Ma tutto quel possede,

Per cui defio d'haver non la tormenta :

Nuda sì, ma contenta.

Co' doni di natura

I doni di natura anco nudrica,
Col latte il latte auviva,

E col dolce del api

Condifce il mel de le natie dolcezze.
Quel fonte, ond' ella beve,
Quel folo anco la bagna, e la configlia
Paga lei, pago'l mondo;

Per lei di nembi il ciel s'ofcura indarno,
E di grandine s'arma,

Che la fua povertà nulla paventa:
Nuda sì, ma contenta.

Sola una dolce, e d'ogn' affanno fgombra
Cura le fta nel core.

Pafce le verdi herbette

La greggia à lei commeffa, ed ella pafce
De fuoi begli occhi il pastorello amante,
Non qual le deftinaro

O gli huomini, ò le ftelle;
Ma qual le diede Amore.
Nè per lui

Sente foco d'amor, che non gli scopra ;
Ned' ella scopre ardor, ch'egli non fenta:
Nuda sì, ma contenta.

We renderit thus into English:

Happy the Shepherdefs who fome coarse Stuff, Useful and plain and clean, but meanly cloaths; Rich in herself alone, and only deckt With Nature's Graces; whofe fweet Poverty Knows nought of Poverty, nor feels the Plagues That Riches often bring: Low, but content

With Nature's Gifts, fuftains the Gifts of Nature,
And with the Sweets the gathers from the Bee,
Seasons the Honey of her native Sweetness :
The Fountain where the drinks, fhe makes her Bath,
Makes that her Mirrour; if loud Storms arise
Her Poverty fears not: Low, but content:
Her only Thought is how to tend her Sheep
Committed to her Care, and how to blefs,
And look with Eyes of Love on her young Shepherd,
Not deftin'd for her by the Stars, or Men;
But one that Love has given, nor fhe for him
Feels ought of Love, but what the dares disclose;
Nor can fhe own a Flame he does not feel:
Low, but content,

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At the fame Time we allow, that the Sentiments in many Places of the Faithful Shepherd are (taking Taffo for a Rule) too lofty, and the Stile too founding for paftoral Comedy; nevertheless, those very Paffages by themselves are beautiful, and fome of them as great as any to be found in the Tragedies of the Antients and Moderns; this Poet has in feveral Places in this Drama fcattered Thoughts, which were indeed his own Sentiments, which, he did not dare to write, to speak, or even own to think, as a Chriftian Poet, but a Perfon filling a Character in a heathen Paftoral, fafely enough: Of this we could give a great many Inftances, but fhall content ourfelves with one, which has not escap❜d Cenfure, and for which a Monk once told me, that all his Works ought to be burnt; this Reclufe would have infinuated, as if he (through the blind Prophet Tirenio) abfolutely denied all Revelation, or poffible Intercourse between Man and the Divinity; I fhall put the Paffage I speak of in the best Light I may Amarillis being falfely accus'd of Breach of Faith, is VOL. II,

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condemn'd to Death, but the Law allowing any Person who fhould offer themfelves, to die in her Stead, Mirtillo, the Faithful Shepherd, takes the Advantage of it, and demands that he may die, and fhe be fet at Liberty. Upon which the Solemnity of the Sacrifice begins, and the Victim, after a certain limited Time of Speech, is to remain filent; but the Sacrifice is interrupted by the coming in of Carino, the fuppos'd Father of Mirtillo, to whom unwittingly Mirtilla fpeaks, which makes void the preceding Rites, and he is fent back to the Temple to renew his Vow, and Meffengers with him for fresh Wine and Water, and other Things proper for the Sacrifice: Mean time the Difcovery is made, that Mirtillo is the Son of Montano the high Prieft, who was going to offer him up, this raifes a violent Conflict in the Breaft of Montano, who declares, that he will instead of Mirtillo, kill himfelf; in this. Circumftance Things are, when the blind Prophet is led in, and difcovers Mirtillo to be the Faithful Shepherd, foretold by the Oracle to free this Land of Offerings of human Blood. It is the Beginning of Tirenio's Speech only that we fhall quote.

O quanto fpeffo giova

La cecità de gli occhi al veder molto;

Ch' alhor non traviata

*

L'anima, ad in fe fteffa
Tutta raccolta, fuole

Aprir nel cieco fenfo occhi Lincei.
Non bifogna, Montano,

2

Paffar sì leggiermente alcuni grayi
Non afpettati cafi,

Che trà l'opere humane han del divino.
Però che i fommi Dei

Non converfano in terra,soos kohat

Nè favellan con gli huomini mortali;
Mà tutto quel di grande, ò di ftupendo,
Ch' al cieco Cafo il cieco volgo afcrive,
Altro non è, che favellar celefte :
Cofi parlan trà noi gli eterni Numi:
Quefte fon le lor voci ;

Mute à l' orecchie, e rifonanti al core
Di chi le'ntende.

The following is as clofe a Tranflation as we are able to give :

How often does the Want of Eyes give Sight! 'The Soul not wanders then, but in itfelf Collected, opens Eyes within. Nor we Slightly fhould pafs o'er great and ftrange Events, Which speak a Hand divine: For the high Gods Converse not here on Earth, nor fpeak to Men; But all that's wonderful! All we admire Which the blind Vulgar to blind Chance afcribe, Is nothing but the Voice of Heaven: For thus To mortal Men, fpeak the eternal Gods: Mute to the outward Ear, but loud to him Whofe Understanding hears, and happy he Who hearing understands.

Of this we fhall not make the fame Application as the Monk did; let every one judge for himself.

It is objected by Mr. Pope and others, that Gua rini has, befides thefe deep and fpeculative Verses, too much Contrivance and too ravell'd a Plot for a Dramatick Paftoral: But this is fuppofing that every Paftoral Writer muft follow Taffo exactly, because he invented this Sort of Poem. Taffo's Characters are nothing but Shepherds and Shepherdeffes on their native Plains, fuppos'd to know little elfe, but about

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their Flocks and Sports, and a little Love; though you fee his Thyrfis has been at Court, and fpeaks high Phrase to Daphne, of the Prince whose Favour he enjoy'd: Nay, Daphne tells him, he has foar'd aloft. However in Taffo's Amintas there appears no Plot, but all happens by Accident; the little Contrivance of bringing Silvia to the Fountain excepted. Take all this for granted, may not another Poet, ftill keeping the Arcadian Stile, introduce Characters, who may be fuppos'd (though inhabiting the Plains) to act Parts fuller of Defign. Guarini's Characters are, except two or three, of another Sort from those of Taffo. Montano is High-Priest of Diana, defcended from the Gods; Silvio and Mirtillo are his Children; Mirtillo has feen the World, and liv'd a great While at Elis, to which Place Amarillis had also been conducted, to fee the Sports that were celebrated there in Honour of Jupiter, and fhe is the Daughter of Titirus, defcended likewife from the Gods; Corifca is an old Coquet and a Traveller, had liv'd in great Towns, come but lately from Argos, and the Satire is a Character which allows great Liberty. Here is a Prophet; and Carino, who had travelled all over those Parts, befides feveral other Characters. We can't fee why it should be denied the Poet, to form what Plot might fuit his Genius beft out of these, who are naturally supposed to be capable of fuch Actions as we see them employ'd in: So that we think Mr. Pope, had he attempted fuch a Work, would have been deceiv'd, where he fays, he fhould certainly displease all those, who are charm'd with Bonarelli and Guarini, and imitate Taffo; becaufe (fetting Bonarelli quite afide) we find almost all Lovers of Poetry equally charm'd with Taffo and Guarini; who, with Mr. Allan Ramsay are the best Writers