Poliphilo's Strife of Love in a Dream

...humanity, through just prayers, deserves support and ought to be heard. At present, grieving for every frail offense, I suppliantly invoke you, supreme father of the celestials, eternal ruler of the highest, middle, and lowest realms original: "Medio ximi, & inferi æterno rectore", that it might please your immense Deity to liberate me from these mortal perils and this present horror, and to end this doubtful life of mine by some other, better end.

And here, like the trembling AchaemenidesA character from Virgil’s "Aeneid" who was accidentally left behind on the island of the Cyclops by Odysseus and was later rescued by Aeneas. who pleaded with Aeneas with an anxious and precarious voice to escape the horrific Cyclops—desiring rather to die at the hands of human enemies than by such a horrendous death—I prayed in the same manner.

Hardly had I finished these devout prayers sincerely, with a unified heart, contrite and agitated, and bathed in tears—firmly believing that the Gods assist a good mind—than without delay I found myself outside that narrow, rough, and thorny wood original: "nemore" without even realizing it. It was as if I had emerged into a new day from the humid night. My shaded eyes could not for a while endure the lovely light.

Completely filthy, mournful, and anxious, it seemed to me that I had reached the desired light no less than one who might come out of a "blind prison," freed from heavy and troublesome chains and emerged from murky darkness. Entirely thirsty and torn, my face and hands bloodied and blistered by stinging nettles original: "Vrtica", feeling myself faint, I yet considered nothing as an obstacle to the gracious light. I was so thirsty that the fresh breezes could not refresh me, nor could they adequately satisfy my parched heart. I was most greedy to swallow even the hollow saliva that had dried up within me.

But after I was somewhat reassured, and a little bit of spirit was recalled into me—though my chest was dried out by frequent sighs, anxiety of spirit, and physical fatigue—I decided by every means to extinguish my parched thirst. Therefore, exploring that region curiously to find some water, and seeking it while very exhausted, a most pleasant fountain opportunely offered itself to me with a thick vein of freshly rising water. Its location was revealed to me by marshy Sweet Flagoriginal: "Achori"; a wetland plant often used in perfumes and medicines., the Woodrufforiginal: "barba Siluana"; a low-growing woodland plant., the flowering Loosestrifeoriginal: "Lisimachia", and the musky Masterwortoriginal: "Imperatoria"; a medicinal alpine plant..

From this fountain was born a most clear stream which, with wandering rivulets through the middle of the deserted forest, flowed on with a colorful and winding bed, growing larger as it took in many other liquid channels. Against the obstructing stones and ruined trunks, the current and sounding waves rose up. And then, it received a great increase from impetuous and wave-sounding torrents of melted snow falling from the alpine and frozen mountains—which appeared not too far distant, whitened in the icy majesty of PanThe god of the wild; here used to personify the rugged, snowy mountain landscape.. Having arrived at this stream many times during my fearful flight, I found a bit of dim light through the tall trees, a little in the