah Blackmore (2002). Manifest Perdition: Shipwreck Narrative and the Disruption of Empire. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. pp. 23–25. ISBN 978-0-8166-3850-5.
- ^ "Dilma compara oposição a 'Velhos de Restelo' e nega descontrole da inflação" [Dilma compares opponents to "Old Men of Restelo" and denies that inflation is out of control]. Estadão (in Portuguese). 12 June 2013.