Sweet herbs, and blushing flowers,
That crown yon vernal bowers
For ever fatal, yet for ever dear;
And ye, that heard my sighs
When first she charm'd my eyes,
Soft-breathing gales, my dying accents hear.
Erba e fior', che la gonna
Leggiadra ricoverse
Coll' angelico seno;
Aer sacro sereno
Ov' Amor co' begli occhi il cor m' aperse;
Date udicnza insieme
Alle dolenti mie parole estreme.
or at most only thee three first lines of it; for he asserts that the Italian song is irregular, and without rhymes; whereas the stanzas are perfectly regular, and the rhymes very exact. His design was to give Madame de Chatelet, for whom he wrote his history, an idea of Petrach's style; but, if she had only read his imitation, she could have but an imperfect notion of the Italian which the reader will easily perceive by comparing them.
