So he invocates _Arethusa_, when _Cornelius Gallus Proconsul of Ægypt_ and his _Amours_, matters above the common reach of _Pastoral_, are his Subject.
Why he makes his application to _Aretheusa_ is easy to conjecture, for she was a _Nymph_ of _Sicily_, and so he might hope that she could inspire him with a _Genius_ fit for _Pastorals_ which first began in that _Island_, Thus in the seventh and eighth _Eclogue_, as the matter would bear, he invocates the Nymphs and Muses: And _Theocritus_ does the same,
From whence 'tis evident that in _Pastoral_, tho it never pretends to any greatness, _Invocations_ { 55} may be allow'd: But whatever Subject it chooseth, it must take care to accommodate it to the Genius and Circumstances of a Shepherd.
Concerning the Form, or mode of _Imitation_, I shall not repeat what I have already said, _viz._ that this is in it self _mixt_; for _Pastoral_ is either _Alternate_, or hath but _one Person_, or is _mixt_ of both: yet 'tis properly and chiefly _Alternate_. as is evident from that of _Theocritus_.
Sing _Rural_ strains, for as we march along We may delight each other with a Song.
In which the _Poet_ shows that _alternate_ singing is proper to a _Pastoral_: But as for the _Fable_, 'tis requisite that it should be simple, lest in stead of _Pastoral_ it put on the form of a _Comedy_, or _Tragedy_ if the _Fable_ be great, or intricate: It must be _One_; this _Aristotle_ thinks necessary in every _Poem_, and _Horace_ lays down this general Rule,
For every Poem, that is not _One_, is imperfect, and this _Unity_ is to be taken from the _Action_: for if that is _One_, the Poem will be so too. Such is the Passion of _Corydon_ in _Virgil's_ second Eclogue, _Meliboeus's_ Expostulation with _Tityrus_ about his Fortune; _Theocritus's_ _Thyrsis, Cyclops_, and _Amaryllis_, of which perhaps in its proper place I may treat more largely.
{ 56} Let the third Rule be concerning the _Expression_, which cannot be in this kind excellent unless borrow'd from _Theocritus's_ _Idylliums_, or _Virgil's_ _Eclogues_, let it be chiefly simple, and ingenuous: such is that of _Theocritus_,
A Kid belongs to thee, and Kids are good,
This Pail of Milk, these Cakes (_Priapus_) every year Expect; a little Garden is thy care: Thou'rt Marble now, but if more Land I hold, If my Flock thrive, thou shalt be made of Gold,