influence impressed upon Europe was by no means an
unmixed good; in some respects it retarded the natural
development of the modern mind by overpowering it with
its prestige and stupefying it with a sense of
inferiority; while it raised the ideal of perfection,
it tended to give rise to mere imitations and
affectations. Amongst these new forms was the
Pastoral. When Virgil, Theocritus, 'Daphnis and
Chloe,' and other writers and works of the ancient
pastoral literature once more gained the ascendancy,
then a modern pastoral poetry began to be. This poetry
flourished greatly in Italy in the sixteenth century.
It had been cultivated by Sannazaro, Guarini, Tasso.
Arcadia had been adopted by the poets for their
country. In England numerous _Eclogues_ made their
appearance. Amongst the earliest and the best of these
were Spenser's. It would perhaps be unjust to treat
this modern pastoral literature as altogether an
affectation. However unreal, the pastoral world had
its charms--a pleasant feeling imparted of
emancipation, a deep quietude, a sweet tranquillity.
If vulgar men discovered their new worlds, and
trafficked and bustled there, why should not the poet
discover his Arcadia, and repose at his ease in it,
secure from the noises of feet coming and going over
the roads of the earth?
That fine melodiousness, which is one of Spenser's
signal characteristics, may be perceived in his
_Eclogues_, as also a native gracefulness of style,
which is another distinguishing mark of him.