I ■ Olass_r£HlA_ Book .L^Vd So'-jtL ©ES({' EES J V'V ! l©^ (OF ][j<0>"VE 1 ' if^] j | ~^ ij *-a^^-~ ' ''VV Alii* Sculp. The affectionate Adieu of Sector and Andromajche . p.iq. ftiblishcd, by J.BlackL>ck , oi.Rpyal ExduUlgi I DESCRIPTIONS C VE, FROM THE MOST Celebrate* GEpic poets?: HOMER, ARIOSTO, TASSO, //?' MILTON, VIRGIL, AND CAMOENS By M. PfGRANDMAI'SON. TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH THE SECOND EDITION. LONDON i PRINTED FOR J. BLACK LOCK, ROYAL- EXCHANGE, by J. Swan and Son, 76, Fleet Street 1S09. 3DES rounded by a numerous assembly. All Elysium heard with admiration their strains, which were worthy of the Gods. And thou, O Muse! who hast already recited these melodious verses, assist me in repeating them; assist me, while attempt- ing to imitate their rich and flowing harmony; and aid me, while endeavouring to preserve, in my humble strains, their spirit, their fire, and their noblest qualities. Six bards, seizing their magnificent lyres, pre- pare themselves to sing the love adventures of heroes. At their head stands Homer, the great- est of poets. He rules over them all, and shines continually in the first rank. In his song he, at one time, reposes under a serene sky, and dis- plays a countenance full of nobleness, happiness, and joy; at another, dark and terrible, with the roaring of the tempest, the noise of the thunder, and the flash of the lightning, he lays waste fields, levels fortresses, and overwhelms a whole people, with the chariots of war. Like his own 6 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. Jupiter, with a nod of his head, he causes the heavens to shake, and the earth to tremble. His comprehensive mind ranges through the uni- verse. Great, like Nature herself, he has re- mained glorious, during both brilliant ages and obscure, and like her he will remain to all future generations. Tasso accompanies him : Tasso whose en- chanting poem pleases by its magic; whose charming flights delight us, though often bor- rowed from Homer and Virgil: as the brilliant colours of the rainbow are not less beautiful, in being borrowed from the sun. Imagination lent him her pencil; and she sometimes increases the brilliancy of his pictures. His muse pleases, seduces, interests, astonishes, and ravishes us by turns. She is an inchantress, whom, though sometimes she deceives us, we adore; we feel ourselves dazzled; we resist her influence; but no sooner does she speak, than we feel ourselves inclined to obey. DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 7 Not far distant stood Ariosto : he who alone knew the art of being at the same time comic and sublime. He assumes every shape; no poet equals him in deriding the dull stupidity of grave countenances, or in exciting loud and general mirth at the recital of an entertaining adventure. But, further; of all writers, he has the most fruit- ful invention. Light, witty, insinuating, enter- taining, profound, he amuses himself with the sallies of his imagination, gives them scope, or restrains them at pleasure, dissevers them, or joins them together, and colours them, at the same time, with a hundred various and pleasing shades. In his hands, every sketch becomes brilliant. In his glorious enthusiasm, he alternately takes up* lays down, and takes up again, the lute and the trumpet, the fife and the lyre. But who is this old man, in the lines of whose elevated countenance a great character is ex- pressed? How dignified his look! how noble the bright expression of his face? 'Tis Milton V 'tis he 8 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. who was, in Albion, the source of noble inven- tion! By the sublimity of his imagination, he ascends on high, creates a new world, and, like a rapid river, mixing its waves with the depth of hell, and the gulphs of Chaos, he descends to the fathomless regions. From thence he returns once more to Eden, indulges himself with sweet repose, or cherishes the verdure, and cultivates the roserbush ; or gratifies himself with that bliss divine, connubial love, innocent as the untrodden earth, and pure as the heavens. In this manner, developing his genius, and rolling, in his poetic course, his majestic waves, he embraces both worlds. Near him stands Virgil: he who often, in his flights, ascends on high, aided by the genius of the bard of Hector, as the ivy supports itself by the oak which it embraces ; but which, though destitute of its strength, possesses all its beauty. His song abounds with that seducing charm which gratifies the ear, and penetrates to the DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 9 heart. Though unacquainted with the bewitch- ing, fairy scenes of Tasso, he knows how to in- spire enchanting reveries. His verses flow with the most affecting descriptions of love and sor- row. All the labyrinths of the heart are unfold- ed to him. Never was the song of a poet equal to his; never did any other draw forth such de- lightful tears, whether in describing the flight of a faithless lover, who, by ingratitude, stabs Dido to the heart; or whether, in pathetic strains, he relates the fall of Nisus on the body of his loved Euryalus, where his friendship only ter- minates with his life. He warms, he agitates, he forcibly constrains us ; and excites by turns, the sighs of love, of nature, and of friendship. What poet comes next? < Tis the Swan of the Tagus, who gloriously excels in melody of song. And though not always equalling the grandeur of his subject, yet, when in his strains, Vasco, ruler of the ocean, bursts courageously the boun- daries of the world; when the African Cape,. 10 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. shaped like a giant, and hideous sentinel of the farthest Ocean, whilst hearing with terror, the black waves dashing against the rocks, flings with fury the living mountain, all Pindus applaud his song sublimely terrible, and believe that they are listening to the strains of divine Homer himself. Such were the talents of these divine bards: their lyres were strung, and ready in their hands. Around them, on every side, flocked the various lesser poets, anxious for a seat in their presence. They all shone, glorious by their illus- trious labours. Here, nigh Saphocles, stood the «lder Corneille; there, Racine approaches his rival Euripides. Moliere, alone, seeks in vain for his equal. Here too, appears the engaging Horace, blending boldness with taste, and strength with gracefulness. Near them, Ana- creon displays the roses of spring blended with winter, shining on his snowy locks. Here also -Sappho spreads around the delirium of her fury. DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 11 The ingenious Ovid amuses himself with his lyre; whilst Tibullus touches a lute, watered with his tears. At a greater distance, their brows adorned with flowers, assembled those charming poets, the Chalieus and the Lafares, chanting their songs, and flashing around their wit, to the sound of tambourines, flutes, and guitars, and always exciting pleasing bursts of laughter. In their presence, also, were to be seen, those ingeni- ous poets, those Dantes and Shakespears whose amazing labours, mixing the greatest faults with the most sublime productions, threw round, in a darkened age, a thousand beams of light. Around them pressed the forest-loving Shades, collectihg in a circle their lightly-moving bo- dies; and chiefly were to be seen, those who had experienced the pangs of love, when they sojourned in this world. But though they ceased not to love in these delicious abodes, their tender affections no longer led to their destruction. Here Andromache sighs, and, joined in thebanda 12 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. of affection, rapturously embraces her husband and her son. Here the Beauties cherished by Calliope are to be seen ; such were Circe and Helen, Calypso and Penelope! Such were thou, O Dido! whose griefs have so often drawn tears from my eyes ! But what delightful assemblage of other beauties, is this that I behold? 'Tis Marphisa and Olympa, Alcine, Bradamante, Fleur d'Epine, and Angelica; and near them still are to be seen, Zerbin and Roger, and the seducing Medor. At a still greater distance, are also to be observed Olinda hand in hand with Sophronia, and the happy Tancred in the arms of the happy Herminia. 'Tis Herminia! yes! 'tis she herself! She whose grief so long accused the rigour of fate! Behold her sweet at- tractions, her angelic mein, the melancholic azure of her mildly-rolling eye, and the affecting charm of her mournful smile! What heart could remain unaffected at the sight of such beauty. But whither do the attractions of the enchant- DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 13 ing Armida seduce me ? A voluptuous art pre- sides over her charms; an enticing air of intelli- gence adds to her beauty. Rinaldo loves her, and his heart burns unceasingly in her presence. What charms does she employ to captivate him! At one time, her eye sparkles with amorous joy; at another she conceals it under the veil of modesty; sometimes, she displays an austere and tranquil coldness; sometimes gladness paints the blushing rose on her cheek, moistened with tears of joy. Thus, smiles and tears, fear and expectation, calms and transports, pain and plea- sure, varying her attractive graces, inspire her, in the eyes of her ravished admirer, with the charms of a hundred beauties. Such are the enchanting figures whose enrap- tured circle surrounds, with eagerness, the divine bards. Now Homer, chief of this glorious as- sembly, sounding his sonorous lyre, begins his song, whilst every Shade listens to his voice, and every eye is eagerly turned towards him. 14: DESCRIPTIONS OP LOVE. Calm and silence reign throughout this immense assembly. Homer thus commences. * Patroclus had perished by the hand of Hector. Achilles still alive, had not yet avenged him; but he departs, and rushes to the walls of Troy, impatient to devour his prey. Hector is in the city, offering, with pious hands, a sacrifice to the gods. No sooner is he told, that his rival approaches, than, burning with eagerness for the fight, he shouts, and rushes forth. Old Priam and his spouse in tears vainly endeavour to stop him by their entreaties, and their forebodings of misfortune. The intrepid warrior, hurried on by courage, runs to the middle of the city, flies towards the plain, and is already at the walls ; when, from the top of a high tower, commanding a view of every surrounding object, Andro- mache beholds him; she eagerly flies, and stops him at the Scsean gate; a woman follows, car- rying in her bosom their son, more beautiful than the star of the morning. The hero per- DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 15 ceives her, turns towards her, looks on her with admiration, and smiles in silence. Andromache sighs, and embraces her Hector, and thus ad- dressed him: " O my dear husband! Thy cou- rage will prove thy destruction, and will destroy us all; take pity on thy son, take pity on his mother, whom thy death will plunge in the most inexpressible misery. Thou wishestto fight Achilles! ah ! then is there an end of thee, and of our love. I know, that his arm will prove thy destruction. Shouldst thou perish! why should not I previously expire! Presently de- spair will accompany my grief, will hurry thy spouse and thy son to the grave! Death (you well know it,) cruel death hath deprived me of my venerable mother, and my father was murder- ed on the rampart of Thebes. Achilles, in his fury, destroyed him with his own hand. My seven brothers still remained, but that merciless tiger, in one day, sacrificed them all to his vengeance. My mother, whom he brought with him to these mournful shores — oh! heaven, this very day; 16 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. gave up all her wealth to purchase her liberty; but Diana, still enraged against her, pierced her with arrows in her palace. I have lost all my friends. What do I say? I behold thee, ray Hector, and in thee do I find again all my relations! Dear husband! suffer thy soul to melt at my tears! Preserve a father to thy son, and a husband to thy wife. Behold, not far from that fig-tree, how easily the walls may- be ascended. There, the boldest of our ene- mies, Teucer and Ajax, Ulysse and the Atrides, the fierce Diomede, and the king of the Cretans, have thrice endeavoured to burst through into the city. Who knows but the walls may give way to their next attack? De- fend them, dear Hector!" " O my dear Andromache!" replies the husband, "you rend " my heart with your sorrow. But can I reflect " without horror, on the just reproaches of the " Trojans, who, if I should shun the combat, " would exclaim, H eis afraid of Achilles! he trem- " bles at his approach/ My heart would burst DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 17 d with indignation at having followed your coun- " sel. What! I rest inglorious within these walls! who have rushed into the midst of the fight, vays at the head of the Trojans, have t blood for the preservation of my coun- . ae day, (the idea is horrible), one day put an end to the glory of Troy! But a and Priam, and all the princes, r ered at once by the hand of the con- «' querbr, would afflict me less than if my An- •mache— a Greek ! (O horrible day !) a « Greek would carry off Andromache in tears, overwhelm her with shame and sorrow, - tuld treat her as a slave : and thou, for- wouldst, one day, at the Hyperian foun- i Argos, draw water with servile hands, " or woaldst be condemned to twine the distaff. " An Argian, in beholding this mournful sight, ay, Look at that illustrious princess, " that spouse of Hector, the chief of those war- M riors that cherished the valour of the fierce (f sons of Troy ! And thee, thou wouldst grieve ; c 18 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. " thy heart would sink in the most profound " affliction, without husband, and alone in the " world ! But ere I behold an inhuman con- " queror carry thee off in triumph, plunged in « grief, and calling upon me in vain, the u up earth shall have covered my ashes !' Having thus spoken, the Scamanc* approaches, and extends towards the affectionate arm ; but his son, frighte< nodding plumes of his helmet, throws terror into the breast of his nurse. The affected with the simple terror of the' 1 * child, suffered a tender smile to escape them ; but Hector, putting off the terrifying helmet, takes his son, now divested of terror, in his arms, em- braces him, caresses him, and covers him with kisses : Then, « O great Jupiter \" cries he, " grant, that this child, so dear to me, may sur- «< pass me in valour, and may, one day, by his " noble courage, be the defence of the Trojans ; " and the honour of my family ! Let the people DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 19 " say, in beholding him, proud and victorious, " returning home with the spoils of the van- " quished, He surpasses his father', he has done " more than him for Troy ! And let th i " of his happy mother overflow with joy . " Having repeated this prayer, he \ child to his mother to cherish him. Ar. takes him in her arms, and smiles smiles upon him in tears. Hector, a feels his heart glow with love and and clasping her within one arm, a her with the other, " Dear spouse !" cries he, " di: "boding tears. No mortal can deprive " existence, before Fate ordains r I H alone can render me up to grim Death " strikes, with his dart, both the good man and u the bad. But return to thy palace, and rejoin u again thy slaves. War calls forth all the brave " to its perils. Hector ought to guide them." c2 20 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOTE. He said ; and now adorned the front of his hel- met with the shining many-coloured plume. Andromache, retiring, sighs, and stops, and turns her head to behold him once more. But Hector was al ready on the plain. As some proud cour- ser, long time separated from his companions, s band, and shining, with head erect, npetuous, he now runs and bomr.ls up- ass, and delights to rush into the well- kncwn waters: now, the fire issuing ils, proud and burning > desin his long dishevelled ha i the breeze, Hi s to the plain, attacks * marches proudly at the head of -flock: so Hi: or flew. But imi ■ the unexpected flight of the Trojans oppuscu him. Kvery one flie before Achilles, the en- raged ded on the plain, clad in dazzli k iU I, gold, and brass. No sooner had he espied Hector, than he leaps, cries out, grasps his lance with fury, while his buckler emitted dreadful gleams of light: like the lightning he DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 21 shines, like the rising of the sun from the bosom of the ocean, armed with his burning rays. Hector recognises him by his lofty mien, his features, and his proudly shining armour. His heart melts at the sight. " You, O Achilles ! or I, must conquer," cries he. " But let us appeal to Heaven, and may u the Gods themselves be the supreme guardians " of the oath which I now make. If I be con- " queror, you need not fear any insult ; thy arms " shall be sufficient trophies of my victory, and " I will give back thy body inviolate to Greece. " I swear it ! Make you also the same promise « to me." " Hector ! it is in vain that you propose any •* agreement betwixt us/' cries Achilles ; his eyes fierce, and wildly rolling. " An agreement ! who " ever made an agreement in our situation ! What " compacts do lions enter into with men ? Away " with such proposals ! Your blood or mine ; TZ DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. " my death or thine ; these are our only agree- " ments. Yes, the God of battles will soon sa- " tiate his thirst with the blood which I abhor. '* Die ! descend instantly to hell, which is ready " to devour you." At these words, his shaft cuts the air; Hector stoops, and avoids the stroke, an springing again to his former position, " Achilles ! this is the way in which your pride " deceives you ; you thought to frighten me by u this meanly deceitful attempt to surprise me ; " but you shall soon be convinced, that my heart " is a stranger to fear. You shall either pierce " the breast of Hector, who will now attack you, u or you shall receive in thine his murderous " lance; and may death plunge it wholly there! ,> He says : his shaft departs, whizzes through the air ; but quickly driven back from the buck- ler which it strikes, it falls, blunted, to the ground. A frightful horror now circulates through his whole frame ; whilst his hand seizes his sword with fury. As an eagle darts upon a proud dra- DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 23 gon, Hector falls upon his enemy. iEacides, not less bold, advances towards him. His threat- ning helmet, balanced by his forehead, shines with the gleams of a quadruple crest, and causes the gold of his stately plume to shake ; his large buckler covers and protects him : As the evening star, more bright than her glorious companions, sends forth, on every side, her sparkling influ- ence, the steel of Achilles now gleams with light. His eye measures Hector, and searches after a passage to his frightful javelin, the intended in- strument of his vengeance ; he beholds him wholly covered with shining brass, which his triumphant arm had conquered from Patrocles ; he sees no other place fit for his purpose than that where the breast is separated from the neck, and from whence the soul instantly issues out, and disappears. In this place, therefore, the he- ro, certain of the death of his foe, plunges, with fury, his murderous lance. The Phrygian falls: Achilles, treading his enemy under foot, ex- claims, « There you are now, proud Hector ! 24 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. What! thou didst not tremble when destroying Patroclus, and despoiling him of my armour ! Fool that thou wert ; thou believest, credulous and secure, that Achilles would remain slothful in his ships; he has appeared, and thoudiest; thou shalt be food for the ravens ; Patroclus shall be indebted to his friend for burial." The Phrygian replies: "Deign, I beseech thee, to accept the treasures of my afflicted re- lations, and suffer them to commit my remains to the grave. By thyself, by thy aged father, by thy feet which I embrace, I beseech thee, in dying."— " Thou expect a favour ! thou ! — Why does not my rage cause me instantly to devour thy palpitating limbs ? Go ! the famished dogs and the vultures await thee, and though thy fa- ther, to obtain that which thou beseechest, should present all his gold to my sight, should double, should treble his store, and still offer it to me, his offers would be vain ; he should not carry thy dead body to Troy. Die! The fowls of DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 25 heaven already descend to seize upon their prey." " Barbarian! I foresaw thy refusal; thy hard heart is inaccessible to entreaty ; but my prayers shall be more favourably received in heaven. Tremble ! for Paris awaits thee at the Scaean gate." Hector said ; and lamenting the rigour of his fate, his soul speedily takes its flight from his vigorous frame, which, alas ! was exposed to a premature dissolution. But Achilles, hurried on by a ferocious ven- geance, cries out, " Die ! what hast thou to do with the length of my days ? Heaven alone has a right to shorten them V* At these words, he pierces his neck with his lance ; and wreaking his vengeance on his foe, he strips his body, and pierces his feet, which he immediately affixes to his triumphant car ; the head of the Phrygian he leaves in the dust, while he mounts his car, and, quick as the lightning, he departs, bearing 26 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. in one hand the spoils of Hector, and, with the other, guiding the eagle-flight of his coursers# The body follows, drawn through the thick dust ; that forehead, those beautiful features, and hair, polluted, immersed in black clouds of dust, trace frightful furrows, while drawn through the sand. In this manner was Hector, in his own country, and under the walls of Troy, exposed to the most dreadful disgrace. His mother, placed on the ramparts, on be- holding this sight, shrieks, tears her veil and her dishevelled hair; pale, she runs, she falls, in de- spair. Priam — O ! what image hath tormented his sight ! He groans beside Hecuba; their at- tendants press around them ; and the unhappy walls reverberate with sighs, as if the spires and burning palaces of ancient Troy were mouldering away in the flames. But Priam, — he runs ; he darts forward, and, despising death, he attempts to sally forth ; but his attendants oppose him in his course; they stop him; he is unable to de- DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. c 2' t scend into the plain, and already he rolls in the mire; but he struggles, and implores all those whom he beholds around him. " Fall back, my friends ; you attempt to stop me in vain ; release me ; respect the grief which inspires me ; I will go to the barbarian ; I will embrace his knees ; he will see my grief, my humbled countenance, my white locks, my age; he will have pity on me ; he will be penetrated with my sorrow ; and has not he also a father, laden like me with the miseries of life, and bowing under a load of years ?« Alas ! this cruel son of his has pierced, with a merciless hand, my bosom, as well as that of my family. Of how many children has his pitiless arm deprived me ? But the death of them all afflicts me less than that dreadful fate which has awaited Hector. O, too unhappy fa- ther ! I have been unable to encircle within my arms, the son whom I love, at his departing sigh! His mother and I have not been able to sooth his troubled soul with our sighs and our tears ! Ah ! why does not Heaven terminate my existence ?" 28 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. Hecuba, near the king, followed by her wo- men, cries out, in her tears, " O my son ! my Hector ! thou diest, and I live ; I still breathe ; I suffer the odious light of day ; I, who formerly proud of being thy mother, saw the Trojans lift thee up to the heavens. Yes, Hector! they adored thee, and compared thee to the gods ; now thou art no more ! and now both Hecuba and Troy must fall." Thus mourned the queen drowned in her tears. Meantime, Andromache, unconscious of her disasters, was employed in shading the colours of a veil, in her palace ; her women, by the aid of a shining fire, prepared a warm bach for Hec- tor, where he might refresh his wearied limbs : every preparation was now finished: they await him ; but, alas ! they expect him in vain. Drawn at this moment by the implacable Achilles, he shall never more, on returning from the fight, smile upon his spouse, or rush into her arms. But what noise, what exclamations suddenly ap- DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 29 proach her ! The materials which she held drop out of her hands ; while all her senses moved, and her countenance pale with fear : ** Gods ! what do I hear ? what cries ! If it be. Follow me, my companions ; let us run — Ah ! my knees bend ; my heart beats ; it bounds, and my blood runs cold. O may my fear be, as formerly, in vain ! But I tremble — Ah ! I have seen, I know my Heetor ; the aspect of danger never frightens him : he advances before his men, he darts for- ward at their head. He flies to meet Achilles, and, perhaps, to day Achilles Ah ! my Hec- tor has fallen before him I" She exclaims, and suddenly rushes forth from the palace. In an ardent delirium, and the agi- tation of a fever, she feels her heart oppressed, and burning, and cold, by turns ; she flies to the walls, ascends the tower, rushes through the pressing crowd, pale, and breathless, she looks with an eagerly-enquiring eye to the plain, sees not far from the shore (O dreadful sight!) sees SO DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. her husband drawn by the enraged Achilles. She falls : the light forsakes her eyes ; she remains motionless, and seems dead ; her head, fallen on the earth, scatters those knots, those pearls, which adorn the gold of her flaxen hair, and the veil so dear to this unfortunate woman, the sweet present and pledge of wedded love ; her bro- thers, her parents, partaking her sorrow, press her in their arms, and bathe her in their tears. At length she returns to misfortune and to life ; she again beholds the light, she weeps, and ex- claims, " Hector ! O my Hector ! unfortunate hus- band ! under what star, at what time, and in what place wert thou born ? Alas ! it was with Priam ; and I, in my country, where my father cherished my tender years ! Why, alas ! did my father give me life ? He himself descended to the dark and narrow house : he lost, at the same time, his kingdoms and his daughter ; and thou, my dear Hector, thou also dost abandon me; DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 27 thou diest, and I shall never more behold that countenance, those features so dear to me, with- in our walls and deserted palaces ; thou diest, and thy infant, in tender years, what assistance, alas ! can it receive from a widow. Perhaps he would have been the support of thy old age ; thou diest, and with thee all comforts both for thy child and for me. " And if he should survive our unhappy wars, our country will be the prey of avaricious strangers. For he who has no father, is desti- tute of friends ; he is left alone, he is shunned, his conversation is disregarded ; he has no friend- ly bosom into which he can pour his sorrows ; his eyes are filled with solitary tears ; he devours his shame in silence ; or, instigated by hunger, he at length has recourse to the friends of hk father. Bashful, he advances to their brilliant table, and with a suppliant hand seizes their robe ; he is pitied ; but, alas ! the draught which is presented to him, scarcely moistens his lip, and 32 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. he is instantly disregarded : or, perhaps, some other children, happy in having a father, abuse and expel him. Go, say they, and yield to mi- sery. Depart from hence, and submit to thy fate. Go, thy father no more partakes of our festivities. And my son, tortured by this cruel treatment, will return home, to weep in the arms of his mother. O my son ! O what lot has heaven prepared for us ! Thou, whom Hector fondly placed upon his knees; for whom he oftentimes selected from the table the most de- licious morsels. Deprived of a father ! O Gods ! ye Gods ! what will be his fate ? It will only be misery, reproach, or death. And of what avail will it be to him to have a name rendered famous by a hundred battles ? Beloved Hector ! thou hast saved the ramparts of Troy ; and thou art no more : thy corse on the sea-shore will be the prey of the vulture, and ravaged by the worm : naked, deprived of those vestments which our women embroidered, and which ought still to cover thee — Ah ! I will commit to the flames, DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 33 those garments, now useless, which cannot now be even employed to shroud thee in the grave. The Trojans shall behold them ; these marks of thy glory shall at least be able still to honour thy memory/' She said : and groaned, and remained bathed in tears ; while her women, eagerly, and in emulation, partook her sorrows. DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE, CANTO II. CONTENTS. Tanso sings the loves of Rinaldo and Armida. — Without Ri- mddo^s aid Bouillon cannot conquer Sohjma. — Two Warriors ■tent in search of Rinaldo: they are prepared for their expe- dition by a Magician: arrive in the island. — A stranger describes the approach to Armida 1 s palace: the Warriors delighted with the beautiful scenery: discover tico Syrens swimming in a lake: afraid of their fascinations : one sings the beauties of the palace, and invites them to enjoy its pleasures. — The Warriors discover Rinaldo reposing in the arms of Armida : her beauties and enchantments described. — Rinaldo struck iu it h the sight of the Warriors: excited to arms by Ubaldo : resolves to leave those scenes of enchant- ment and love. — Armida remonstrates tcith him: her dis- traction. — Rinaldo attempts to soothe her: she sivoons. — Rinaldo departs. — Armida restored to life: her rage, disap- pointment, a?id despair: returns to her palace: invokes the infernal spirits: her palace and enchantments destroyed. DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE, Sfc. T A S S O. x hus Homer sung ; and loud shouts of ap- plause immediately accompanied his sublime strains. Every one admired Hector, and trem- bled with horror at beholding him drawn in fu- ry by- the enraged Achilles. What astonishing rivals ! what sublime courage was traced by the brilliant imagination of the poet! And how af- fecting in their tears, how interesting in their sorrow, the old king of Troy and the tender Andromache ! They beheld, near the body of her beloved Hector, the affectionate Andromache groan at the remembrance of her afflicted coun- try ; but happy she feels Hector near to her 38 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. heart, and her past sorrows redouble her felicity. The whole assembly was enchanted at the af- fecting recital; when Tasso, suddenly striking the speaking lyre, fills the air with his delight- ful strains, and sings the amorous transports of Rinaldo. Bauillon, said he, in vain attempted to con- quer Solyma, having lost the aid of that illus- trious hero, who being, enamoured of Armida, worshipped his chains, in an enchanted island, at the farthest corner of the world. Two Chris- tians are appointed to visit this island, and to snatch Rinaldo from his beloved asylum. Ubal- do, the illustrious Paladin, and Charles the war- rior, are appointed to this office : they suddenly depart, ardently desirous to execute the import- ant enterprise. Taking those precautions autho- rized by heaven, the warriors receive from a magician a shining buckler, a book, and a golden rosary, the qualities of which would be sufficient to enable them to overcome every ob- DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 39 stacle excited by magical power. He conducts the heroes, who were now to traverse the boundless ocean, to the sea-shore. There they spied an unknown female, conducting through the waves a light bark, which approaches, and receives them. They depart ; and the north wind, pro- pitious to their wishes, wafts them over the wa- ters of an unruffled ocean. They at length de- scry the land of their desire : an island lifts its rising head, the curved bank of which- forms a double crescent ; a rock defends it against the mighty billows of the ocean, and breaks the fury of the angry waves, which, at length gen- tly pour themselves into a spacious harbour, and repose their exhausted strength in its peaceful bosom. They beheld near the banks, twofor- midable rocks, informing pilots of their approach to the harbour : they were crowned with green forests, under whose shade were to be seen a smiling grotto, where the twining ivy hung, and a pure rivulet murmured : here no anchor ever sunk into the earth ; no ship was ever for- 40 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVL. cibly held fast by a cable. In this place the unknown stranger, stopping on the tranquil wa- ters, addressed the two warriors. "View that palace, half hid by the cloud, crowning the summit of the hill ; there Rinaldo, enchained by the charms of his mistress, resigns to voluptuous delights his indolent days : when the rising sun shall shine upon that abode, you may then, with safety, approach it : that time is not far distant, you ought, therefore, to await it with patience. Carefully watch the first dawn- ing of Aurora, for any other hour would prove fatal to your design. Now, however, you must profit by the light of day, which will enable yon to reach the bottom of the precipice." Having said thus, the warriors and their guide separate : they anxiously leap upon the shore, and, travelling by a pleasant path, they at length arrive at the end of their journey ; while the DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 41 glorious sun, pursuing his mighty career, had not yet descended beneath the western wave. Now they look with enquiring eyes for a path to the palace, and they find that, in order to reach it, precipices must be scaled, rocks must be ascended, and the abyss must be braved. The mountain contains at once the qualities of every climate ; the middle and the foot are sil- vered over with hoar-frost; the top is covered with a smiling verdure ; roses enamel the borders of the ice : and in every portion of this magic abode nature has assisted the endeavours of art. At the foot of this hill the warriors, surrounded by thick groves, repose in the depth of the shade. Scarcely had the sun begun to spring from the east, and gild the sky with streaks of gold, when the warriors exclaimed, " Let us depart ;" and immediately the intrepid travellers pursue their ra- pid course. But, lo ! a hideous serpent, rearing his H DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. odiows crest, suddenly presents himself to view; his neck swells with rage, his eyes sparkle with fury, and his extended jaws are filled with deadly poison: he issues forth a three-headed dart, and shortens or extends the odious twinings of his form at pleasure ; while his tail, rolling in many circles on the sand, is collected and divided into circular rings. Charles draws his sword : " Ah \ ,f cried Ubal- do, « what art thou attempting? are these the weapons thou shouldst employ?" And immedi- ately he waves the golden wand ; the monster no sooner espied it, than, terrified at the unexpected sight, he retreats and disappears. Not far distant, they beheld a fierce lion, whose eye rolled with frightful rage, marching towards them: his hair bristles, he roars, and widely extends his awful jaws: he flaps with his horrid tail his sinewy loins; but no sooner does he perceive the shaking of the wand, than fear succeeds to his frightful DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 43 fury, and his flight leaves an undisturbed passage to the travelling warriors. They now advance, and pursue their journey ; but various other animals now suddenly appear. O what dreadful objects, what terrible monsters, what various cries, and what hideous shapes! There appeared to be assembled all the monsters which people the universe, from Atlas to the Nile, or roam through the Hyrcanian forests; but, notwithstanding their fury, these innumerable legions disturb not the warriors defended by the wand ; no sooner is it shaken, than they all take to flight. The triumphant pair have now no ob- stacles to overcome, save the ice and the snow, which frightful aspect presents itself on every side. But scarcely had they begun to ascend this steep path, when their sight was gladdened by a pure sky, by thin air, and serene weather at the top of the hill, which displayed to their view an 44 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. extensive green plain; a thousand gentle ze- phyrs, playing on the mossy turf, rifle the flowers of their odorous sweets, and with their balmy breath, perfume this blissful abode, from which they are never expelled by the rigour of the seasons. Here no changes, which torment other climates, are ever experienced ; no trouble- some heat or cold ; no clouds or rain; no thick vapours ; no summer or winter ever obscure the inexpressible purity of the sky. Here the mea- dow, never destroyed by burning heat, sends forth the herb of the plain ; the herb sends forth the flower, and from the flower issues the odour which it contains ; the shade of the plant never disappears; while a delightful palace, rising on the banks of an extensive lake, com- mands, in this smiling region, an enchanting view. Meanwhile, the warriors slowly advanced through the flowery paths of these delightful meads ; they sometimes repose themselves, tired DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 45 with their toil; and sometimes they advance: but now to their gladdened sight, a bubbling fountain presents itself, and, falling in limpid streams, offers to their arid lips its delightful freshness : it foams, flows, and by a thousand rivulets distributes to the gladdened fields its enlivening waters; till, at length, tired with wandering through these various paths, they all meet and repose themselves in an extensive canal, where they roll gently under the shade of sweet-scented arbours; the trees, kissing their delightful surface, admire, in the bosom of the lake, their reflected image, their pliant branches, and their sombre shades, while the azure sky and the flowery bush sprinkle their colours on the gently-moving waves; a turfy bank, sur- rounding the lake, invites to repose on its beau- teous surface. The warriors, on beholding these flowery paths, exclaim, " These, these are the perfidious sources of smiles and enchantment; let us re- 46 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. strain our desires ; let us avoid their ensnaring charms ; but chief, let us beware of those insi- dious songs of the nymphs, which are soon to appear before us/' They then advance towards the fruitful banks of a lake, into which the canal pours its waters. On the bank, they beheld a table, crowned with delicious fruits, and flowing nectar. In the waters, two wanton syrens are sporting; their charms, caressed by the admiring waves, dis- played their dazzling treasures, half-veiled ; the laughter and transports of a thoughtless gaiety- animated their pleasing sport: sometimes they sprinkled the waters on their heads ; sometimes they swam to a spot, where their hands seemed to cut out a limpid path ; the wave which sup- ports them on its crystal surface, gently sustains the charms which it embraces : at one time, they dive and disappear; at another, swimming on the surface, they move through the waters, in silver apparel ; till at length the fleetest, sur- DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 47 passing her companion, displays to the spectators her shoulders of ivory. The warriors contemplate these dangerous beauties; but already, dreading their voluptuous attractions* they prepare to depart : however, some inexpressible charm, softening their hearts, enchants and disarms them; they venture to contemplate these dangerous pictures. Now one of these beauteous nymphs, raising herself from the waters, displays to their view the ravishing sight of a voluptuous bosom, adorned with round dazzling breasts, and an enchanting form, of ala- baster whiteness, while the rest is beheld under the azure fluid. As the sparkling star of the morning, shining through the virgin dew, charms the sailor with its humid light; or as Venus, rising from the bosom of her native waters, so appeared the nymph with her fair dishevelled hair; the crystal fluid, intermingling with its tresses, flows gently, and sprinkles every portion *>f her angelic form. At length she turns her 48 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. eyes to the bank ; and, on beholding the war- riors, a feeling of shame excites her burning blushes ; her light hair, tied and collected toge- ther on her forehead, she immediately unlooses, and throws down to her waist; her long hair, with its waving tresses, envelops a beautiful bosom, which, under this shining veil, palpitates, displays itself by its motion, and adorns the nymph. Her charms are not less seducing when one disappears; for immediately another suc- ceeds. In this manner, the lovely nymph, hiding herself from the view of the strangers, under the veil of the waters, and her long hair, turns to- wards them a countenance, which seemed, at the same time, to smile and to blush with joy *nd with shame. Her enchanting smile adorned her blushes, and her blushes increased the charms of her smile. At length she employs her har- monious voice, whose music would charm the most hardened heart. ** O fortunate mortals! bless your lot! You DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 49 have safely arrived at the happy haven of life ; in this blissful region is to be found every enjoy- ment which can call to the remembrance of mor- tals the happy reign of Astraea. Lay aside that cuirass, and those useless bucklers; our grottoes, our green fields, and hospitable groves display peaceful scenes for more endearing conquests; in these regions, love alone is triumphant. We will immediately conduct you to the abode, where our deity holds his brilliant court: she herself has long been anxious to behold you; she in- tends even to divide with you her empire; you are destined to enjoy the most enchanting de- lights. And now, come into the waters, and refresh your exhausted strength." — Thus the nymph throws out her perfidious allurements, while the other accompanies her with her ges- tures and her eyes; as the shepherdess, in her sporting play attends to the rural instrument, her dance is quick or slow, lascivious or modest. But the hearts of the warriors resist their allure- ments; for, when desire had excited in their bo- E 50 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. soms the dangerous wish of approaching such enchanting charms, their reason suddenly exerts its strength, and speedily expels voluptuous de- sire with disdain; they immediately retire from these seductive shores, while the nymphs, sur- prised at their sudden retreat, sunk below the waters, to hide the disgrace of their defeat. The palace which forms the illustrious resi- dence of Armida is composed of a vast circum- ference. It contains an extensive garden, which surpasses, in pomp and beauty, the fabulous groves. A thousand winding paths, artfully in- termingled, surround the palace with a tortuous rampart; the work of demons, whose infernal address enabled them to contrive this immense labyrinth. Now a hundred open porticoes, leading by va- rious routes to the palace, present themselves to the view of the warriors; the most extensive attracts their notice, and they direct their steps DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 51 to its awe-inspiring arch ; its golden double-gate immediately receives them, and shuts itself again with a dreadful noise on its silver hinges. Wealth had adorned these gates with the rich- est metals, where art was still more brilliant; the art of divine groups was pleased to embellish them ; the ear hears them breathe, the eye be- holds them respire. There, placed at the feet of Omphale, a weak and timid lover, the formidable Alcides sits with a distaff in his hand. Alcides, who supported the whole weight of the heavens, now twines the distaff and turns the spinning wheel. Love beholds him, and smiles at the metamorphosis. She who subdues him, lifts up with her rosy fingers a massy form inured to warfare, and smiling covers his delicate limbs with the skin of a lion, the terrible roughness of which appears to offend their softness by touch- ing them. Farther distant are beheld the waters of the 52 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. ocean, whose urgent waves roll upon the liquid azure plain: there a double row of vessels is ar- ranged, ready to dispute the empire of the world; their golden poops inflame the waters and the air; the shining bucklers sparkle with lightning, and all Leucate is enflamed with the fire of warfare. Here Antony leads on the people of Caucasus, .the sons of Asia, and the sable Africans; and there appears Octavias supported by the Ro- mans. One might say that the sea, disgorging its inhabitants, displayed upon its bosom its float- ing nations ; or that the mountains, leaping from their base, and intermingling their forms, fall upon, and overturn each other, so great was the thundering noise of these huge vessels; the blood runs and foams on the reddened waves, the wrecks, carried away by the waters and the winds, display, floating on all sides, shafts, masts, and burning cordage. The victory appears doubt- ful, and remains uncertain; but at length the Egyptians beheld their queen take to flight; Antony loses his empire, and has already fled. DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 53 What do I say ? Ah ! this disgrace is unworthy of him ! It is not his courage which is surprised and staggered, it is Cleopatra alone who flies, and who draws him after her. He is observed, his eye sparkling with rage, alternately groaning with shame, with pride, with rage and love: he gazes on the fleet and the bloody scene, and follows with his eyes the vessel containing Cleo- patra. At length the Nile, surrounded with the dead and the dying, receives him into its sacred bosom. There this hero, tormented with a vain regret, in confusion, meets death in the arms of his lover. The gates were adorned with other famous subjects, and the warriors a short time indulged themselves with beholding them; but they at length depart, without viewing them all, and enter the mazes of the deep labyrinth. As the meandering wave is seen to descend, in its un- certain course, into the sea, and suddenly again arise, its capricious waters play upon the banks, 54 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. and form a thousand vain circles with its incon- stant substance; it pursues, it flies, it chaces, it disappears, and the succeeding wave beholds its fleeting predecessor; such was this uncertain road to the bewildered warriors; but the holy book, lending them aid, enables them to unwind the mazes of this dreadful labyrinth. At length arriving at the end of the labyrinth, a beautiful garden presents itself to view. Here, obscure valleys, luminous hills, shining lakes displaying their liquid bosoms, and bubbling fountains scattering their transparent waters; with cedars, palm-trees, myrtles and plantains, flowery groves, bushes, and green turf, the productions of every climate and of all the seasons, of smiling valleys and dark caverns, delightfully display their freshness and their shades : but what pro- duced the most charming effect in this region was, that Art, though she produced every thing, remained carefully concealed ; an air of negli- gence veiled over the hand of cultivation, and DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 55 culture is on all sides supposed to be Nature, which rivalling art appears, in its turn, to limit her influence. The air animates the flowers, and, at Armida's command, conveys the flowing sap to the fruitful tree ; that tree which, continually- adorned with buds, displays at all times fruit growing, ripening, and ripe; the sprouting fig appears in the presence of another which is ripe, the apple-tree beholds her with rich and various- coloured fruits, some only green, and some bur- nished with gold ; the vine winds with its thou- sand branches round the arbour; near to the grape in flower, hangs another of vermillion hue, and, not far distant, springs the bud shining in gold, swelling the rich treasure with its delicious juice; the olive unites the spring to autumn, and already produces the fruits of both. On every hand, the birds chant their delights, and the -zephyr, gently sighing, rewhispers their com- plaints; while the majestic tree, shivering in the playful breeze, with the murmuring waters flow- ing under its shade, form concordant sounds, and 56 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. produce, day and night, an agreeable murmur, and a delightful concert of love. Here also appeared a noble bird, brilliant by the tones of his voice, and by the shining glories of his plumage: his bill is adorned with the shin- ing purple of Tyre; and his voice, flexible as that of man, breathes the language of inspiration: he sings, and flocks of the feathered people gather around and hearken to his voice; even the ze- phyr listens in silence to his delightful strains. " Behold, alas V says he, " that modest rose, as yet a virgin : she hides herself from the view, and dares not to send forth her treasure from her green prison : she scarcely shoots forth a timid bud ; then, gently throwing off the veil which surrounds her, half-covered and half-bare, she is ever the more attractive the less she is displayed ; but at length, losing her secret charms, she dis- plays in proud array all her beauty; and, begin- ning to fade, is already no more that blushing DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 57 flower, of which enamoured youths delighted to breathe the perfume, and to admire the beauty. So pass the fleeting joys of youth : alas ! how short lived. The youthful breast becomes sud- denly affected with love, which soon loses its force, and before the evening of life, completely disappears. When spring returns, it gives back to nature beauty, freshness, and verdure; but when life is deprived of its honours, no spring ever returns to restore them. Let us gather then this rose, the ornament of the spring of life, be- fore it falls shorn of its leaves, whilst we are able, by loving to inspire a reciprocal passion." He ceases, the birds applaud his ravishing strains, by singing and flapping their wings with joy. The beasts of tke field, the birds, the groves, the flowers, the plants, the roses, the in- sects, the meadows, the woods, 'the waters, and parterres, all burn with rapture, all unite in ex- pressions of gladness, all display, inspire, experi- ence, or enjoy the delights of love. .58 DESCRIPTIONS OP LOVE. In the midst of these strains, of that gentle murmur, that sweet symphony, that concert of nature, the two warriors still restrained their de- sires, and steeled their hearts against the attrac- tions of pleasure : their eyes penetrated the woods and looked around, when they seemed to behold a new object. They thought they beheld — yes — they beheld— the two lovers, Armida and Rinaldo, stretched out slothfully on the green grass, where the hero reposes in the arms of the beauty whom he adores. The lovely enchantress attracts their attention. Her fair tresses floating in the breeze, and care- lessly rolling on her neck, display ringlets of gold, where the zephyr loves to play; they also descend on her shining forehead, her burning •cheek, and her vermillion lips displaying desire, where they shine, and give themselves up to the enchantments of pleasure : the glance of her hu- mid eye shines like the ray of light glancing in the wave, while, full of pleasure, sparkling, and TAS S (.) m&& THIIurm.1- del. et Satlp. Warriors discover Rin aide reposing in the Arms of Arm < I DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 59 surcharged with love, her languishing eyes scarcely open themselves to the influence of light; whilst luxuriously lolling in the lap of his lover, the hero, reclining his manly head, eagerly gazes with warm desire on her inexpressible charms : he satiates himself, he overflows with pleasure, and becomes intoxicated with enjoyment : he yields to the voluptuous kisses of hi3 enchantress; they startle him, and cause his enamoured heart to palpitate with joy : his breath seems ready to forsake him, and his soul, arrived at his quivering lips, appears anxious to fly into the bosom of his lover. The warriors viewed the amorous trans- ports of this delighted pair, from the covert which concealed them. A crystal mirror, the sole confident of their loves, hung gracefully at the side of Rinaldo, and repeated their pleasures on its silent surface ; at length Armida rises, and, desirous of beholding herself, gives it to her lover, who, turning the mirror towards her, enables her to admire her 60 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. charms in its faithful bosom; but Rinaldo per- ceives only Armida, and her delightful charms: she rejoices at the sight of her ravishing features : she collects her scattered tresses, and binds in waving ringlets her flowing hair, while she here and there mixes them with flowers, like a spark- ling enamel incased in pure gold: she covers her breast with a light gauze, and joins the rose to its easy motion ; while, at length, she is covered by her veil, which waves slowly in the air. Thus adorned, she moves with more pride than the stately peacock, displaying the glory of his beauteous plumage, and appears more glorious than Iris, just escaped from a cloud, with her va- rious-coloured zone sparkling in the rays of the sun. But nothing could equal the enchanting beau- ty of her girdle ; it was her own workmanship, and who but herself could have executed such elegant designs? Here were 'to be seen, signifi- cant smiles, kisses full of voluptuousness, tran- ! DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 61 quil denials, eager caresses, disdainful, con- temptuous looks, amorous fury, broken expres- sions, calm enjoyment, stifled sighs, tender alarms, the transports and the burning tears of love. Forming of all these objects an enchant- ing mixture, Armida, by means of her creative art, knew how to give a substance and colours to thought and to the soul ; mingled them slow- ly in a delightful combination, and these pre- cious beauties mixed carelessly together, shone in glory, suspended from her robe. Desirous of ending her magical enchantments, she prepares to fly to her solitary abode; and, when about to leave the warrior, she gives him a iiss, tender indeed, but alas ! the last. Rinaldo, unable to pursue her, remains alone on the scene of their enjoyment: he walks thoughtfully, ru- minating on her delightful charms; and impa- tiently sighs for the return of darkness, when Armida, leaving her beauteous but retired abode, V 62 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. returns to crown the passing hours with love and pleasure. But she disappeared. The two warriors now present themselves to the sight of Rinaldo, clad in burnished armour; immediately he feels his soul agitated with a strange sensation, and his heart penetrated with ardour; he awakes from his dream of voluptuous delight; he beholds his disgraceful bonds; and the generous desire of battle once more sparkles in his eyes. As a stately war-horse removed from the field of glory, forgetting the pride of battle for the enjoyments of love, becomes a voluptuous spouse, and in a disgraceful repose, leaps and grazes in the midst of the flocks; but no sooner does he behold the shining of the brass, and hear the sounding of the trumpet, than he starts from his sloth, he neighs loudly, and erecting his stately head, his capacious nostrils breathe the fury of warfare. Already terrible, he calls loudly for his DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 63 rivals, and bounding on the plain; he already believes himself flying under the master whom he loves, and wounding, overturning, and de- stroying them himself. So was Rinaldo affected at the sight of the buckler; so his soul, immersed in pleasure, throws off its sloth at the sight of this warlike array, and burns with the desire of a warrior's glory. Ubaldo first advances towards him, and holds up to his sight the mirror of the shining buckler: the hero beholds himself, he sees hi& slavery, he sees the degraded image of his fea* tures, he views those disgraceful ornaments with which his arms are covered, those habits decora- ted with a hundred various figures, that luxurious assemblage of encircling rings, of shining rubies and waving tresses; he beholds that sword — that sword which, in the heat of battle, had signalized his strength, and procured him glory; now at his side a vain and frivolous ornament, the use- less luxury of a degraded hero. Rinaldo wishes (34 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. in vain to recognise himself in this odious appa- rel. Thus, when we escape from the arms of sleep, in which we have been troubled with a frightful dream, even after we are awake it is for a moment continued, and the mind is anxious to dispel the troublesome illusion. Rinaldo at length turns from the bucklei ; his sad eye is fixed on the ground, he wishes that he were hid from mortal sight, and that he were in the depths of the ocean, or swallowed up by the flames of the consuming fire. o Ubaldo now addresses him : u Both Europe and Asia now fight on the plains of Syria; and every lover of Christ and son of honour exer- cises his valour on this glorious theatre; thou alone, O son of Berthold, in a corner of the world, obscurely plunged in profound peace, a vile slave of love, languishest in thy fetters, when these glorious events are agitating the universe. What inglorious repose, what lethargic sleep have so long swallowed up thy heroic valour ! DESCRIPTIONS OP LOVE. 65 Rinaldo alone is absent from the camp of God- frey ; thy general calls thee. — Awake, let us go ; the palm of victory is prepared, and awaits thee ; come, and finish the conquest of Jerusa- lem; come, and shake the power of the Infidel; let him fall, overcome, under thy strong arm." The hero, motionless and confounded at these expressions, remains some time without making any reply ; at length, a generous feeling taking possession of his soul, overcomes his shame, and restores him to the sentiments of honour. His eyes are suddenly opened, and he beholds the infamous luxury of his pompous ornaments; the hero tears them, rends them, and scatters them with disdain in this fatal garden; and, burning with ardour, displayed in his countenance, he has already escaped from the walls of the laby- rinth. Armida beheld the monster, who was the care- ful sentinel of the palace, stretched out upon the F G6 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. ground ; her soul was tormented with the most cruel presages, and every thing around whisper- ed to her the loss of him she held dear : she runs, alarmed, and perceives him, alas! far distant, with hasty footsteps, leaving the palace; she en- deavoured to- exclaim, "Ah! cruel, perfidious Rinaldo ! to what dreadful solitude are you going to leave Armida?" But her cries, suppressed by her inexpressible grief, are choked in their ex- pression, and swell her tormented bosom: " Un- happy wretch !j thou art conscious that an un- seen power, more puissant than thy art, now op- poses thy love : thy efforts to stay Rinaldo are vain." She knew these words, these dreadful words, which the profane sybils of Thessaly pronounce on their rocks, to call up the spirits of the dead, who, opening the profound prison of the lower regions, darken the horizon, and make the earth to tremble : but hell, shut up, opens not to the operation of her charms ; she now, therefore, has recourse to prayers and tears; she wishes to try whether her cries and lamenta- DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 67 tions will not surpass the art of the enchanters. Towards Rinaldo, who shuns her, she flies in dis- traction, regardless of her honour, forgetful of her glory. Alas ! how soon has her insupportable pride disappeared? She, who, with a word, a look, or a motion of the head, could overturn, at her pleasure, the empire of love; how often has. her smile disguised her disdain ! Often have her disappointed lovers, with humble hearts, felt themselves happy in being allowed to breathe out their complaints in her presence ! O heaven, what a change ! Now, disdained, supplanted, be- trayed, she flies, bathed in tears, over rocks, brambles, and hoar-frost, after an ungrateful lo- ver, hastening from her presence ; she cries, she runs, exclaims, she passes over the rocks of ice ; and, with bleeding feet, arrives and beholds her perjured hero on the sea-shore, ready to embark. She now exclaims, "Stop, perfidious lover ! im- molate thy victim ! Alas ! behold me prepared ; pierce, tear this heart, which has sworn to be faithful 5 this heart, the half of which is already 68 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. prepared to fly with you J Stop, Rinaldo; but do not believe that I, though now unfortunate, am desirous to implore an amorous kiss. No, pre- serve your embraces for another: I object not; but at least lend an ear to my parting wish. Why, alas ! should you be afraid to listen to me ? you have been able to fly from me; do you wish also to be deaf to my complaint V Ubaldo now spoke. "We must stop; Armida , approaches, Rinaldo; and you ought to hear her. She will assail you with her tender entreaties, her affecting lamentation, and her bitter tears ; if these should be unable to seduce you, what mortal will be able to equal you ? It is in these combats only that the truly virtuous soul over- comes the desires of the body, and purifies itself in the furnace of temptation." Rinaldo stops ; and Armida approaches, drown- I ed in tears, breathless, and rendered more in- I teresting by her sorrow. She raises her eyes, DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 69 and fixes them on those of him whom she adores; and, from fear or contempt, remains silent. Ri- naldo is also silent; and, from a respect for his duty, scarcely ventures to look upon her with a passing regard . Notwithstanding her despair, the cunning en- chantress, employing still her address and her art, inclines the hero, by tender sighs and timid groans, to listen to her voice. As a charming singer artfully modulates the hearts of the hear- ers to the tone of his delightful harmony, by delightful sounds, the precursors of his song, she, at length, expressing the grief which assailed her, addressed Rinaldo thus : " Do not think, barba- rian, that you behold me, a suppliant lover, em- bracing your knees; the expressions of lover and beloved are for us for ever lost; you hold them in detestation; but if even the smallest re- membrance of our love excite thy vexation, at least hearken with the ear of an enemy to my last lamentations; in hearing me, you will at 70 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. least be unable to contemn me ; you will be ena- bled, in granting me this last favour, to shut your ears, if you desire it, to my request. " If you hate me, if you must abhor me, che- rish the sentiment necessary to your heart; since you believe it just, it, no doubt, must be so. I do not complain, I submit to it; but allow me to in- form you, I was your enemy as well as that of your religion; I detested your worship, your Christians, and yourself. Yes, yourself : I believed, in my determined hatred, that my duty com- manded me to be thy enemy; I wished to immo- late thee, and I vowed thy destruction ; ready to strike the fatal blow, I rushed, (O heavens!) into thy arms; I lead thee to distant climates, to the regions of a new world, to the inaccessible sum- mits of a barren rock ; for thee, my art was ac- tively engaged; I at length erect a palace to please thee ; then seducing thee, I accomplished thy disgrace; what punishment would be suffici- ent to expiate this odious crime ? To love thee, to DESCRIPTIONS Of LOVE. 71 please thee, O heaven! to enflame thee with love ; to renounce for thee the duties of an au- stere morality ; besides my throne, my country, my religion, my innocence; to renounce, in loving thee, twenty various sceptres, rich in thee, in the possession of thy heart, which, to me was the whole universe; and giving myself up to thy enjoyment, that I might participate with thee the choicest delights of love : O what trea- son, what odious crime! Armida, an idolator, hath charmed thy sight. Revenge thyself; trans- port to distant climes thy ardent courage; go, procure the freedom of the seas, and fly far from an unhappy wretch; destroy my throne, my worship, and my faith. My worship! had I ever any idol but thee? It is to thee alone, thou ungrateful barbarian! that my heart offers up adoration; it is thee, whom love, in this bosom, has deified; thee, for whom I sacrificed every thing dear to me; thee, for whom I resigned my honour, my sceptre, my father, and my God. 72 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. " However, I venture to hope that you will grant me my last request. Suffer me to serve thee, and let me be thy prisoner ; let me at least accompany thee, in thy mournful departure; the conqueror ought to chain his captives to his car; the robber of the forest leaves not his prey be- hind him; allow then the army under thy com- mand to behold me : add this triumph to all the rest, and display to the eyes of the Christians, Armida in captivity. And wherefore should I retain on my forehead those scented locks, which my lover detests ? For thee have I adorn- ed them ; for thee have they been rendered dear to me. As I am a slave, every thing about me should announce my condition. If thou has- tenest to the battle, I will arrange myself under thy standard. Come then, let us destroy armies, let us pierce the strong phalanx, let us hasten to spill plenteously the blood of the infidels. Behold thy buckler, thy darts, thy javelins; look, look at thy foaming coursers guided by my hand; I am thy assistant, and my DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 73 heart is thy defence; this heart has been thy vic- tim, and it will be thy support; that javelin, which arrives at thine, must first pierce through me ; and perhaps the voice of pity will be heard on beholding a female in despair. Yes, perhaps this heart which has devoted itself to thee, will find others less barbarous than thine. But what do I say? Alas! ought I now to vaunt of these features, which thy pride despises " Here her voice fails her, and she remains drowned in tears and sighs; her hand endeavours to take hold of that of Rinaldo; the hero falls back; he combats Armida, and all her charms; and he triumphs, while her eyes in vain remain immer- sed in tears. But if he has broken the chains of a disgrace- ful love, his heart has not been insensible to the more chaste emotions of pity; already has this feeling of tenderness excited his emotion; but that magnanimous virtue which fills his bosom, 74 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. conceals his sensibility under a calm and serene countenance. " Armida," says he, * how much do I lament thy sufferings! Why am I unable to calm the agitation of your bosom, to expel the love which I behold there triumphant ? Alas ! you know not how much it has cost me to stifle it ! My heart hates thee not, although I have found it necessa- ry to leave thee. Thou art not my captive, far less my slave ; and thou wilt not, I trust, eagerly display thyself in the presence of my foes; thy heart, ever in extremes, hath formerly felt too much hatred, and now is by far too much tor- mented with love. But these misfortunes, which are hurtful only to yourself, are excused by your sex, your age, and your religion ; and if I ven- tured to reproach you on account of them, what right should I have to do so ? Have I been pos- sessed of more prudence ? And has my heart been more virtuous than thine ? Depart, I pray you; and let my fortune be propitious or adverse, DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 75 the remembrance of thee will ever be agreeable to me j and if honour will one day suffer me to be united to you, I promise, I promise to be thine. It is time, Armida, that our inclinations were sub- dued ; let us, therefore, mutually put an end to our disgrace; and may our mournful remem- brance of past joys remain buried in oblivion ! May Europe, for my glory, remain ever ignorant of an attachment, which will always disgrace me ! Even you, I trust, will endeavour to con- ceal it, as it tarnishes your virtue, your rank, and your beauty. Adieu ! I am going to leave you ; I must depart. Adieu ! you must not, can- not accompany me. Live in peace, and change your resolution. Ah! seek after happiness by some other road. Wisdom is the path which leads to this uncommon bliss, from which, alas ! love only leads us astray." He spoke; while Armida, already rolling her haggard eyes, glanced the most frightful indig- nation, but looked upon him in silence; till at 76 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. length, leaving her silent rage, she addressed him in the following burst of indignation : " And dost thou pretend to be sprung from the loins of heroes? that the beauteous Sophia bore thee ? Monster ! 'tis false ; the craggy Cauca- sus has reared thee among his solitary rocks, where thou hast been nourished by the milk of bears and panthers ; and the sea, enraged, that sea from which thou hast sprung, roaring with horror, has thrown thee upon its shore ; and what do I ex- pect from him? Why should I deceive myself ? Hath the ungrateful wretch displayed any desire to comfort or pity me ? hath he turned pale with sorrow? hath his unbending heart condescended to breathe one accent of regret, or one sigh of commiseration ? What have I said ? How, alas ! when he forsakes me, he wishes to excuse him- self! What do I say? he generously pardons me, like a benevolent conqueror, for my improper attachment! O hear, and admire his eloquent discourse. And thou, thou, O Mahomet! who DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 77 seest, who beholdest him, thou destroyest him not, and yet thou demolishest our temples. Ungrateful wretch! I will not longer detain thee; follow thy warriors, and accompany them to gather I know not what kind of laurels; go, cruel author of all my follies, and mayest thou experience that peace in which I will remain. Go, tiger, I shall die ! — but after my departure, my ghost shall every where ac- company you, shall arm itself with serpents, torches, and swords, which, day and night, as well as in your dreams, shall dance before your eyes, and appear terrible in your sight; and a thousand dreadful torments shall tear thy perju- red soul. Or, if it happen that you escape from the dangers of the ocean, you shall arrive at Solyma, the vile refuse of shipwrecks; there, thrown down among the heaps of the dead and the dying, pierced, agitated, and gnawed with vain regret, in your last moments you shall call upon Armida: when it is too late, you will be de- sirous of invoking her, and I will hear thee, O 78 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. perfidious wretch, and ray heart.. .." Grief chokes her utterance; her senses now forsake her; her tongue remains motionless, and icy drops stand upon her brow. Armida ! thy beautiful eyes perceive not the light of day; and unpitying fate hath refused to thy love the only solace to thy dreadful grief! Alas! open thine eyes; look upon the enemy who causes thy sorrow. And thou wilt behold his eyes drowned in tears : ah ! how should his sighs and his sorrow soften thy griefs, if thou couldst only perceive them! He laments thy sorrow ; he groans, and, about to leave thee, he gives to thy grief all that he has to offer; and his last adieu, on beholding thy distress, is full of pity, perhaps of tenderness ! What, O Heaven! shall Rinaldo do? Shall he forsake Armida in the arms of death without affording her aid? Ought he to do so? No; com- passion, and even honour forbid. But necessity, DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 79 that dreadful and supreme law, constrains him to depart; and, taking his flight, the flexile sail al- ready swells its golden wings; the wind now impels the bark ; and, at the same time, scatters carelessly the flowing tresses of his conductress. The hero, while departing, looks still towards this spot, but at length, the shore disappears from his sight. Armida gradually returns to life, and opens, while groaning, her feeble eye-lids; she once more beholds the fields, the deserted shore, the immense horizon, and the boundless ocean; her eyes long seek after her faithless lover among the waves; but being unable to behold him, " He is gone," says she; "he has been willing to leave me dying on this spot; he has not even deigned to postpone, for a moment, his depart- ure; he hath left me, dying, disgraced, and in- jured; he hath left me; I complain, and I am not yet avenged ! I weep, and have no other re- source to gratify my rage. Vengeance ! Ah ! 80 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. should heaven snatch him from my wrath; should the dark abyss swallow him up ; in heaven or in hell, I shall seize upon my victim Hea- ven ! I see himself: O surprise ! O fury ! I seize him, I hold him fast, I tear his heart; his blood flows Let us go let me here quench my thirst; I wish to terrify the world with my " What do I say ? O heaven, where am I ? and what have I ventured to expect? Where has my feeble reason been wandering? Ah! unhappy wretch ! it was only when he bore thy fetters that thou couldst make him feel thy hatred ; then, indeed, it would have been effectual, and highly would he have deserved it; but now, alas! what can this hatred avail ! Alas! because the ungrate- ful wretch hath contemned my charms, because he hath dared to insult, have I no means of ven- geance? O beauty! which he hath outraged! come, and gratify my vengeance! Yes; I will be the price, the conquest of that arm, which DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 81 will destroy the execrable wretch. O all ye who will venture to execute such a noble design, I offer you my hand, my sceptre, my treasures ! Beauty ! thou should st now serve to gratify my rage, or thou hast never been to me a gift of nature. Horrible gift ! I hate thy presence, the light of day, war, and glory, my sceptre, and love ! O vengeance ! live thou alone, for the future, in my heart \" Thus Armida, a prey to the rage which assailed her, breathed her fury in broken ac- cents; she at length tears herself away from a scene, to her, full of horror, and flies to the pa- lace foaming with rage,ner countenance inflamed, and her eye sparkling with fury. There, from the bottomless regions, she invokes those three hundred deities, those dark spirits, kings of barbarous chaos, and the gloomy pit. Immediately the sun is clothed in darkness and blood; night covers the heavens; the winds, let loose, rush against the rocks, and loosen their foundations; the depths of hell enraged, open G 82 DESCRIPTIONS OP LOVE. their mouths, and complain, and pour fopth a hideous nation of unclean monsters: they are observed, surrounding this magic abode, hissing, groaning, howling, and roaring by turns; a thick vapour, darker than night, spreads over, and conceals the walk of the palace ; a thousand livid flashes of rushing lightning burst the dou- ble furrows of its gloom; the darkness at length passes away; and the sun, from his burning car, once more sheds around a pale though cheering light; the air, though clearer, is not yet serene, but the palace has totally disappeared ; monsters, nymphs, palace, woods, rivers, all have disap- peared, and left no trace behind them. As, by the influence of the sun, and the breath of the south wind, the floating clouds of humid vapours, which ascended to the air to form tempests, are dispersed at a distance, and fly over our heads: or, as vanishes a light phantom, conjured up by the dream of the sick, so there remains, on this spot, only a chilling gloom, and that eternal hor- ror which nature impressed on its surface. DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. CANTO III. CONTENTS. A riosto sings of the warfares of Charles. — Two Saracens, bro- thers, Medor and Cloridan, resolve to follow their Prince to Lutecia : reach the camp of the Infidels. — Medor laments the fate of his sovereign : he and Cloridan resolve to sacrifice their lives in the search of their fallen Prince : set out for the Christian camp. — Cloridan kills Alpheus, a magician, and several others. — Medor also rushes on to revenge the death of his Prince. — The Saracens approach the Emperor's tent, but are prevented by the guards: they discover the bo- dy of their Prince, which they carry off: are met by a Scottish warrior.— Cloridan misses Medor : discovers him surrounded by his foes : kills several of them, and is seized by Zerbin, who spares his life; but is wounded by another warrior.— Cloridan revenges the supposed death of his brother, and falls, covered with wounds. — Angelica restores Medor to life by the application of herbs: he is carried to a shepherd's cot. — Angelica watches by his side. — Medor falls in love icith Angelica: she partakes of the same passion. — Medor reco- vers : they are united, and Medor partakes of her throne.- Rolando visits the scenery around the shepherd's retreat: struck with jealousy on seeing the initials of Angelica and Medor cut on the trees : ranges the woods icith contending passions : reaches the shepherd's retreat : is tormented with . the sight of inscriptions indicating the loves of Angelica and Medor. — The shepherd shows the bracelet which Rolando r had formerly given to Angelica as a pledge of his affection. — Rolundo much distressed with the shepherd's relation: sets ! out to the forest in a ft of phrensy and distraction : ex- presses his sorrow : is bereft of his reason : tears up the trees by their roots: at the noise, the shepherds, the labourers, the A wine-dressers, and herdsmen rush forth to behold tht ■ of such commotion. DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE, Sfc. ARIOSTO. Xasso, inspired by a delightful enthusiasm, charmed every hearer with his affecting story: that simple and sublime picture of nature, which Homer so beautifully drew, was not here to be observed : with Tasso, nature, love, war- riors, lovers, all assume an air of enchantment. His imagination, by displaying its magic, makes up for the want of sublimity of genius, pleasure succeeding to the interesting recital of a chaste affection, pleases in its turn: Armida herself ap- 86 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. plauds his charming strains; Armida, now repos- ing in the arms of the warrior whom she loves; no more does she feel resentment for her former sorrows; love, tender love has totally effaced them. Let us always avoid these barbarous caprices. O Love ! if we knew what torments thou pre- parest for thy votaries, who would yield to thy enticing softness ? Let me rather adore thy chaste and charming sister, who, without ever wound- ing, pleases and delights ; who warms without consuming, who enlightens without dazzling, who affects without rending the heart! What! shall I neglect to celebrate thee in my song, and repay thy favours with an ungrateful silence ? No; my heart, penetrated with gratitude, is anxious to record the bliss of thy delightful in- fluence ; and Ariosto offers me a happy oppor- tunity :— Ariosto, O ! thou admirable Proteus of i the Muses, in the knowledge of thy art equal to Aristeus, I have beheld, thee by turns, an un- DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 87 tamable lion, a river, a rivulet, a serpent, a flame, an eagle, or a butterfly. A hundred times hast thou escaped me, hast thou disappeared, while I have been unable to seize thee in thy metamorphosis; but, at least, I shall be able to introduce into my song, in a skilful manner, the most noble traits of thy genius. Already to hear thy interesting tale, the whole audience crowd eagerly around thee. Thy voice breathes forth affecting strains, and thus was thy song: ''Charles, by his courage, had delivered the walls of Lutecia, and still wished to try the fate of battles, and destroy Agramant, the fierce monarch who had lately besieged that proud city; while filled with rage, and anxious to de- stroy him, Charles even besieged his army in the camp/' When two Saracens, of ignoble birth, whose parents lived in Ptolemais, by their tender friend- ship, deserve to be celebrated to all future gene- 88 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. rations. The one was denominated Medor, the other Cloridan. These brothers, attached to their prince by an ardent zeal, determined to follow him to Lutecia, through the perils of the ocean, and equally to partake of his good and bad fortune. Cloridan had been always intrepid in the chace, and joined to uncommon swiftness the most manly vigour. Medor was a flower newly blown, and displayed the beauty of the lily with the freshness of the rose. No warrior among the Saracens possessed equally noble qualities: his eye, blacker than the sloe, sparkled with fire, and his golden locks shaded a neck of ivory. Such was his beauty, that it seemed as if a heavenly seraphim had descended on the earth to mock the forms of ordinary mortals. Night came on; and the brothers, in the camp of the infidels, were stationed sentinels on the same spot. The moon now slowly moved through the highest regions of heaven. Medor, abandoned to the most piercing grief, laments DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 89 the fate of his unhappy sovereign, now deprived of supreme honours. " O my dear Cloridan \" says he ; " my prince has fallen under the sword of the foe, and his body, deprived of burial, will soon become the prey of the vulture ! I will depart; I will search among the dead and the spoil, and endeavour to procure his dear remains; and perhaps heaven may enable me to open the hospitable tomb for the reception of his sacred dust. Every one, in the Christian camp, now enjoys repose. I wish to explore it, and now hasten thither. Remain thou, my dear friend, within these ramparts, and if heaven unkindly deprive me, by death, of the honour at which I aim, let thy voice one day proclaim the height of my affection for the ho- nour of my king." Cloridan was unable to believe the voice which he heard : he was astonished : he admired in a youth of green years, such a symptom of fidelity, 90 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. honour, and love; and, though Medor was dear to his heart, he tries to moderate the generous ardour of his soul; but his efforts are fruitless; his remonstrances are vain. At length, perceiv- ing the impossibility of turning him from his purpose, ** Well then," says Cloridan, " I can also seek that honourable death, to which thou aspirest. O my friend, without thee, what would life be to me? I soon should die of grief. Ah! let us rather immediately depart, and let me perish, .fighting by thy side." The two warriors, now boiling with rage, re- quest that guards may be placed on their posts : they pass the ramparts and the ditch, and the Christian camp appears to their view. Every fire is extinguished, and the soldiers, surrounded by colours and arms, enjoy soft repose : every one sleeps, intoxicated with the fumes of wine. Cloridan now addresses these words to Medor: DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 91 «« An opportunity, my friend, now offers itself, and is favourable to us. These soldiers have deprived my prince of existence, I shall now avenge his death. To make certain of success, watch thou with a careful eye, all around us: this steel will prepare a wide passage for thee." With these words he rushes, with an ardent courage, against Alpheus, well skilled in the lore of ancient Magus, Hippocrates, and Hermes. This soothsayer had long predicted, that he should reach an extreme old age ; but, sad pre- sage of the weakness of his art, the glancing steel is plunged into his bosom ! Cloridan then strikes Montcaldo and Palide, and five others are soon pierced with his murderous sword : he stabs Grillon, the drunkard, leaning on a cask, and from his body, pierced with the sword, flow out, toge- ther with his life, both wine and blood, which redden the earth. Not far distant, fall Andropos and Conrard, 92 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. who, employed in a game of chance, had long balanced the victory, and were each appealing to the decision of the dice. Happy if, while waiting the return of the sun, they had been able to prolong their watch till the approach of day. As a dreadful lion, in a sheepfold, render- ed fierce by hunger, far distant from the sight of the sleeping shepherd, surprises, seizes, tears, and rends the flock; so Cloridan, inspired with indis- criminating rage, makes a horrid carnage of the reposing Christians. Medor, disdaining an ignoble warfare, reserves his sword for a more honourable strife : he flies to Count Albert who, reposed himself under his tent, on the breast of an enchanting beauty. He sees their arms so closely entwined, that the thin air can scarcely pass betwixt them: with one stroke of his sword he made their heads dance on the ground. O happy couple ! favour- ed in your destruction! your souls, imitating the sweet union of your bodies, fly together to the DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 93 abodes of the blessed! Medor next destroys Ardalic and his brother: the count of the faith- ful Flemings was their father ; and Charles, after a combat which covered them with glory, re- warding their courage with noble rank, suffered them to adorn their arms with the illustrious flower-de-luce. The Saracens, hurried along by their rage, now approached the emperor's tent, and beheld the faithful troop of the Paladins, watchfully surrounding it, and preventing their approach. Prudence now succeeded to their ardent courage, and they sheathed their gory swords; they cau- tiously entered a by-path, and, flying silently in the shade, reached the plain, which was every where covered with broken bucklers, cuirasses, chariots, and dead bodies; all doomed by inflex- ible fate to destruction, whether rich or poor, monarch or plebeian: the disorder, the blood, the horrid carnage, and darkness of the night would have rendered all the efforts of this generous 94 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. pair, in searching for the stretched corpse of their prince, unavailing, had not the star with the sil- ver disk, to gratify Medor, thrown over his cloudy covering, and lent him his cheering light; he brightens up the fields with his pale influence : but, suddenly, his brightest rays sparkle on the body of the hero stretched out on the plain. Medor recognizes the colour of his arms: he leaps towards him, kisses him in tears, lifts him from the ground, and, with the aid of Cloridan, bears off to a distance the much-loved burden; when Zerbin, the chief of a troop of Scottish heroes, whose valour was never lulled asleep, returning from the defeat of a troop of his ene- mies, met the two heroes in this murderous plain. No sooner did he perceive the young warriors, than he runs, flies, and exclaims, " Stop, both of you. Of what rank, what country are you? What is your business here ? Whither are you going ?" The two Saracens retreat without a reply, and arrive at a neighbouring wood ; but DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 95 the troop has already surrounded its avenues, and taken possession of the roads. This wood is covered with a confused assem blage of brambles, bushes, and thickets. The traces of a path, now covered, appear : Cloridan now throws off his burden, and believing that Medor accompanies or follows him, he flies, and escapes by this obscure path; but Medor, defend- ing the much-loved body of his king, defies the fury of the Scottish warriors : at one time retires, still bearing his precious burden, be- hind an oak, a linden-tree, or an elm; and, at another, defying the whole strength of his foes, he covers and defends his precious load. Thus, when the hunter ventures to attack the den of the bear, the mother, to defend her young, darts courageously on the javelins and spears, and roars alternately with rage and tenderness; now rolls her flashing eyes with fury, and destroys and tears her prey with her bloody claws ; and now, restraining her half-stifled rage, she looks 96 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. upon her offspring, and trembles for their safety. Cloridan, who now no more feared the foe, stopt, and looked around in vain for his friend : he was unable to observe him : he stops, he listens, he calls him, he retraces his steps, and views every spot, which he had already passed : O Me- dor ! where can he see thee ? how can he assist thee ? He eagerly searches for him through the immense forest, and every-vvhere meets with the profoundest silence : But lo ! he hears the noise of coursers, of warriors— A cry ! O Heaven ! O horror! — he discovers Medor surrounded with < his cruel foes, who, notwithstanding all his efforts, is seized by them, and dragged away. O God ! li what shall he do ? how shall he, by his aid, snatch him from that destruction which now awaits him? Ought he to dart upon the nume- rous foe, and terminate his existence by a glori- ous death ? Yes ! it must be so ; it is his desire ; j but before the hostile steel shall deprive him of DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 97 life, be wishes his death to cost his enemies dear. He places on his bow a sharp-pointed arrow : it darts, whizzing through the air, and, thirsty for blood, strikes a Scottish warrior, whose fore- head being pierced, exclaims, while the ar- row is dyed in his gore. The troop asto- nished, look around; while immediately, issuing from the bow, a new arrow pierces another fee, not far distant from the hero, who, under the wound already received, was now struggling with death : he runs, enquiring of his warlike friends, what hand had sent forth the murderous arrow ; when he himself is struck with another, the shaft of which enters his throat, and deprives him of utterance. Zerbin could no longer restrain his fury, but immediately darts towards Medor, and exclaims, "Thou shalt die \" and, seizing him by his golden hair, he drags him to destruction ; but scarcely had he beheld the youth full of charms, than pity seized him, and he restrained the in- tended stroke : Medor extends towards him his open arms, and implores his pity. H 98 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. " O thou," says he, " whoever thou art ! I beseech thee, by the God whom thou servest, to suffer me, before I die, to give to my king the honourable rites of sepulture: then, deprive me of existence ; I wish from thee, nothing more than to be allowed to bury my king." Thus he spake, and Zerbin, charmed with his graceful- j ness, and affected with his request, granted him his demand ; when a warrior, in defiance of the generous chief, darts forward, and, inspired by an odious rage, plunges his lance into the breast of Medor. Cloridan, who beheld him, immediately ex- i claims and rushes forth; he conceals himself no more, but falls upon the enemy, and chief that tiger whose rage had destroyed iiis friend : him I alone he looks for, on him he imprecates ven- geance; in vain the troop of the foe collect themselves together, and attack him, he. repulses them; his ardour increases, and he at length \ reaches the murderer of his friend; wielding in DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 99 fury his sword, the glancing of which has alrea- dy foretold his destruction : he plunges it, resist- less, in his half-opened mouth ; and now, avenged of the barbarous wretch, and, still breathing, he throws himself covered with wounds on the body of Medor, and presses him in his arms, while his soul takes flight with his life, during his repose on the breast of his friend. No sooner had he expired, than the soldiers, leaving their companions, retired, and disappear- ed in the neighbouring forest, while Medor and Cloridan are stretched on the plain: Cloridan was no more, and Medor would soon have de- scended to the shades of death, had not aid, un- expected, approached him. Fate led towards this spot a beauteous stran- ger, who appeared in the disguise of a simple shepherdess, but whose rare beauty and majestic mien displayed the august grandeur of her birth. This enchanting object was the proud Angelica : 100 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. she was flying from the tyrannical empire of love, and could not reflect without indignation on the pretensions of Rolando to rule over her heart; but no sooner had Medor, ready to perish, appeared to the sight of Angelica, than her heart, affected, felt for the first time the soft emo- tion of pity. She wished to save him, and, having studied the healing virtues of various plants, she runs to the neighbouring field, and collects some flowers, whose qualities dispel the most danger- ous ills; she beheld a shepherd not far distant, travelling on a faithful courser; she, amiable suppliant, stops him in his progress, and flies to Medor, already menaced with destruction : the plants, squeezed in her hands, and ground be- tween two stones, water with their unctuous juice his wound and his joints, and immediately re- called lnm to life. And now, placing him on the courser of the shepherd, the queen supports him with her alabaster arms, while the generous old man assists her, conducts them, and intro- duces them to his humble dwelling. DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 101 Few were the ornaments of this rustic abode ; but Medor was there ; and the happy Angelica preferred to all the gold of the palaces which she had inhabited, the humble roof she now adorned, where she could, seated alone at the side of the object which she adored, now aid to quench the thirst which devoured him, and now afford to his feeble frame some cheering help; she sat, with- out ceasing, at his side: to each other, they spoke not; but what eloquence was expressed by their silent looks! What delights did they experience, when Medor, intentionally weak, let fall his weary head on her beauteous bosom ! when, encircled with the arm of his anxious lo- ver, his heart beat quick, while pressed by her charming hand ! A thousand times he wished, breathing the delicious perfume of this beloved object, to impress upon her charming lips an eager kiss, there to pour out his soul, to breathe out a rapturous existence, to place there all the love of his enraptured heart, which already gent- ly groaned under its load of bliss. 102 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. " And who, O heaven ! is this V* exclaimed he in silence ; " this generous angel, who che- rishes me, and whom I adore ? Ah ! this is only imagination, a deceitful dream ! And, alas ! I shall loose my life, when convinced of my mis- take \" But he gradually recovered ; and the fire soon began to sparkle once more from his sloe-black eyes; a charming smile reanimates his coral lips, guarding their double rows of enamel ; his cheek glows with ruddy freshness; his forehead, cloth- ed in blooming health, is half-hid under his flowing, golden locks. Angelica, overcome, has inhaled the most destructive draughts of love : she no longer displays that sweet and artless tenderness, that affecting pity, but rather is actu- ated by a blind affection ; her palpitating heart burns with love ; day and night, she hears, she sees no other object, than the features, the voice of him whom she adores. Even when absent, she thinks of him, sees him, hears him, and thinks DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 103 only of him. By her eager care, her young lo- ver recovers, and now in her veins circulates a •sweet poison, while her heart, affected with a new fever, alternately freezes and burns. She blushes, becomes pale, her heart beats alternately with fear, with pleasure, with shame, and with love. Sometimes the pleasing mistake of a dream delivers her to her lover, inflamed with tender- ness: the approach -of day dispels the illusion; but the delightful dream in vain passes away ; she again enjoys the dear delights of her ima- gination, and desire consumes her. At length, even her lips proclaim the ardour of her love ; she yields with a delightful reluctance; and Me- dor is blessed. Now, charming couple ! have ye really expe- rienced the sweet illusions of love, the tears of happiness, and the delights of an embrace! What has Angelica become ? With her, their dwelling, the meadows, the hills, the delightful groves, are full of Medor, and the most pleasing 104 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. sensations. Is Medor absent? She still looks eagerly after his footsteps, while she remains in a pleasing sadness, and breathes his image in the air which he has left. Does she enter with him into the paths of the green and sombre groves ? How exquisitely does she enjoy their mysteries and their shades ! How ardently does she de- light in those retired abodes, where, half-clothed in darkness, she can yield herself up to the en- joyments of love, without sacrificing her shame! Does she venture at the dawn of day to stray upon the hills, and breathe their matin-freshness ? " Such was Medor/' says she, " in the bloom of his youth !" Does she follow the windings of the bubbling rivulet? Its murmurs speak of nothing but Medor. Medor purifies the air, freshens the verdure, is pictured in the clouds, fills the groves, and is mixed with the perfumes which they emit. The waters, the meadows, the hill, and the thick- et ; the heavens and the earth, night and day, all display Medor, all talk of him to the heart of Angelica. DESCRIPTIONS Or LOVE 105 But to crown their happiness, Hymen still was wanting; but, called upon by Angelica, he de- scended to crown the joys of their love : he join- ed them under the humble roof of the shepherd, and heaven looked with complacency on their union. Now, upon the rocks and solitary trees, they engraved the initials of their names, and declared to the grotto, and surrounding groves, the inexpressible delights which love had afford- ed them. t However, the queen wished to behold her dia- dem shine upon the brow of him whom she loved. A present of Rolando to her youthful arms, adorned with pearls, shone upon her hand : the queen took it from its place, and gave it to the shepherd : then with the object whom she wor- shipped, she hastened to Cathay, and her faithful people, respecting her choice, immediately re- cognized the sway of Medor. They had just retired from this rural asylum, 106 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. when Rolando, ever affected with the charms of Angelica, and led by inevitable fate, arrived at the place which they lately left. In perceiving the delightful arbours, full of charms, he stops, and descends from his courser, lays aside his ar- mour, and, anxious to breathe the fresh air in the grove, takes a solitary walk : he observes, on numbers of trees, the inscriptions of names, and even cyphers, the ingenious emblems of tender love. He regards them. Ah ! is he not mis- taken?— No; unhappy Rolando! he reads the name of Angelica. What other man has dared to unite his name with that of her whom he adores? He looks on it, he looks away, he looks upon it again ; each word, each letter is to him as pointed steel, with which his enamoured heart is unceasingly torn : he endeavours to conceal from himself the misfortnne which he fears; he desires, he hopes, he trembles, he believes, he doubts : yes, even against probability, he trusts, that some other than his Angelica has burned with love for Medor. He says so ; but, O hea- DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 107 ven! why cannot he believe it! Then to his remembrance returns the epistles of Angelica which he had formerly received. " I know these letters," says he ; "I see them ; yes; they are her own; written by her own hand. But perhaps this name conceals some mystery ; perhaps it is an amorous veil, under which is concealed my own." By these forced interpretations, he deceives himself; and in this manner, laying aside all gloomy thoughts, the unhappy Rolando still in- dulges himself with hope: but the more anxious- ly his mind throws off the suspicion which assails him, the more troublesome ^oes it become: like to the viscous glue, attached to the net hid by the branches, the efforts of the fastened, unsus- picious bird, to escape, only tend the more se- curely to hold him. Rolando beholds a rivulet forcing itself a way, 108 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. under the shelter of a hollow rock; at the en- trance of the grotto, the vine intertwined its vo- luptuous branches with the crooked ivy. Here, when the burning sun drives the weary traveller to seek the shade, Medor and Angelica, by count- less embraces, had united the transports of their hearts; here, every-where within the potto, and around it, appeared their two names, with the letters of both intermingled ; and Rolando ob- serves, at the entrance, the following lines: " Ye solitary abodes, delicious plains, fresh meads, obscure grotto, and limpid rivulets; and thou wood, where Angelica, daughter of Gala- frond, the renowned, whom so many Paladins have loved in vain, has often reposed in my arms! charming regions! to repay the favours ye have afforded me, I, poor Medor am unable : but may all those whom propitious fortune shall guide to your presence, whether warriors, lovers, beauties, or husbands, express to you my grati- tude, and say to the shade, the bush, the herb, DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 109 and the fountain; May the stars of heaven ever bless you ! and, may your tender buds never be cropped by the tooth of the destroyer!" The Paladin, alarmed at this dreadful writing, seeks in vain to doubt of what was too evident ; thrice he read it, thrice he feels his blood run cold. At length, his eye fixed on the rock, his countenance pale, and his body motionless, Ro- lando seems himself to be a rock. But with what a dreadful load is his heart oppressed ! Alas ! it is impossible for those who have never loved to conceive them : one must have felt the excru- ciating pangs of that passion ; pangs more acute than those ever inflicted by the sword. However, his spirits still revive, he still disbelieves this odious writing; he supposes that some traitor, to the honour of Angelica, has exercised his infer- nal invention, to sully the purity of her honour; and that he had hoped to stab him to the heart with the pangs of jealousy. But still he recollects, 110 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. that the cyphers he had formerly beheld were but too similar to those of his mistress. But, at length, hope again returns of Angelica being faithful to him; and he embraces, and trusts to this slender twig : he remounts his cour- ser, and pursues his journey. Not far distant, he beheld smoke issuing from some humble cots : he approaches them; listens; he hears the bleating of the flocks; he enters, and determines to make this spot the place of his retreat. The inhabitants now hasten around him, and take off his gilded spurs, his armour, and his sword. Brillia.dor is tied to a neighbouring manger. This is the same asylum which was afforded to Medor, when Angelica secretly heal- ed lp his wound. Rolando, unable to take nou- rishment, throws himself on his bed, broods over his sorrows, cherishes his misfortunes, and lessens them with his tears; when, all on a sudden, he beholls O heaven!. ...what does he behold? I »STO Itlllwirur net . et Sculp . Medor falls mZove Kith Angelica . p. 201 DESCRIPTIONS OP LOVE. Ill Those cyphers, those writings which he abhors. On the roofs, the walls, the doors, on all around, their tormenting sight afflicts his tortured eyes. He wishes to arrive at the truth, but yet fears its dreadful nature : he fears to be exposed to this horrible light, and desires to be enveloped in eternal darkness. But he endeavours in vain to deceive himself; for the shepherd, endeavouring to lighten his load of sorrow, relates to him the adventure of Medor. He told him, that " Angelica one day had begged him to bear under his roof, the wounded Saracen; that she had, with the utmost solicitude, preserved his life; that, yielding to her love for this young stranger, she had a thousand times tasted its de- licious joys; that, though queen of Cathay, a splendid kingdom, she had not scrupled to espouse, under this humble roof, this Medor, an unknown soldier; and, in finishing his unaffected recital, he shows the brilliant bracelet which he had received from her; that bracelet which Ro- 112 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. lando had formerly given to her, and which she had given to the shepherd, when about to leave his hospitable fields, as a mark of her sense of his generous benevolence." At these words, Ronaldo feels the most inex- pressible torture. This stroke, like an axe, has cut off every enjoyment: no shade of hope now remains to him ; streams of tears flow from his eyes; he groans under the load of sorrow which oppresses him; he rolls himself on his couch, he roars, he leaps up in fury ; and now a sudden thought makes him pale with horror; he sup- poses, that Medor, and the ungrateful mistress whom he adores, have a hundred times, on this very couch, tasted the happy transports of love : he leaps from it, he darts forward, uttering hor- rible cries. Less quickly, and less afraid, does the vine-dresser, slumbering under the shade of his arbour, start up, and awake, when the viper, with his odious rings, twists itself around him, and disturbs his tranquil repose. This couch, this DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 113 cot, this shepherd, are now tormenting to his thought: he now only waits till the rising moon, or the approach of morn, shall light him on his way : he buckles on his armour, seizes his cour- ser, issues forth, revolving in his bosom a thou- sand gloomy thoughts, and searches after the deep- est recesses of the forest. There, yielding to the dictates of despair, he breathes forth, in frightful groans, his sorrow: his armour is covered with the tears which flow, in torrents, from his eyes. " What!" says he, " am I able to weep, while feeling such sorrow ? What! will not the excess of my torments dry up my tears? No; in my extreme grief, I am able to weep no morel my soul, my life itself, are now about to take their departure; these sighs are the departing motions of my heart. Under what a horrible load am I doomed to groan! What torments do I endure ! What do I say? /endure! No, no.. ..I can- not be, I am not Rolando. Rolando is no more... .....A traitor, a faithless mistress! they have I 114 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. murdered him I am the miserable ghost of that unhappy Rolando, who, issuing from hell.... O! what do I now suffer!.... Hell! yes! I feel its torments; they cruelly devour me!'' At these words his tears dry up, and he de- parts, in fury, on his way. From this moment there is no peace, no interval of sorrow, for Ro- lando: he cries, he runs, he believes himself to be suffering under a horrible dream : the wild- ness of delirium is apparent in his eyes and his features: he stares he listens he speaks he interrupts himself.. ...he walks, returns, stops, and, at length falls down on the sand, his face pale, and his hair dishevelled; he rolls, he moves on, like a hideous spectre, in the gloom of night, clad in frightful tatters, wandering among the tombs. He wandered, till the return of day, through >he depths of the forest; and when, at length, the sun brought back life to the world, his fate DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 115 led him to that hideous cave, where the writing of Medor had met his sight. At the sudden view of the object which torments him, he feels nought but vengeance, fury, and rage: he darts forward, and, seizing his sword, swings it in dreadful circles through the air, and, striking in fury the rocks, scatters their broken fragments around. Wherever the smallest trace of the loves of Medor appear, they are completely de- stroyed by his vengeful arm : the work of deso- lation is finished, the grotto disappears, and the asylum of the shepherd is no more to be found. Even the pure and limpid fountain escapes not his destroying steel : he throws roots, trunks, branches, and stones, heaped up together, into its transparent bosom ; till, at length, worn out with his exertion, breathless, and weak, he falls.. and fixes his motionless eyes on the heavens. Here, Rolando, without tears, or sleep, or thirst, or hunger, whether the sun rise or decline, remains a dreadful victim of despair, an awful 116 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. object of inanimate life, till the sun had three times surrounded the earth; and when, a fourth time the lord of day gladdens the creation, Rolan- do is bereft of his reason: but his strength begins to return ; and no sooner does he feel it, than, like pent-up fire in the bowels of the earth, which suddenly explodes, he breathes forth the fury raging in his bosom. Furiously he throws off, and destroys upon the ground, his lance, and corslet, his casque, and cimeter, tears his cloth- ing, his hair, and lays bare his athletic form, his hairy bosom, and his long nervous arms; and gradually falls under the dreadful influence of a horrible madness. But the fever of his delirium increases; and now, with inexpressible fury, he tears from its root, and throws, whizzing throws, a lofty pine, to which succeed other enormous trunks : the ash, the fir, the elm, and the withered oaks, those ancient kings of the forest, like the slender rose torn from the meadow, yield without resistance, DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 117 to the weight of his arm, and cover, the neigh- bouring plains with frightful desolation. At the dreadful noise, the shepherds, the labourers, the vine-dressers, the herdsmen, all rush from their hamlets, their hills, and their folds, anxious to behold that arm, whose thunder shakes the forests, and makes the earth to tremble. DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. CJNTO IF CONTENTS. The Shades are desirous to hear Milton sing of love unaccom- panied with woe. — Milton describes Eden: he gives a pic- ture of Adam and Eve : the innocence of their nature: they walk, hand in hand, through the groves of Paradise : eat the fruits for their food. — Adam addresses Eve, and asks her what she thought of the universe, when she first beheld it.— Eve beautifully describes her sensations : she is struck with her image in the water: a voice calls her from the sight : she is conducted by an invisible guide to Adam : her emotions on first beholding him.-— Adam interrupts Eve : describes to her his sensations on first viewing the objects around him ; the passion of love he felt for her -, and, at the close of day, leads hfr to the nuptial bower. DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE, Sfc. MILTON. -W O sooner had Ariosto finished the tale of Ro- lando, than the audience, roused by the affecting recital, admire the fury, the horrible despair, which were thrown from the volcano of his agi- tated soulj when, not far distant from Medor and Angelica, they behold, O dreadful surprise, Rolando standing. What! has his awful rage departed ? Yes ; his delirium is now at an end. He looks on Medor, enchanted with the charms of his Angelica, without agitation: he is no more affected with those desires which she in- spired, but resigus such cares to the winds and waves; and, at length, turning away with an 123 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. indifferent look, he disappears among the groves of the sweet-scented laurel. The Shades, now satiated with the agitating recital of Rolando's tortures, were desirous to hear a tale of love, unaccompanied with woe, which inspired an innocent pleasure alone, with- out regret, or remorse, or those frightful events, which too often accompany its most exquisite enjoyments. And now, Milton, seizing his lyre, prepares to sing of the father of men. The audience eagerly crowd around him, and he breathes, in the following song, his poetic enthu- siasm : The lofty hill of Eden is clothed with laugh- ing fields; its feet are every-where surrounded with thickets, and inaccessible rocks prevent all approach to it. On their steep sides, grow tall and dark firs, cedars, palms, and venerable pines, which, gradually ascending, form green steps, rising, in majesty, shade above shade; while this elevated spot is surrounded with a superb amphitheatre and extensive plains. Higher still, on the tops of these stately trees, a circle of shrubbery formed a chain of defence ; DESCRIPTIONS OP LOVE. 123 the rampart of Paradise, from whence the eye had circuit wide over the plains below: this rampart was covered, on every side, with fruitful trees, shining in blossom; their hoary ornaments, mix- ed with the yellow fruit, float in the air, the sport of the wind; the lord of day, pleased with their changing beauty, paints with green and azure hues, gilds, reddens, and silvers o'er, their waving crops, both fruits and flowers. Not so beautiful appears the glowing west, when the sun dips his garment in the ocean ; or, when his light sparkles in the many-coloured bow, adorn- ing the front of the heavens. So was this beauteous spot adorned with vari- ous trees: there a pure, drawn from, a purer r air expanded the heart, enlivened the senses, and made the inhabitants breathe the breath of spring: there a thousand fresh zephyrs, wafted on their balmy wings the perfumed odours of flowers, and, passing gently over the lily, the rose, and the thyme, renewed and increased their odorous powers: there, elevated above a thou- sand green trees, flourished the happy tree of life, shedding the ambrosia of its pure gold, and raising, proudly, its branches to heaven ; while the tree of knowledge, the cause of all our woe, displays, at its side, its fatal verdure. 124 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. A river, flowing through the western plain, without winding from its course, arrives at the foot of the hill, and buries its waters in a deep gulf; from these waters slowly arises, through the obscure pores of the earth, a pure fountain, which, appearing at the top of the hill, waters the abode of the father of men, creates a thou- sand rivulets, which all return, by various routes, to the subterranean river, dance together in hap- py cascades, and descend together to their for- mer abode ; and four rivers, filled with the waters of these hidden stores, flowed through immense plains, enriching them in their progress, and at length, carrying their treasures to the distant ocean. If art should venture to trace these sublime pictures, how should I delight to follow, in their course, those waves, which, spouting from their august source, formed liquid sapphires in the air, then became rivulets caressed by the zephyrs, and upon the golden sand, in silver streams, roll- ed gently their enchanting waves, carrying their enlivening freshness to water the tree, the plant, and the flower. Here were to be seen, none of those cold, DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 125 flowery children of the hot-house, which adorn false parterres with a factitious spring, which, separated into beds, and knots, suffer their trea- sures to be held in captivity; but these children of the air, of the zephyr, and the waves, caress- ed by the meadows, and the woods, and wander- ing every-where, and uniting themselves to trees, and bushes, spread their floating treasures on all around; at one time, fresh and full-blown, they presented their smiling blades to the zephyrs, and displayed to the rays of the sun their gold- en plumes and their vermilion hues; at another, under the shelter of the deepest shades, they escaped the burning influence of the sun, and refreshed themselves by the cooling waters. This delightful spot charmed the eye with beauties ever new ; a thousand various trees wept odorous gums and balm, or shining with purple or golden fruits, displayed their treasures hang- ing on their lofty branches; between them, the delighted eye beheld the beauteous plains, and the distant hills whitened with flocks; the palm- tree, and the delightful lemon-tree, shining in gold; the flowery turf of the laughing meadows, where the rose, in the midst of myriads of flow- ers, abandons to the kisses of the morning 126 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. zephyr, her half-covered virgin bosom, while as yet no thorn accompanied its bloom ; there, na- ture, with a sweet illusion, enchants, en every hand, the fields and the forests; there, grottoes, where the vine, long winding, twines itself, are seen under the fresh shade, or spreading on every side its flexile branches, and seizing, for support, on the neighbouring bushes, displays its ruby-coloured fruit. Here, also, were to be seen rivulets, sources, fountains, and waters rolling over the mountains, through the woods, and the plains, flowing, falling, rising in bub- bling spouts, winding in charming labyrinths, disperse, flying far distant, joining again toge- ther, and, at a distance, burying in the woods, their darkened bodies; afterwards spreading themselves out into a fine lake, whose pure and unruffled bosom, displaying, like a mirror, its motionless azure, showed on its delightful sides, a thousand lovely flowers repeating their foliage on the breast of the sleeping water, where their shaking tops and the sky, painting themselves by turns, display a charming combat of light and of shade. There, the happy families of winged songsters, and the harmonious voices of number- less echoes, and the various murmurs of the waters and the groves, join their voices, and DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 127 form a thousand concerts. There the gentle zephyrs rove, on wandering wings, distributing every-where, their odorous stores; whilst Pan, sole monarch of the seasons, to whose footsteps succeeds an eternal spring, irradiating, with his joyous presence, these charming abodes, danced with gladness, accompanied by the graces. Not so charming was the far-famed valley of Enna, or that delicious grove where, amid so many flowers fully blown, young Proserpine, while gathering roses, was, like them, scarcely blown, snatched away by the amorous Pluto. In the midst of the beauties contained in these delightful fields, and among its various inhabit- ants, two beings walked erect, lifting to heaven their noble foreheads, serene, and the august sovereigns of this enchanting abode; though na- ked, they were covered with a veil of modesty ; they shone, with dignity, with honour, and inno- cence ; peaceful rulers of the earthy the Deity was pictured on their elevated countenances, and their sublime appearance; every thing lovely, every thing capable of exciting reverence, rea- son, virtue, wisdom, and strict piety; piety, that ornament, that pure incense of the heart, which 128 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. man, a free agent, addresses to his Creator : truth, honour, love, and intelligence shone in their faces, and displayed their superiority. In their form, however, some inequality dis- tinguished the beauty of the two sexes: the one, majestic, displayed power and courage; the other, more attractive graces; the former lived in this charming spot, for God alone; the latter lived, for both God and her husband : the eye of the man sparkled gladly, and with conscious su- periority; his long and black eye-brows, and his noble and august forehead, displayed the dignity of his rank; his hair, surrounding the top of his forehead, shaded it with various tresses; black as the hyacinth, they carelessly flow upon his beautiful neck; supported by his limbs, he raises erect his nervous frame; his arms and hands, the faithful servants of his body, hang freely in the air by his side, sometimes folded and sometimes stretched out; the feet under his limbs lightly bound forward, and, ready to obey t he wish of the soul, perform their various duties. His spouse displayed eyes sweet and heavenly ; she offered to the sight her naked charms, the budding beauties of a charming bosom, and the DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. 129 graceful form of a lovely frame ; the silken soft- ness of a transparent skin, displaying the branches of the slender veins ; fair, floating locks, rolling in long folds around a thousand graces, adorned by their shade, and with a golden veil, the sport of the capricious wind, hid and displayed, by turns, her alabaster form; as the pliant vine entwines itself round the stately elm, so the tresses of Eve displayed their beauteous wind- ings; a symbol of weakness united to power, not by a servile obedience, and by a heart en- chanted, which freely offers itself, and cheerfully abandons its will ; which yields rather to sym- pathy than to duty, courageously submits, is tender and modest, which gives way in its resist- ance, and whose mild refusal is rendered more charming by the ultimate triumph of love. As yet no veil hid those charms which were sacred to the innocent enjoyments of love; inno- cence displayed to the sight its lovely features; the feeling of shame did not yet exist; the inno- cent inhabitants of this heavenly abode knew not that shame, which afterwards made their descendants blush for the instincts of their na- ture; one of the lamentable effects of sin : dis- graceful honour, wretched descendant of crimes, K 130 DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVE. thou hast lost virtue for its false semblance, and thou restorest every thing but innocence. To the angels, to God himself, they, in their simplicity, unblushingly, display their naked charms; such were these happy parents of man- kind, faithful to their Creator, the noble patterns of their posterity; so, hand in hand, they fear- less, and free, walked through their sacred groves; they roved, whithersoever inclination led them ; and, in their walks, the flowers of the orange, the rose, and the pomegranate, which, from the thickets, hung over their heads, and waved around them, embalmed their hair with an odor- ous dew, and formed a soft carpet for their feet, on the earth ; whilst the zephyrs, softly breathing, and on light wings, gently caressed them, and the songs of the birds expressed their joy. In the depth of a thicket, a fountain winding smoothly under a varying shade; there, seated on the green turf, adorned with their native beauty, they sat down : already was their appe- tite sharpened by gentle toil, and their table, crowned with fruits, was always seasoned with desire of food ; the trees, bent with fruit, offered ready stores to their hands ; they relished DESCRIPTIONS OF LOVK. 131 that food, which renewed their strength; the waters, which they collected in a vessel of bark, quenched their thirst with delicious nectar; they, meanwhile, neglected not amorous looks and smiles, those forerunners of gentle dalliance and innocent delight, with sweet caresses, and that charming discourse, in which their enchant- ed hearts love to express their enamoured emo- tions. " Dear Eve!" Adam said, " express to me, I beseech thee, what emotions the sight of the world has excited; and what were the various emotions of thy bosom when thou first beheldest the universe." " I found myself," replied she, " on the bank of a transparent fountain, softly laid on a ver- dant bed ; it was shaded by trees, whose tufted tops, waving in the air, made a confused noise: I arose, uncertain whether what I beheld was real: I enquired of myself, Whence do I come ? Where