Poliphilo's Strife of Love in a Dream

...it seemed that I was in a spacious plain original: "planitie", which appeared all green and very much adorned, being painted with many various flowers. And with gentle breezes, there was a certain silence there. Not even to the readiest ears did any noise or any formed voice reach. But with the gracious rays of the sun, the temperate weather passed.

In which place I, a lonely stranger with timid wonder, said to myself: "Here no human presence appears to my longing gaze, nor even any wild creature, nor wood-dweller, nor wood-nymph original: "silvia", nor domestic beast. No rustic house, nor any country hut, nor shepherd's roof, nor Libyan huts original: "Magalia," a term used by ancient Roman poets to describe the dwellings of Carthaginian nomads. are seen." Similarly, in the grassy places, I saw no shepherd OpilioneA Latinate term for a shepherd of sheep., nor goatherd EpoloDerived from the Latin 'aipolos,' meaning one who tends goats., nor cowherd BuſequaOne who tends cattle., nor horse-handler EquiſioFrom the Latin 'equis,' meaning one who manages horses., nor wandering flock or herd with their double-piped rustic reed-flutes original: "Syringe", nor with their sounding pipes of bark original: "Tibie". But emboldened by the quiet plain and the kindness of the place, and proceeding as if feeling safe, I looked here and there, seeing the tender leaves resting motionless, perceiving no other activity. And so, facing a thick forest, I directed my unknown journey. Having entered it a little way, I did not notice that I had—I know not how—incautiously left the proper path. A sudden fear immediately invaded my anxious heart, spreading through my pale limbs, and with a rapid beating of the heart, my cheeks became bloodless in color. This was because my eyes were not permitted to see any trace of a path or any fork in the road. Instead, in the thorny forest, nothing appeared except dense thickets, stinging brambles, the wild ash tree—hated by vipers A piece of Renaissance folklore suggesting that snakes would rather jump into a fire than pass through the shadow of an ash tree.—rough elms, pleasing to the fertile vines Elms were traditionally used as supports or "husbands" for grapevines in ancient and Renaissance agriculture., cork-trees original: "Subderi" with thick bark—a suitable material for women's footwear A reference to "choppines" or platform shoes, which were often made with thick cork soles.—hard Turkey oaks, strong English oaks, and acorn-bearing oaks and holm-oaks, so abundant with branches that they did not permit the rays of the gracious sun to reach the dewy ground entirely. But as if covered by a vaulted roof of dense foliage, the nourishing light did not penetrate. And in this way, I found myself in the cool shade, humid air, and the dark woodland original: "Nemorale".