TEOLINDA. Whither a flagrant cruel lie doth go, This have I learned from my grievous state, And how Love with my hurt doth meditate The life that fear denies me, to bestow. To dwell within my flesh my soul doth cease, Following his soul that by some mystic fate In pain hath placed it, and in woe so great That happiness brings strife, and sorrow peace. If I do live, 'tis hope that makes me live, Hope, that, though slight and weak, doth upward mount, Clinging unto the strength my love doth give. Ah firm beginning, transformation frail, Bitterest total of a sweet account! Amidst your persecutions life must fail. Teolinda had scarcely ceased singing the sonnet you have heard, when, on their right hand, on the slope of the cool vale, the three shepherdesses became aware of the sound of a pipe, whose sweetness was such that all halted and stood still, to enjoy the sweet harmony with more attention. And anon they heard the sound of a small rebeck, attuning itself to that of the pipe with grace and skill so great that the two shepherdesses Galatea and Florisa stood rapt, wondering what shepherds they might be who played with such harmony; for they clearly saw that none of those they knew was so skilled in music, unless it were Elicio. 'At this moment,' said Teolinda, 'if my ears deceive me not, fair shepherdesses, I think you now have on your banks the two renowned and famous shepherds Thyrsis and Damon, natives of my country--at least Thyrsis is, who was born in famous Compluto, a town founded on our Henares' banks; and Damon, his intimate and perfect friend, if I am not ill informed, draws his origin from the mountains of León, and was nurtured in Mantua Carpentanea, the renowned. Both are so excellent in every manner of discretion, learning and praiseworthy pursuits, that not only are they known within the boundaries of our district, but they are known and esteemed throughout all the boundaries of the land; and think not, shepherdesses, that the genius of these two shepherds extends merely to knowing what befits the shepherd's lot, for it passes so far beyond that they teach and dispute of the hidden things of Heaven and the unknown things of earth, in terms and modes agreed upon. And I am perplexed to think what cause will have moved them to leave, Thyrsis his sweet and beloved Phyllis, Damon his fair and modest Amaryllis; Phyllis by Thyrsis, Amaryllis by Damon so beloved, that there is in our village or its environs no person, nor in the district a wood, meadow, spring or stream, that does not know full well their warm and modest love.' 'Cease at present, Teolinda,' said Florisa, 'to praise these shepherds to us, for it profits us more to hear what they sing as they come, since it seems to me that they have no less charm in their voices than in the music of their instruments.'