Some Peices out of the First Act of the Aminta of Tasso. Dafne's answer to Silvia, declaring she should esteem all as Enemies, who shou'd talk to her of Love, or endeavour to persuade Her from her Virgin Life, "Then, to the snowy Ewe, in thy esteem . . . ". MS Folger, p. 60. See Annotated Chronology No. 23.
From Torches, Abbé de. L'Aminte du Tasse. Pastorale. Traduite de l'Italien en Vers Francois. Edition nouvelle, revue & enrichie des Tailles douces [translation by Abbé de Torches, bilingual texts with Italian facing French]. Suivant la Copie de Paris, A la Haye. Chez Levyn van Dyk. 1681, pp. 20-23. Cf. Torquato Tasso, Aminta, introd. M. Fubini, notes B. Macier (Milano: Rizzoli, 1976), Act I, ii, 213-252. See also An Annotated Bibliography: Primary and Secondary Sources for all Finch's translations (paraphrases), imitations and adaptations.
In this particular piece Finch used both the Italian and French texts and produced at times a paraphrase and at times an imitation:
The French facing text, p 23:
Tu penses donc que sur la terre
Entre les animaux d'un instinct amoureux
La nature entretienne une cruelle guerre,
Et qu'elle s'oppose à leurs feux?
Dont l'innocente Tourterelle
Ne pourra pas souffrir sa campagne fidele
Et le Printemps sera, si l'on croit ta raison,
De nos inimitiez la funeste saison
Luy qui rend la terre seconde
Et qui fait aimer tout le monde.
Ne t'appercois tu point que tout ayme ici bas?*
Que l'Amour seulemente régne dans la nature?
Voy comme d'un baiser meslé d'un doux murmure,
Ce Pigeon scait gouster les amoureux appas.
Entens ce Rossignol qui par son doux ramage
Redit cent fois le jor, qu'il aime en ce bocage,
Les Tigres, les Lions, les Serpens, & les Ours,
Par des instincts secrets nourrissent leurs amours,
Et toy plus fiére qu'eux, à l'amour plus rebelle
Tu ne conçois pour luy qu'une haine immortele.
Mais ces arbres encor l'un pour l'autre en flâmez
A ta honte, Silvie, aiment & sont aimez:
Autour de ce peuplier cette vigne s'enlasse*
Et jusques â la mort toujours elle l'embrasse:
Le sapin est epris pour une autre sapin:
Le pin caresse un autre pin:
L'Amour sur les ormeaux régne en souverain Maistre:
Le saule ame le saule, & le hestre le hestre*
Ce chesne que tu vois par le temps endurcy,
Se laisse consumer d'un amoureux soucy:
Et ses soupirs muets te le pourroient apprendre,
S'il plaisoit à l'amour de te les faire entendre:
Auras-tu moins de sentiment
Que ces arbres touffus qui croissent en ament?
Croy-moy donc, aymable insensée,
Commence une autre vie, & change de pense.
The starred passages are closely paraphrased directly from the French by Finch.
The Italian in the 1681 text, pp. 20 and 22:
Stimi dunque nemico
Il monton de l'Agnella?
De la Giovenca il Toro?
Stimi dunique nemico
Il Tortore e la fida Tortorella?
Stimi dunque stagione
Di nimicitia, e d'ira
La dolce Primavera?
C'hor a allegra, e ridente
Riconsiglia ed amare
Il mondo, e gli Animali
E gli Huomini, e le Donne: e non t'accorgi,
Come tutte le cose
Hor sono innamorate
D'un amor pien di gioia e di salute?
Mira là quel Colombo
Con che dolce susurro lusingando
Baccia la sua Compagna
Odi quel Uscignuolo
Che và di ramo in ramo*
Cantando, Io amo, Io amo: e se no'l sai*
La Biscia lascia il suo veleno, e corre*
Cupida al suo Amatore:
Van le Tigre in amore:
Ama il Leon superbo: e tu sol, fiera,
Più che tutte le fere,
Albergo gli dineghi nel tuo petto*
Mà, che dico Leoni, e Tigri, e Serpi*
Che pur han sentimento? amano ancora*
Gli Alberi. Veder puoi, con quanto affetto
Et con quante iterati abbracciamenti
La vite s'avviticchia al suo marito:
L'Abete ama l'Abete: il Pino il Pino
L'Orno per l'Orono, & per la Salce il Salce,
Et l'un per l'Altro Faggio arde, e sospira.
Quella Quercia, che pare
Si ruvida, e selvaggia,
Sent'anch'ella il potere
De l'amoroso foco: e, se tu havessi
Spirto, e senso d'Amore, intenderesti
I suo muti sospiri. Hor tu da meno
Esser vuoi de le piante,
Per non esser amante?
Cangia, cangia consiglio,
Paxxarella che sei.
The starred Italian lines are closely followed by Finch
One should note that Finch says the five texts represent material she saved despite strong inhibitions against erotic verse: "the great reservednesse of Mrs Philips [Katherine Philips] in this particular [she avoided overtly sexual verse addressed to men] and the prayses I have heard given her upon that account togethr with my desire not to give scandal to the most severe, has often discourag'd me from making use of itt, and given me some regrett for what I had writt of that kind, and wholy prevented me from putting the Aminta of Tasso into English verse, from the verbal translation that I procured out of the Italian, after I had finish'd the first act extreamly to my satisfaction; and was convinc'd, that in the original, itt must be as soft and full of beautys, as ever anything of that nature was; but there being nothing mixt with itt, fo a serious morality, or usefullnesse, I sacrafis'd the pleasure I took in itt, to the more sollid reasonings of my own mind; and hope by so doing t have made an attonement, to my gravest readers . . . (etcetera); see MS Folger, unpaginated Preface. She must have valued the five pieces strongly to overcome the strong inhibitions her culture had instilled in her.