Page:Amyntas, a tale of the woods; from the Italien of Torquato Tasso (IA amyntastaleofwoo00tass).pdf/18

 play. But when we come to consider what an infinite number of suggestions must have been lost upon the world, and that originality, in it's most creative sense, is nothing but combination, we shall not dispute the entireness of this pretension. Agostino Beccari, a Ferrarese, is the first person on record who produced a complete pastoral drama. It was brought forward in 1554, under the title of The Sacrifice, (Il Sacrifizio,) and obtained him, as might be expected, the greatest applause. It is remarkable, that it was dedicated to the two Princesses, Lucretia and Leonora, who were then very young, and who were thus destined to see a new species of drama begun and perfected under the auspices of their family. The next pastoral play, also by a Ferrarese, was produced by a writer of the name of Alberto Lollio. Of the third, still a production of Ferrara, we have already