"Mensagem" (Message)
"Mensagem" (Message) is a Poem by author Fernando Pessoa, whichis made up of 44 short poems.
Mensagem is organized in three Parts or Cycles, thefirst of which, called "Brasão" (Coat-of-Arms) relates a specificpoem to each of the fields and charges figuring in a XV Century Portuguesecoat-of-arms. The first two poems("The field of the castles" and "The field of theescutcheons") draw inspiration from the material and spiritual natures ofPortugal. Each of the remaining 17 poems that make up "Brasão"associates to each charge a personality that in some way contributed to theestablishment of Portugal as an independent nation or to its overseasexpansion, or else became a martyr because of it. Ultimately they all lead tothe great Age of Portuguese Exploration and to its sea-borne Empire.
The second Part, called "MarPortuguês" (Portuguese Sea) refers the country's Golden Age of maritimesupremacy in the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans that ended abruptly with thedeath of King Sebastian at El-Ksar el-Kebir (in 1578). The tenth poem of thisCycle, after which this part of Message is named, sums up the cost of conqueringthe seas in terms of human suffering and asks "Was it worthwhile?".The eleventh poem ("The last galleon") starts with King Sebastianleaving in the last galleon to an unknown fate (his death on the battlegroundof El-Ksar-el-Kebir was never confirmed)- maybe his ship set course to anunknown island, like King Arthur heading for Avalon... Then, in the second partof this poem, Pessoa brings the reader abruptly to the time of his writing, asif he had woken up from a dream of the past, only to fall immediately in adream of the future: he now sees King Sebastian returning and still bent onaccomplishing an Universal Empire. The twelfth and last poem of the Cycle hasPessoa appealing to God and asking him to bring back the old spirit ofPortugal.
Thethird Cycle, called "O Encoberto" ("The Hidden One"), isthe most original and disturbing part of Message. It refers to Pessoa's visionof a future world of peace and understanding, the Fifth Empire, which will comeabout through a Portuguese of mystical origin to which he refers by a number ofnames including "The Hidden One", "The King" or "KingSebastian". The Hidden One represents the fulfillment of the destiny ofmankind, designed by God since before Time, and, at the same time, theaccomplishment of Portugal which, in Pessoa's vision is the Chosen Nation, theone that will bear the New Messiah and lead the way towards the Fifth Empire.[1]
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Purchased from an undisclosed PortugueseArt collector in August 2014. Thisedition is Copy No. 278 of 500 and was authorized by the family of FernandoPessoa. All copies are numbered andsigned by the Governor of the Republic. This book was printed in the nationalpress in Macau in 1959, the year of the National Revolution. It should be noted that the first two leaveshave a small defect. 105 pages
"Mar Português" (Portuguese Sea) Twelve Poems by Fernando Pessoa MarPortuguês (after which the second part of Mensagem is named) is the capitalshort poem of Portuguese Literature and also Pessoa's best known poem in hishomeland. It sums up thecost of conquering the seas in terms of human suffering and asks "Was itworthwhile?" The poem concludes ina grand manner with the statement that God created the sea dangerous but it wasin it that he chose to mirror the sky that symbolizes heaven! ª Purchased froman undisclosed Portuguese Art collector in August 2014. This edition, encompassing twelve poems ofFernando Pessoa, was published by the Macau National Press in 1936, and wasspecially intended for students from Macau schools. The edition is Copy No. 170 of 500 andprinted on Waterton cartridge paper. This “free edition” was offered for pupils inMacau on May 28, 1936.