''Mensagem'' is a book by Portuguese writer
Fernando Pessoa. It is composed of 44 poems, and was called the "livro pequeno de poemas" or the "little book of poems". It was published in 1934 by Parceria António Maria Pereira. The book was awarded, in the same year, with the Prémio Antero de Quental in the poem category by the ''Secretariado Nacional de Informação'' of the
Estado Novo.
''Mensagem'' was published just one year before the death of the author, and is about the past of
Portugal. In particular it contemplates the ancient grandeur of Portugal, and glorifies above all the style of
Luís de Camões, the author of
Os Lusíadas, and the
Portuguese discoveries
Portuguese maritime exploration resulted in the numerous territories and maritime routes recorded by the Portuguese as a result of their intensive maritime journeys during the 15th and 16th centuries. Portuguese sailors were at the vanguard of Eu ...
. It points to these people and events as ones which Pessoa believed could regenerate, or return Portugal to its past greatness.
Creation
The original title of the book was ''Portugal''. However a friend of Pessoa convinced him that "Mensagem" would be a more appropriate title as "Portugal" had already been widely used with common products. Pessoa liked the work "mensagem" because of the expression in
Latin: ''Mens agitat molem'', meaning, "the spirit moves matter" a phrase from the epic poem ''
The Aeneid'' by
Vergil, said by
Anchises
Anchises (; grc-gre, Ἀγχίσης, Ankhísēs) was a member of the royal family of Troy in Greek and Roman legend. He was said to have been the son of King Capys of Dardania and Themiste, daughter of Ilus, who was son of Tros. He is most fam ...
when he was explaining the Universe to
Aeneas. Pessoa did not use the original meaning of the quote which is of the existence of a universal principal from which emanate all beings. According to a letter dated to 13 January 1935 to Adolfo Casais Monteiro, ''Mensagem'' was the first book that Pessoa was able to complete.
References
{{reflist
1934 poetry books
Portuguese poetry collections