Thy rich and verdant strand no juniper Enricheth, nor sad cypress; but a crown Of laurels and of myrtles it doth wear, Bright Ebro, rich in waters and renown, As best I can, I now thy praise declare, Praising that bliss which Heaven hath sent down Unto thy banks, for geniuses more bright Dwell on thy banks e'en than the stars of night. Two brothers witnesses will be thereto, Two daysprings they, twin suns of poesy, On whom all that it could of art bestow And genius, Heaven lavished bounteously; Thoughts of wise age, though still in youthful glow, Converse mature, and lovely fantasy, Fashion a worthy, deathless aureola For LUPERCIO LEONARDO DE ARGENSOLA.[202] With envy blest, in holy rivalry Methinks the younger brother doth aspire To match the elder, since he riseth high To where no human eye e'er riseth higher; Wherefore he writes and sings melodiously Histories countless with so sweet a lyre That young BARTOLOMÉ[203] hath well deserved Whatever for LUPERCIO is reserved. If good beginning and a sequence fair Inspire the hope of an illustrious close In everything, my mind may now declare That thus thou shalt exalt o'er all its foes, COSME PARIENTE.[204] Thus thou canst with rare Confidence to thy wise and noble brows Promise the crown that rightly hath been gained By thy bright intellect and life unstained. MURILLO,[205] thou dost dwell in solitude, Heaven thy companion, and dost there display That other muses, cleverer and more good, Ne'er leave thy Christian side and go away; Thou from my sisters didst receive thy food, And now thou dost, this kindness to repay, Guide us and teach us heavenly things to sing, Pleasing to Heaven, and this world profiting. Turia, who loudly didst of old proclaim The excellence of the children born to thee, If thou shouldst hearken to the words I frame, Moved by no envy, by no rivalry. Thou wilt hear how by those whom I shall name, Thy fame is bettered; their presence with thee, Their valour, virtue, genius, are thy dower, And make thee o'er Indus and Ganges tower. DON JUAN COLOMA,[206] thou within whose breast Hath been enclosed so much of Heaven's grace, Who hast with bridle stern envy repressed, And given to fame a thousand tongues to blaze, From Tagus to the kingdom fruitfulest, Abroad thy name and worth in words of praise, COUNT DE ELDA, blest in all, thou dost bestow On Turia greater fame than that of Po.