One of the spiritual dramas of Gil Vicente, performed at Lisbon,
commences with shepherds, who discourse and enter a chapel, which is
decorated with all the apparatus necessary for the celebration of the
festival of Christmas. The shepherds cannot sufficiently express their
rustic admiration of the pomp exhibited in the chapel. Faith (_La Fé_)
enters as an allegorical character. She speaks Portuguese, and after
announcing herself to the shepherds as True Faith, she explains to them
the nature of faith, and enters into an historical relation of the
mysteries of the incarnation. This is the whole subject of the piece.
Another of these dramas, wherein the poet’s fancy has taken a wider
range, presents scenes of a more varied nature. Mercury enters as an
allegorical character, and as the representative of the planet which
bears his name. He explains the theory of the planetary system and the
zodiac, and cites astronomical facts from Regiomontanus, in a long
series of stanzas in the old national style. A seraph then appears, who
is sent down from heaven by God, in compliance with the prayers of Time.
The seraph, in the quality of a herald, proclaims a large yearly fair in
honour of the Holy Virgin, and invites customers to it. A devil next
makes his appearance with a little stall which he carries before him. He
gets into a dispute with Time and the seraph, and asserts, that among
men such as they are, he shall be sure to find purchasers for his wares.
He therefore leaves to every customer his free choice. Mercury then
summons eternal Rome as the representative of the church. She appears,
and offers for sale Peace of Mind, as the most precious of her
merchandise. The devil remonstrates, and Rome retires. Two Portuguese
peasants now appear in the market: one is very anxious to sell his wife,
and observes, that if he cannot sell her, he will give her away for
nothing, as she is a wicked spendthrift. Amidst this kind of
conversation a party of peasant women enter, one of whom, with
considerable comic warmth, vents bitter complaints against her husband.
She tells, with a humorous simplicity, that her ungrateful husband has
robbed her garden of its fruits before they were ripe; that he never
does any thing, but leads a sottish life, eating and drinking all day,
&c. The man who has already been inveighing against his wife immediately
recognises her, and says,--“That is my slippery helpmate.” During this
succession of comic scenes the action does not advance. The devil at
last opens his little stall and displays his stock of goods to the
female peasants; but one of them, who is the most pious of the party,
seems to suspect that all is not quite right with regard to the
merchandise, and she exclaims--“Jesus! Jesus! true God and man!” The
devil immediately takes to flight, and does not reappear; but the seraph
again comes forward and mingles with the rustic groups. The throng
continues to increase; other countrywomen with baskets on their heads
arrive; and the market is stored with vegetables, poultry, and other
articles of rural produce. The seraph offers Virtues for sale; but they
find no purchasers. The peasant girls observe, that in their village
money is more sought after than virtue, when a young man wants a wife.
One of the party, however, says, that she wished to come to the market
because it happened to fall on the festival of the mother of God; and
because the Virgin does not sell her gifts of grace, but distributes
them gratis. This observation crowns the theological morality of the
piece, which terminates with a hymn of praise, in the popular style, in
honour of the Holy Virgin.[290]
[290] Bouterwek.
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