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William Julius Mickle, The Lusiad; or the Discovery of India. An Epic Poem. Translated from the original Portuguese of Luis de Camöens. By William Julius Mickle, Oxford: Jackson and Lister, 1776, first edition

[xii], clxvii, 484pp. (482pp. as there is an error in paging, pages 153 - 154 omitted - see SABIB); full leather bound with spine decorated in gilt
28 x 23.5 x 4.5 cm

Rare and attractive edition of Os Lusíadas, usually translated as The Lusiads, - a Portuguese epic poem by Luís Vaz de Camões (sometimes rendered in English as Camoens or anglicized as Camoëns). Os Lusíadas is an epic poem originally published in 1570. It's considered to be the most important work of Portuguese literature and is often compared to the Aeneid, Virgil's great epic poem.

Written on his travels to India, this epic poem by the great Portuguese poet Luís Vaz de Camões, was first published in 1570, in ten cantos in Homeric fashion. The tale is celebrative of the discovery of a sea route to India by the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama (1469–1524). Camões is widely regarded as one of the greatest poets of Portugal and of the Portuguese language, often compared to Shakespeare, Milton, Homer, Virgil, and Dante.

Mickle's translation was more of a personal interpretation and poetic license with which he adapted Camöens epic. It maintained its status as the primary Lusiad translation until the mid-nineteenth century. In addition to commemorating the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama's (1469–1524) discovery of a maritime route to India, the work examines Portuguese voyages and discoveries during the 15th and 16th centuries.

William Julius Mickle was a Scottish poet of the eighteenth century.

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