Alonso Gregorio de Escobedo, O.F.M. La Florida [ca. 1590-1610].
Please do not reproduce without permission. The following is a draft translation, prepared by Thomas Hallock, in support of The Epic of Florida: Selected Poems by Juan de Castellanos, Bartolomé de Flores, and Alonso Gregorio de Escobedo (Pennsylvania State University Press, 2026).
Canto 34. This canto continues the song of how our Lord Jesus Christ came to Christians and infidels from the virgin womb of Saint Mary.
If I admired Daniel in the lion’s den,
how he could give his body to God’s sustenance,
much more would be be admired him if he ate
the body of the Lord of the heavens. [??]
Give to the wayfarer in this way
which is very much to be welcomed
if he eat with gratitude, give him grace,
and if in sin, so he shall dies in disgrace.
O most holy sovereign table!
Oh, such bread of the heavenly courtier!
Oh, such bread from mass, bringing
eternal life or death to Christians!
If the Indian enters our Roman faith,
forgetting the rites of pagans,
he will have chosen to joyfully eat
that of God, truth, path, light and guide.
If that man is righteous, God gives back
to him, as compensation,
all that is asked of our Lord,
coming back to us from his enormous open hand.
The wicked man who wants to know him
is never received by God. The offense would be great.
He would never have the pleasure of being received,
nor would he receive any benefits.
“Who is,” says the Lord, “the vile worm,
eternal God you have of the memory?”[1]
Like a bird fro your hand, Ephraim flew away
from the human scum I have for this world.
from that treacherous and cruel tyrant,[2]
but now Ephraim is content, he has honor and glory,
no longer stealing from someone else
as Eve stole — a subject worthy of our pity.
She spoke with Lucifer, and had she not chattered
everything else in the world would be irrelevant–
although our own colloquium now makes clear,
that we have been allowed to redeem our allowance,
by knowing how God protects the soul,
of those who put an end to arrogance,
while those who did not obey our God
earlier, in the same way, will be lost.
I admit the one who, out of love,
committed for another, who was the first
Adam who publishes his pains
who in his life suffered what I’m talking about here. [??]
To the brave, the oldest of the elders,
Samson, the ferocious, I require
confess here who caused your death,
he will answer that it was the strong Delilah.
Dalila came from the Soretano [?] valley,
which indicates that she was a poor lady,
not only in wealth but in human culture,
but in what is virtue, it was all copper.
As a courtier, Samson had little,
and so he made the fresh water brackish,
he made the faithful contrary, and the lady
a slave, being an unfaithful traitor without law.
Love made him love, giving him bad payment,
and so that his own life was put on the table,
and to Christ, my Lord, another drink was given to him,
one greater than what was given to the warrior Samson;
for it was occasion, this dangerous love
guides my pen so that I now want to move
to Nazareth, hearing the serious child
of an angel who spoke to Mary, “Hail.”
The best means to greet the present,
was never before seen in scripture,
nor can the wisest, dressed in reason
and good sense, provide any reason
for the occasion, because the regent
who created all human beings
was waiting until the signaled point,
for Gabriel to deliver the message to the Virgin.
For the time of her salutation, an event
as much rare as was new, was set aside;
Mary was chosen, but like Eve,
if she failed, she would be called Eve’s name instead[3]
(Eve, to whom the curse of God has been given),
but Mary carries God’s blessing in her womb,
it is by faith the blessing of the Father,
that she shall be the mother of His child.
They great King Artajerjes[4] (who was
referred to in other was) was greeted
by certain servants who respected him
saying, “Long live the enlightened King!”
Others, who were with Absalom, pointed to him,
saying, “Hail to you, anointed King
whose arm and strength, bravery and
generosity we now know.
They greeted Ruth in the appropriate way:
“Blessings from the Lord God, my daughter,
from he who made the sky, the sea, the entire globe,
and the righteous soul, enshrouded in joy.”
And an angel one day said to the patient
old blind man who blinded himself with mud,
“Make the proper choice, brother,
that you will soon be of sound mind.”
As an angel greeted the gentleman Tobias,
neither on his knees nor saying, “Ave”–
as to you, most Holy Mary,
you are like a gentle bird (Ave) from heaven;
you are the star of the sea that guides the soul,
there is no space in human knowledge to sing
your praises — let only God sing it,
for all human beings are ignorant.
Gabriel, how you lose your decorum
kneeling in front of the girl —
you wearing gold and she in human clothes,
there to procreate and create God’s children.
It is true. But in it is the treasure
(said Gabriel) from which I am sent,
to conceive in her virgin womb
for he has him in his soul by living faith.
And in that the reliquary where God is met,
where a heroic angel was given to me,
vernation proved to be the opposite
of reason for those who would wait.
I am on my knees because the angel
dresses in the virgin’s clothes, and I wait
for this angel, and if given the holy message,
I will become pregnant with the eternal God.
With this reverence, our Lord and God
teaches us that, in our worshiping,
we give ourselves to the virginal state.
Her faith and word will not fail us,
there is no rock like her, in all hardships
we will respect her — the chaste, pure,
spotless virgin without sin,
and for this reason, I am on my knees.
Neither me, nor many in my camp
ever tend — in this case — to hold out
for those of the Old Testament, when
God was sending us to the purposes
that Tobias was reasoning towards.[5]
And on his knees in hallowed ground
and Samson’s father very much aware,
like Abraham, also was kneeling.
Jacob, was given a virgin [?],
with angels to accompany him,
each attending him on both sides,
in the depths of dreams while sleeping.[6]
But after he was married,
a squadron of warriors came
in case a larger band did not come
to defend the fortunate young man.
Although the angel has a squadron on its side
and the begotten angel clings to Isaac
their fight was carefully and artfully planned,
being how father of Joseph lay lame on the ground.
The quarrel between the two was ended,
on the condition that whoever won the war
would give his blessing to the defeated
that the angel of Jacob had enlightened.
Whose beloved son, by his own brothers,
had been accused of a crime that I believe
(in that epoch of clumsy sin) caused humans
to lose the true trophy from heaven.
I think it was because he left his coat
in the hands of a lady with the intention
of keeping the precious pearl of his chastity,
which is more beautiful than the heavens.
He was honest and chaste, clean and pure,
he who was beloved by the sun, moon and stars,
because he had been given the note of assurance
that if he did not err, there will be no fault in them.
The young man who is chaste has a strong wall,
so too do noble ladies and living maidens–
this is the state of being plated in gold,
the royal treasure that is heaven’s patrimony.
“Hail,” said Gabriel, “you who are sovereign,
for if you are in heaven as you are on earth,
and if from the earth as manna from heaven,
our wars have been brought to a finish and close.
If the infernal squadron remains robust,
because a woman was vanquished, in you
he the word of God has been locked away and secured,
you being the faithful testifier who will slay the Devil.”[7]
Eve shut us out from the gates of heaven
because she was disobedient to the Lord,
but you will give it freely and openly
being a faithful and obedient daughter.
Eve was left in deathly guilt, without grace,
and as it follows, as were her people,
but, Virgin, you hold the key to heaven
and for that, Gabriel said us, “Ave.”
The angel does not know her by the name
that was given to her by her parents,
she merits more for than what man can give,
but will instead by given her name by the Lord .
As a mother, she is without peer
and worthy of renown as the lead of all,
so she should not be known by what they call
her in the village, but what she is as courtesan of the skies.[8]
This greeting, “God is with you,”
was made to you before Gideon,
who defeated the cruel enemy Midian,[9]
who was struck by the right hand
of your Virgin Mary. I say
that Eve was so satisfied to be charged
for the rewards she had lost, due to what
she and her husband Adam had done.[10]
This was a memorable feat of God,
in which Gideon won the struggle
in that celebrated victory
against such grave and gross power;
to believe that story and to give God the glory
begged him to dampen with dew
a certain fleece, parched on the ground,
without the water to pay any tribute.[11] [??]
It is the lot of the disobedient man,
for being disobedient to the creator,
the man who thinks God deceives, that God lies,
having not heard God’s promises correctly.
King Ahaz did not want to be disheartened[12]
to ask for a sign, asking for an oracle
It was spoken, to his full satisfaction,
and so Midian paid in death from chest.
Here God’s the great firmness and most holy enlightenment of his word is discovered,
for he struck Midian down dead
with such great ferocity that his vile people
lost all the promise of future greatness in heaven,
and the land where all his people dwelled,
because, before God’s word was not present,
one still lack’s God’s high and divine pledge.
Oh, blessed lady in whom God placed
so many singular virtues without measure![13]
Already your virginal womb has been set
so that you give him life, in the form of man,
to the songs of love composed for you,
as one writes to flatter his beloved,
compared in your being to the man
of singular height, fame and renown.
In virtues honored as any saint
but yours, Virgin, being without measure,
for God in giving you beyond any counting,
we cannot count because there is no end.
Even this desire to quantify makes me tremble,
from God who gives life exponentially,
so that if the world were split in half
to make remedy for the living soul.
The suspicious miser must be careful
that the thief does not steal what he has,
but the fearful sadly righteous one
who is full of praise, human when it comes. [??]
He is a cautious thief, so it is
with only prudence that we overcome it.
O village of the living God, you who praise
also deceive, bringing the end to the living soul.[14]
Our Blessed Virgin was disturbed
when she was chosen by our great Lord,
who made her out of nothing, to be the mother
who would carry a man in her belly.
The crowned virgin was humble
merited in her renown,
and so we say here on earth,
Mother of God, who made war on Satan.
Herod, the proud King, tried
bringing the human praises for his friend,[15]
someone for whom our Lord in heaven
sent down punishment from above.
His body was eaten by worms, because
he was the cruel enemy of God,
humiliated him for being insolent
by the humble and forgettable worm.
It didn’t deprive him of life when he died,
for taking her from Peter and James,
but when ‘King Herod likes and wants,
in the superb being of Simon the Magician,
whoever takes away his honor will pretend
will make my God in him so great havoc
as the present that will give without life,
giving the Devil the feminine soul. [???]
That is, he who accepts Eve,
emissary of the jealous Demon,
who attempts to kill our mother with her sword,
will thus offend his eternal God
For it also will be as God burns
and with more rapidly determination,
the woman who took the opportunity
to go against his wishes.
But that which came from the serpent,
not only was disturbing very promptly,
but by by those who were wise and prudent,
the case was examined with the utmost alacrity.
David, standing before his people one day,
showed great fortitude in his silence,
for although Shimei[16] had treated him badly,
the King spoke not a word, nor did he take revenge.
And you, imprudent one, you who choose
to he who hears you from all sides —
You are poisoned by the choices you make,
openly casting out what is right and true;
model yourself instead after David, a strong man,
and in the mother of Christ, my teacher,
and if you are asked twice, respond
yes or no, as have been advised.
Gabriel, seeing her disturbed, went
and said, “Be at holy peace, Mary,
fear not, for my message comes from the skies.
The God who is yours and mine sent me to you;
you cannot understand of this grace
that you carry, and I come to you as a double spy;
those who fear have committed a sin,
but you, no, for God loves you with infinite goodness.”
Being obvious and clear to every human being,
of the begetting, the womb is the dwelling;
because Gabriel, a discrete courier,
when he gave the virgin the message
said to her, “God, immense and sovereign,
wants your womb for his dwelling place.”[17]
Why? Because he knew, having made her womb,
that by grace it was the the place of creation.
“Because,” he said to the virgin, “give only
the name of Jesus.” And to her her husband[18]
she said the same, adding that this man
will save even the sinful.
Because to the holy Virgin, renowned for her sanctity
and clearer than the shining clear sun,
the angel does not treat you of sin
to Joseph who had the message. [??]
He said: great was the message[19]
that was given to Zachariah the son [?],
then equaled with John to Jesus,
which was like a star shining in the light of day.
The name has been given only to Saint John,
how the the son is of Mary and of God
the great King, the King of Kings,
Emperor who makes laws for all.
You will easily see by his deeds that
to be a natural and not an adopted child
of God the Father, omnipotent Lord,
who gave up his only for captive,
undoing with his refulgent sunbeam
the fog of living death,
so that the dead and indignant soul finds health,
being made worthy through the blood of God.
Coming before God, from God sent out
and being as God, which is God the almighty
in whom God is alive, Peter awaits
and confesses as a man with full confidence.
Martha confessed in the same way way,
and the centurion begged God for mercy,
as St. John the chronicler[20] and the divine
Matthew the Evangelist[21] both write.
Through Jesus, my God, put an end
to the seat of anguish felt by the father of David,
a bitterness that was repugnant to the core,
brimming with pain, being cast outside,
for as Absalom auctioned off David
and wanted to throw the father in chains,
so too was Christ, my master, brought to death
wrongly by Judas, who was evil in deed.
Christ, our Lord, from his place in Heaven,
shall continue the reign of Jacob,[22] meaning
the immaculate militant church,
he whose high holy blood is applied
to the wounds of faithful souls —
if you are washed in this blood, you find wealth;
here on earth, you enjoy the grace of God,
or He who reign forever in Heaven.
His rein is endless and everlasting, without division,[23]
just as Luke clearly explained to us;
in all parts, and at all times, the captive is free
to leave vice behind, because of the beloved son,
meaning that He is very much alive,
and the careful among us will seek him out,
being the sole remedy for all people,
and the one who will convert in the West.
The untouched one is she who has promised
to remain a virgin, in a singular and extraordinary
way becoming a mother — I only ask that
you declare to me Gabriel’s high deed.
Our God, who is by faith united with you all,
as Gabriel said, the plan and the deed.
On your part, there is no inconvenience,
for you are an older age to bear children.
The only thing missing is a gentleman, and while
it seems impossible to have one without a man,
for those who obey the Lord,
nothing before him is impossible:
my God has offered his beloved son to you all,
to bring order through his invisible spirit
that will make my lady, the true mother, who was bereft,
complete through the one missing piece that was Christ.
Our prophet Zachariah says,
“your Savior, your crowned King, will come,”[24]
adding further to this prophecy
that he will bring an end to your sin.
“He will come like a ray of lightning, into Mary’s womb;
in his gift, our Lord has assimilated,
to heal the wounds in the hearts of those
upstanding gentlemen who have been chosen.”
And just as the lightning with its ease,
is pulled in one motion like a sword from its sheet,
through the abilities of God almighty,
you, the virgin are to be made pregnant,
before and during the birth, unspoiled,
and afterwards, as well, not ruined —
and you will not be harmed as a virgin and mother,
by this living Word and Son of God, who is your father.
The Trinity, one God, one being and one essence,[25]
will work such grandiose deeds
that always assist with their presence,
and His miraculous shadow will shade you,
and you will agree vehemently,
like a fortunate mother, conceiving
from God the Son of God, who will be your
teacher and the healer of men.
This work will happen in a moment,
you will first be a natural mother and also
the supernatural mother of the infant God,
which you will be given being without a man,
remaining entirely natural, dressed in the flowing
gown of the natural mother
but remaining also a pure virgin–
that is the garment you will be given.
Blessed shall they called the source
of sanctity, ours which proceeds from
that which is so different from yours;
When the light enters the darkness,
it is God’s shining ray,
and without it, humans cannot do anything,
for that which here on our earth
is not yours, but God’s, the Lord of heaven.
Ask yourself if it was Christ, both God and man,
God’s child, but natural or adopted?
I said that it was natural in deed and name,
tested with arguments very much alive;
his birthright is of the highest renown,
in his position and person the most solid foundation
and not in nature though actually two,
being both one person is man and God.
That is why we know with certainty
that as an adopted child he has nothing.
It is natural for one of such greatness
to retain, in himself, the same lofty bearing,
and though he has the grace of beauty,
that we who are adopted all have, it’s not appropriate
to believe that the reason Christ, would be sovereign Lord
is that he was made by a human man.
The laurel of glory is given only
to the one who is in need of it,
but to Christ they do not give the crowning
prize of his victory; it is God, in whom
his celebrated memory, gives the prize,
the prize that he never needed, nor shall he;
you are my God, Lord, for you have no
need for me, nor of my offerings.[26]
Prudent was David, for being reasonable,
he considered the all-powerful God,
who rules and governs the high sphere,
and so no one remains in need;
everything that he has created waits on him —
it being only the treacherous man
who does not obey his commandments,
and follow God’s wishes to find contentment.
When the poor Indian worships the horrible and formidable hellish demon, what does he find,
except the eternal sorrow, where is stored
no life but only eternal death;
and the sinful one among Christians who
offends God — it is only right that he wakes up
from the miserable sick bed of his sin
and — as is just — do penance.
There was no precedent or example
delivered with message to the most serene Mary,
for her to believe she would get pregnant.
But because she clothed herself in joy,
even though she barren, tired in her old age,
she became six months pregnant on that day,
and thus, two miracles occurred at once,
doubly magnifying the glory of God.
And if God created two by only one saint,
how with more reason would it be for me to be born
the man and God who was terror and dread
of the hellishly cunning and fierce nation?
To whom the holy spirit sovereign
a sky adorned him leaving him whole
who was given a virgin and a mother
and given away by her father’s daughter. [???]
And I have said again and again, proclaiming
two miracles were clearly performed,
in the mother of John by our beloved God,
both of them clear and very powerful.
A miracle that is famous, that
it alone should be sufficient
to have provided Juan with clear insight
about the sun of true justice.
Even if it were Isabel were still young enough to give birth,
for being sterile it would be impossible for her to do so,
if her lack of fecundity made it impossible,
because she was now at an old age.
In the virgin and true mother,
it was a miracle that could be performed only by God
that it was of greater value than this one only
than how many she made from one pole to the other.
The angel St. Gabriel clearly explains
that God, being omnipotent, makes all things
willing into being all things on earth and in heaven,
ruling and governing in his wisdom.
The soul that intends to enjoy His blessings
should consider what Ezekiel distinctly said,
that the sinner should say, “come with contriteness
and you shall receive pardon for your sins.”[27]
“When you arrive, you will find pleasure
in the open chest, and in his pierced royal head,
and here you will find a safe harbor,
if you were ever a sheep in their herd;
but if how you lived was not in a good way,
you will not receive the desired glory,
which is given to the humble and just man
and not to the clumsy man who rejected God.”
It is not only what God has created or made,
but also what he constructs in his memory
and what remains inside his chest
that is brimming with riches and eternal glory.
Great advantages come to those who love him,
and in this way we advance to victory
over our own natural passions that
otherwise lead us to hellish sorrows.
Do not leave behind by your guiding destiny:
Open yourself, sinner, to God who calls you,
to the love that burns in benign Jesus
that sleeps — as if in bed — inside your soul.
Being the light and the true path in life,
his divine love should set you aflame,
loving him as the the true gentleman
pays tribute to his true love alone.
Show love to the invisible King of Kings
and heed his consoling words of comfort,
which are: “Without God, there is nothing possible
in the sea, the air, on land, nor in the sky.”
And so it is good and fitting that after you have seen
Jesus, dressed in the veil of his own flesh,
that your grieving soul breaths once again
with with this high and solid foundation.
Always love the Lord, who is powerful,
love him who calls you to penance.
If you, thus, are able to mend your own sedition,
the glory will be yours, by God’s mercy.
Don’t lack confidence, show your courage,
and constantly show how you can resist
being bogged down in the mud of your own vices,
show that you can heal yourself of sin.
If God shows himself so willing, say what you lack.
More of what you will say will be needed,
for virtue follows when someone adorns
the banner of the holy gospel.
Carry the cross, God’s flag, high;
conquer with it like a brave Mars,
and in this way I affirm and swear
that you will break down Satan’s walls.
Whoever intends to follow me choose to take up
the cross as a brave and be a faithful soldier,
I don’t want to, God says, no one understands
what has been given to me in carrying it.
If the wicked man gives up his sins,
he will enjoy seeing Jesus, the crowned King
to whom I beg for the still one more song,
to bless me and bring his high holy assistance.
***
[1] In the margin: Psalms 8.
[2] In the margin, Hosea 9.
[3] In the margin, Genesis 3.
[4] In the margin, Nehamiah 2.
[5] For Tobias’ history, see Nehemiah, 11, 19, 4:1, 1:17-19, 7 62, 13:4-9 (Sununu).
[6] Genesis 28:10-22.
[7] In margin: Genesis 3.
[8] Written in margins, “Ave Gratia Plena.”
[9] Judges 6: 12; for the story of Gideon, see folio 18 verso (Sununu)..
[10] Written in margin: Genesis 3.
[11] In the margins, Judges 6 (see verse 39).
[12] See Isiaih 7:11-12.
[13] In the margins: “Benedita (sic) tu in mulieribus,” or blessed be among all women”[??]
[14] In the margins, Isiaih 9.
[15] Acts of Apostles, 22:21-22.
[16] 1 Kings 2:8-9.
[17] In margin: “Ecce concipies in vita.”
[18] In margin: “et vocabis nomen eig. Jesum.”
[19] In margin: “Hic erit magno”.
[20] In the margin, “San Juan XI.”
[21] There is no reference in the Gospel of St. Matthew to these words by Martha (Sununu).
[22] In margin: “Et regnavit in domo Jacob.”
[23] In margin: “Et regno eis non erit finis”.
[24] See Zackariah 9.
[25] In the margin: “Virtutum altissimi obum bravit tibi”.
[26] In the margin, Salomon 15.
[27] Ezekiel 11.