The Gift I Promise
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Se com grandes presentes de alta estima O crédito me pedes do que digo, Eu não vim mais que a achar o estranho clima Onde a natura pôs teu Reino antigo. Mas, se a Fortuna tanto me sublima Que eu torne à minha pátria e Reino amigo, Então verás o dom soberbo e rico, Com que minha tornada certifico.
If you ask me for great gifts of high value to prove the truth of what I say, I came for nothing more than to find this strange clime where nature placed your ancient kingdom. But if Fortune exalts me so far that I return to my homeland and my friendly kingdom, then you will see the superb and rich gift by which I make good my return.
Gama answers the Samorin of Calicut, who has asked for gifts to prove the Portuguese king's greatness. He replies that he came only to explore, but if fortune carries him home, he will return with a splendid gift as proof.
Gama is on the diplomatic back foot. The Samorin has essentially asked him to put up or shut up: show the treasure that would vouch for a mighty king across the world. Gama has almost nothing to display, so he reframes the whole exchange. He didn't sail to impress; he sailed to discover. The lavish gift isn't withheld out of stinginess but deferred to a future voyage, which turns an embarrassment into a promise.
The hinge is the word tornada, the return. Everything Gama offers is contingent on getting home and coming back, and a first reader can miss how much weight that lands on. This is the same anxiety that runs under the whole poem: the sea route is only worth anything if ships can make the round trip and repeat it. Gama pledges a gift he can only deliver by surviving the ocean twice, quietly staking his credibility on the one thing not yet proven.
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Os Lusíadas 8.68 — The Great Library Project interlinear edition · greatlibraryproject.com/book/lusiadas/8.68/