The Sun Over Breda

D. VICENTE:Let us attack,Whether the general be discontentedOr resigned.

D. GONZALO:Oh, caballeros,Lose everything, but do not counterYour instructions.

D. FADRIQUE:We do not failOur obligations, but there are timesThat force a different effort, whenAn order broken is not broken.

D. VICENTE:But, look, there, attend the action,What one man daringly attempts.Muted, the wind stops blowing,The sun is halted in its path.Do you not see the ItalianSergeant-Major, standing againstHenry’s boldly advancing army?With his cries he animatesHis gallant men, and togetherThey forestall the squadsOf the enemy. We must giveThis triumph an eternal name:Carlos Roma, you are most worthy,Deserving that your king shouldHonor you with New World lands,With appointments, and with glory.And now with sword and buckler, soldiersAre erupting onto the field.And following their example, the ItaliansSpring into action. Let themEnjoy the glory and it be weWho witness. For here our envy may beSeen as noble, as too our praise.Spain, which in far greater numberHas been victorious in her battles,Has no reason to omitThe name of Italy from this triumph,For it is they who are the victors.

D. FRANCISCO DE MEDINAThere is another victoryBefore us, another triumph,Which is the rescue of our bannerFrom capture and from offense.This has been done by those fewBrave and valiant Spaniards, theyWho here escorted ColonelDe la Daga, and who restrainedSo fiercely the English troops with theirAmazing, brash, and bold assault.

D. GONZALO:Who was he, then, who led them,Fierce Mars and noble Hector?

ALONSO:Diego Alatriste y Tenorio,The “Captain” is an honoraryTitle, fittingly won amidThe clamor and the roar of cannon.

D. GONZALO:On such an august day as thisMay Alatriste in renownYield only to brave Carlos Roma.Who, along with his men,The king will generously rewardFor being victors in Terheyden.

D. FADRIQUE:In defeat and disarray.The Flemish are retreating, fleetAs the wind; and now all honorFalls to the victors, may theirNoble brows be crowned with laurel,And on a thousand plaques of bronzeEternally their feat shall live,Reaching the limits of the orb.

It must be noted that the verses in italics have been taken from the original manuscript, as they were not included in Primera parte de comedias de don Pedro Calderón de la Barca, collected by don José, Calderón’s brother, and printed in Madrid in the year 1636. Why the poet later chose to delete those lines has not been determined.

^*On Calle de Toledo near La Puerta Cerrada, Madrid

¹Papeles del alférez Balboa (Lieutenant Balboa’s Papers). Manuscript of 478 pages, Madrid, undated. Sold by the Claymore auction house in London, November 25, 1952. Currently located in the Biblioteca Nacional, Madrid.