Captain Alatriste

To the Lord of La Torre de Juan Abad

with Similes from the Lives of the Saints

Rhymed octave

Behind good Roch, lame supplicant,

Behind Ignatius, chivalrous and valiant.

Behind Dominic, in combating a Protestant,

Behind John Chrysostom, so famously eloquent,

Behind Jerome, in learning and Jewish cant,

Behind Paul, the tactful and prudent,

Finally comes Quevedo, behind even Thomas,

And for every target, he brings his harquebus.