And whilom in the schools long time did pass,
With sage Archytas and Pythagoras.
Stanza lxxxviii. lines 7 and 8.
Archytas was a native of Tarentum, and friend and cotemporary of Plato.
In blest Arabia lies a pleasant vale.
Stanza xcii. line 1.
Ariosto had probably an eye to Ovid’s description:
Est prope Cimmerios longo spelunca recessu, &c.
Or watch at midnight with how many eyes
The furtive works of lovers Heaven espies.
Stanza xcix. lines 7 and 8.
Aut quam sidera multa, cum tacet nox,
Furtivos hominum vident amores.
The larum-bells, loud-sounding through the air,
Stricken with frequent blows, the town affray.
Stanza c. lines 1 and 2.
Bells were all formerly stricken, as even small bells still are in shops, in some parts of the continent.
As swarming to assail the pastoral bowl, &c.
Stanza cix. line 1.
Ariosto, who was no Greek scholar, would, however, seem to have derived this simile from Homer; probably through the
