At the commencement of the third canto, a new life is infused into the poem. But to try this poetic survey of Portuguese history, as it stands in connection with the whole, by any rule of prosaic verisimilitude, would be to depart from the poetic spirit of the Lusiad. In order to understand the narrative which Vasco da Gama relates to the King of Melinda, it is necessary to possess that knowledge of the events alluded to, which Camoens presumed every Portuguese to possess, but which in all probability could not have been possessed by a sovereign of Melinda. The reader who peruses this narrative without the necessary knowledge of the history of Portugal, will be incapable of appreciating many of the most essential beauties of the Lusiad. In so far as Camoens may be denominated the Portuguese Homer, he is indebted for that title to the poetic epitome he has given of the history of his country; and this epitome is a rapid succession of pictures, which flit away like shadows, before those who are unacquainted with their historical ground work, for the poet evidently expected readers who would be gratified to observe how art was capable of elevating the events of real life to the region of epic invention. This portion of the poem, which extends from the third to the end of the fifth canto, contains passages, which in point of classic elegance leave nothing more to be desired; but even here Camoens has in some instances made an unpoetic display of his erudition. Previously to the narrative of Vasco da Gama, the poet speaks in his own character, and patriotically elevates the Portuguese nation above every other. Vasco’s narrative commences with a cold geographical enumeration of the different countries of Europe, in which the Swedes, Danes, Prussians, Russians, and Livonians are styled _estranha gente_, (strange people) just as a modern traveller might speak of the Ostiaks and the Samoides. Spain is denominated the head of Europe, and Portugal the crown of that head.[148] Viewed in the light of probability, the invectives in which Vasco da Gama at every opportunity indulges against the Mahometans, must be supposed offensive to the King of Melinda; but Camoens, in his patriotic zeal, lost sight of many circumstances which would have claimed the consideration of any other poet. Among the most beautiful passages in these three cantos of the Lusiad, may be numbered the tribute to the memory of Egaz Moniz, the Portuguese Regulus, who, however, ended his career more happily than the Roman consul;[149] the description of the battle of Ourique which laid the foundation of the kingdom of Portugal;[150] the description of the visit of Queen Maria of Spain to her father the King of Portugal, to implore assistance for her husband in his contest with the Moors;[151] the relation of the tragical fate of Inez de Castro, which is the most celebrated of all the exquisitely beautiful passages in the Lusiad;[152] the description