Herostratus and the Temple of Diana
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“ Queimou o sagrado templo de Diana, Do subtil Tesifónio fabricado, Heróstrato, por ser da gente humana Conhecido no mundo e nomeado: Se também com tais obras nos engana O desejo de um nome avantajado, Mais razão há que queira eterna glória Quem faz obras tão dignas de memória.”
Herostratus burned the sacred temple of Diana, built by the subtle Ctesiphon, in order to be known and named among all humankind throughout the world. If, then, the desire for an outstanding name deceives us into such deeds, there is far more reason that whoever performs deeds so worthy of remembrance should long for eternal glory.
Still arguing that the promise of fame drives men to great deeds, the poet cites Herostratus, who burned the temple of Diana at Ephesus only to make his name known. The turn: if even destruction wins a name, how much more should worthy deeds earn eternal glory.
The stanza closes an argument the poet has been pressing: that hunger for fame is the engine of great action. He reaches for a deliberately ugly example. Herostratus torched one of the wonders of the ancient world, the temple of Diana at Ephesus, for no reason but to have his name remembered. Camões then flips it: if even arson buys a name, how much stronger the claim of someone whose deeds actually deserve memory.
What a first reader misses is that the argument quietly undercuts itself. Herostratus proves fame is morally blind, that it rewards the destroyer and the builder alike, yet Camões uses him to justify the honest striving of Gama's sailors. The seam shows on purpose: the poet knows the desire for a name is a dangerous fire, and he is asking his heroes, and his king, to want the good kind of glory anyway.
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Os Lusíadas 2.113 — The Great Library Project interlinear edition · greatlibraryproject.com/book/lusiadas/2.113/