[Page 189]

[Tasso, Aminta:] AMINTOR, being ask'd by THIRSIS Who is the Object of his Love? speaks as follows.

Amint.
1 THIRSIS! to Thee I mean that Name to show,
2 Which, only yet our Groves, and Fountains know:
3 That, when my Death shall through the Plains be told,
4 Thou with the wretched Cause may'st that unfold
5 To every-one, who shall my Story find
6 Carv'd by thy Hand, in some fair Beeches rind;
7 Beneath whose Shade the bleeding Body lay:
8 That, when by chance she shall be led that way,
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9 O'er my sad Grave the haughty Nymph may go.
10 And the proud Triumph of her Beauty shew
11 To all the Swains, to Strangers as they pass;
12 And yet at length she may (but Oh! alas!
13 I fear, too high my flatt'ring Hopes do soar)
14 Yet she at length may my sad Fate deplore;
15 May weep me Dead, may o'er my Tomb recline
16 And sighing, wish were he alive and Mine!
17 But mark me to the End —
Thir.
18 Go on; for well I do thy Speech attend,
19 Perhaps to better Ends, than yet thou know'st.
Amint.
20 Being now a Child, or but a Youth at most,
21 When scarce to reach the blushing Fruit I knew
22 Which on the lowest bending Branches grew;
23 Still with the dearest, sweetest, kindest Maid
24 Young as myself, at childish Sports I play'd.
25 The Fairest, sure, of all that Lovely Kind,
26 Who spread their golden Tresses to the Wind;
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27 Cydippe's Daughter, and Montano's Heir,
28 Whose Flocks and Herds so num'rous do appear;
29 The beauteous Sylvia; She, 'tis She I love,
30 Warmth of all Hearts, and Pride of ev'ry Grove.
31 With Her I liv'd, no Turtles e'er so fond.
32 Our Houses met, but more our Souls were join'd.
33 Together Nets for Fish, and Fowl we laid;
34 Together through the spacious Forest stray'd;
35 Pursu'd with equal Speed the flying Deer,
36 And of the Spoils there no Divisions were.
37 But whilst I from the Beasts their Freedom won,
38 Alas! I know not how, my Own was gone.
39 By unperceiv'd Degrees the Fire encreas'd,
40 Which fill'd, at last, each corner of my Breast;
41 As from a Root, tho' scarce discern'd so small,
42 A Plant may rise, that grows amazing tall.
43 From Sylvia's Presence now I could not move,
44 And from her Eyes took in full Draughts of Love,
45 Which sweetly thro' my ravish'd Mind distill'd;
46 Yet in the end such Bitterness wou'd yield,
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47 That oft I sigh'd, ere yet I knew the cause,
48 And was a Lover, ere I dream'd I was.
49 But Oh! at last, too well my State I knew;
50 And now, will shew thee how this Passion grew.
51 Then listen, while the pleasing Tale I tell.

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Title (in Source Edition): [Tasso, Aminta:] AMINTOR, being ask'd by THIRSIS Who is the Object of his Love? speaks as follows.
Author: Anne Finch (née Kingsmill), countess of Winchilsea
Themes:
Genres: heroic couplet; translation; drama

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Winchilsea, Anne Kingsmill Finch, Countess of, 1661-1720. Miscellany poems, on several occasions: Written by the Right Honble Anne, Countess of Winchilsea. London: printed for J. B. and sold by Benj. Tooke, William Taylor, and James Round, 1713, pp. 189-192. [8],390p. ; 8⁰. (ESTC T94539; Foxon pp. 274-5; OTA K076314.000) (Page images digitized from a copy in the Bodleian Library [Buxton 100].)

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The text has been typographically modernized, but without any silent modernization of spelling, capitalization, or punctuation. The source of the text is given and all editorial interventions have been recorded in textual notes. Based on the electronic text originally produced by the TCP project, this ECPA text has been edited to conform to the recommendations found in Level 5 of the Best Practices for TEI in Libraries version 4.0.0.

Other works by Anne Finch (née Kingsmill), countess of Winchilsea