Virgil has not escaped this puerility:
—— Galathæa thymo mihi dulcior Hyblæ.
Bucol. vii. 37.
—— Ego Sardois videar tibi amarior herbis.
Ibid. 41.
Gallo, cujus amor tantum mihi crescit in horas,
Quantum vere novo viridis se subjicit alnus.
Buccol. x. 73.
Nor Tasso, in his Aminta:
Picciola e’ l’ape, e fa col picciol morso
Pur gravi, e pur moleste le ferite;
Ma, qual cosa é più picciola d’amore,
Se in ogni breve spatio entra, e s’asconde
In ogni breve spatio? hor, sotto a l’ombra
De le palpebre, hor trà minuti rivi
D’un biondo crine, hor dentro le pozzette,
Che forma un dolce riso in bella guancia;
E pur fá tanto grandi, e si mortali,
E cosi immedicabili le piaghe.
Act 2. sc. 1.
Nor Boileau, the chastest of all writers; and that even in his art of poetry:
Ainsi tel autrefois, qu’on vit avec Faret
Charbonner de ses vers les murs d’un cabaret,
S’en va mal a’ propos, d’une voix insolente,
Chanter du peuple He’breu la suite triomphante,
Et poursuivant Moise au travers des déserts,
Court avec Pharaon se noyer dans les mers.
Chant. 1. l. 21.
—— But for their spirits and souls
This word rebellion had froze them up
As fish are in a pond.
Second Part Henry IV. act 1. sc. 3.
Queen. The pretty vaulting sea refus’d to drown me;
Knowing, that thou wou’dst have me drown’d on shore
With tears as salt as sea, through thy unkindness.
Second Part Henry VI. act 3. sc. 6.