Itinerary: Voyage to the East or Portuguese Indies

On the description of the East Indies by Jan Huyghen of Haarlem.

SONNET.

If the praise of Heroes is worth spreading abroad
With Pindar’s Trumpet Pindar was an ancient Greek poet famous for his odes celebrating victors; his "trumpet" symbolizes high, public praise.; so that, without regard
For Neptune’s fury Neptune is the Roman god of the sea; his "fury" refers to storms and dangerous waters.; they strive to discover
A new World, distinct from our own,
Just as those who in former times performed brave deeds,
Who brought the Fleece from Colchis to Argos A reference to Jason and the Argonauts who captured the Golden Fleece in Greek mythology.;
Truly worthy of thanks are those whose noble thoughts
Spread their wings out of honest desires,
To find out what Phoebus’ rays Phoebus is a name for Apollo, the sun god; this refers to lands "under the sun" in the distant East.
Reveal at the far-lying borders.
Namely, my HUYGHEN, whose wise experience
Very clearly opens up the Indian shores to us,
And what further wonders the East brings forth,
Rich in preciousness above all Lands.

O many-tongued Fame (whose Trumpet’s sound
Spreads the praise of Man across all corners of the Earth)
Call out and announce very swiftly with eternally sweet song
From here Jan Huyghen’s name to the South-polar realms;
His discerning eye has diligently looked through
All the East-Indian treasures for a full fourteen years Original Dutch: "twee seven jaer lanck" (two-seven years long).:
Which he, for our benefit, reveals through the art of Peitho Original Dutch: "Pithoos const." Peitho was the Greek goddess of persuasion and eloquence; the author suggests Linschoten writes with great skill.
With the beautiful depiction of the entire land’s circuit.
By this, his praise far exceeds that of the cunning Greek A reference to Odysseus (Ulysses), the hero of Homer's Odyssey.
Who, traveling, saw Circe, the Cyclops, beautiful Calypso,
The half-dog Scylla, Charybdis, and the Sirens.
For treasure-rich Goa, Kannur—worthy of praise—
Java, Kochi, Pegu, Sri Lanka full of noble stones,
He displays these (with many others) as if in a Mirror.

original Latin: "In Amor' perseverando."

On the description of India by Jan Huyghen van Linschoten.

To travel to India and the furthest stretches of the East,
To be absent from the Fatherland for fourteen years;
And to change soil, sea, stars, and nations so many times;
And having changed so often, to have returned home from there;
This is a rare and fortunate thing, Hugo Linschoten, and I believe
That none of our people was able to do this before.
Yet if anyone was able, he did not bring back
The things he saw as a lasting gift to the fatherland.
But this you now do, and you allow us to see at no cost,
What you previously saw with immeasurable labor.
Through you, we Dutchmen original Latin: "Batavis." The Dutch often referred to themselves as Batavians, claiming descent from an ancient Germanic tribe. now survey the Indians from their shores,
And so many lands of men, walls, laws, and homes.
And through you we are able, if a passion for going should carry anyone,
To travel even now such distant ways in safety.
You reveal the shallows, the sandbanks, and the shipwrecking rocks,
And which harbor is harmful, and which breeze is favorable:
And wherever you often read [the sea] at your own peril,
You recount these same things so they may be avoided.
Happy are you, who could overcome such great misfortunes,
And hand down such great things to future times.
Great glory follows you from what you saw, but greater glory still,
Because you saw more for your fatherland than for yourself.

Th. Velius of Hoorn. Theodorus Velius (1572–1630) was a Dutch physician and historian from Hoorn, famous for his chronicles of that city.