232 Ftalian literature. Fune v0. 
Guidi and Menzini were obliged to look out for 
some other provision ; and Leonzo, with his followers, 
continued their learned meetings in the same ramb- 
ling manner as before. 
However, the queen’s offer suggested to them the 
notion of forming themselves into an academical body, 
which fhould be entirely directed, if pofsible, to re- 
store good taste, and fhew, by their example, the 
true way of composing well. To this purpose, they 
- began exprefsly to form their lucubrations, wholly 
according to pastoral notions, imagining that, by its- 
simplicity, this might turn out the most likely me- 
thod of putting out of fafhion those pompous and 
eextravagant phrases, which, in the heroic stile, 
had gained the estimation of the public, and ob- 
tained universal applause. Jt happened that one 
day, some of them having met in the fields behind 
the castle of St Angelo, in a retired and solitary part 
on the banks of the river, one of the company, in a 
transport of pleasure, caused by the beauty of several 
pastoral poems, which that day happened to be in a 
greater number than ordinary, cried out, “ Egii 
mi sembra che not abbiamo oggi rinnovata l’ Arcadia.” 
* “Tt seems to me that we have this day revived Arca- 
dia.” Some smiled at this exprefsion, and all of them 
were pleased ; but none of them took any farther no- 
tice of it except Crescimbent, who was one of the young 
gentlemen that most frequented their meetings, and 
was more than any of them united in friendthip with 
Leonia. No sooner did he hear the name of Arcadia, 
but he thought that, from it, one might take the idea 
of the academy they were intending to establith. 
