Page:Amyntas, a tale of the woods; from the Italien of Torquato Tasso (IA amyntastaleofwoo00tass).pdf/34

 of Satyrs and Nymphs. It is called Egle, and is worth reading. There is a strong aboriginal taste of nature in it; as if it had been written when gods, nymphs, and sylvans, had all the world to themselves. The idea of the cave in hell, where women are punished for cruelty to their lovers, (Act I. Scene I.) is from Ariosto. In Ariosto also, though I cannot refer to the passage, I remember finding the original of the pleasant fiction of the scene following, respecting the gossiping chairs and walls at court. It is not in Tasso's style; and as if conscious of this, he introduces it with great felicity as a story told to perplex him by another.

In the former of these passages, Ariosto is personally alluded to, as "the Great One who sung of arms and love." Thyrsis is Tasso himself; Battus is Battista Guarini; and Elpino is Il Pigna,