Blest, lovely soul above! How foolish have I been To ask that thou shouldst mind thee of thy swain; Who gave thee all his love. Eternally, I ween, Shall I, if thou art kind, thus feel my pain. 'Twere better for my gain That I should be forgot, That woe should waste away The life that yet doth stay, That I should perish 'neath my cruel lot, Since in my bitter grief Death's ill I count not ill, but sweet relief. Amidst the holy choir, Amongst the sainted dead, Dear soul! enjoy the wealth of Heaven's delight, That fears nor time nor fire; The mercies that are shed On all who flee not from the path of right. I hope to reach that height, To dwell with thee in bliss, Amidst eternal spring, If to thy steps I cling And know no dread nor yet the pathway miss. Oh lead me to this goal! For such a deed as this befits thy soul. And then, blest souls that dwell in Heaven, behold The good that I desire, Enlarge the wings of this my good desire. Here ceased the voice, but not the sighs of the hapless swain who had sung, and both served to increase in Elicio the desire to know who he was. And bursting through the thorny brambles so as to reach more quickly the spot whence the voice proceeded, he came to a little meadow which, in the fashion of a theatre, was girt all round with very dense and tangled shrubs; and there he saw a shepherd who was standing in an attitude of great vigour, with his right foot advanced and his left behind, his right arm raised in the manner of one hoping to make a mighty throw. And such was the truth, for at the noise which Elicio had made in bursting through the bushes, he, thinking it was some wild beast (against which the woodland shepherds were forced to defend themselves), had placed himself in a position to hurl at him a weighty stone he was holding in his hand. Elicio, perceiving his intent by his posture, before he could accomplish it, said to him: 'Calm your bosom, hapless shepherd, for he who comes hither, brings a bosom ready for all you might ask of it; desire to learn your fortune has made him break in upon your tears, and disturb the solace which might attend upon you in solitude.'