Spenser's Faerie Queene, Vol. 1 (of 2)

Her blisse is all in pleasure and delight, lii

Wherewith she makes her louers drunken mad,

And then with words and weedes of wondrous might,

On them she workes her will to vses bad:

My lifest[482] Lord she thus beguiled had;

For he was flesh: (all flesh doth frailtie breed.)

Whom when I heard to beene so ill bestad,

Weake wretch I wrapt my selfe in Palmers weed,

And cast to seeke him forth through daunger and great dreed.

Now had faire Cynthia by euen tournes liii

Full measured three quarters of her yeare,

And thrise three times had fild her crooked hornes,

Whenas my wombe her burdein would forbeare,

And bad me call Lucina to me neare.

Lucina came: a manchild forth I brought:

The woods, the Nymphes, my bowres, my midwiues weare,

Hard helpe at need. So deare thee babe I bought,

Yet nought too deare I deemd, while so my dear I sought.

Him so I sought, and so at last I found, liv

Where him that witch had thralled to her will,

In chaines of lust and lewd desires ybound,

And so transformed from his former skill,

That me he knew not, neither his owne ill;

Till through wise handling and faire gouernance,

I him recured to a better will,

Purged from drugs of foule intemperance:

Then meanes I gan deuise for his deliuerance.

Which when the vile Enchaunteresse perceiu’d, lv

How that my Lord from her I would repriue,

With cup thus charmd, him parting she deceiu’d;

Sad verse, giue death to him that death does giue,

And losse of loue, to her that loues to liue,

So soone as Bacchus with the Nymphe does lincke:[483]

So parted we and on our iourney driue,

Till comming to this well, he stoupt to drincke:

The charme fulfild, dead suddenly he downe did sincke.

Which when I wretch, Not one word more she sayd lvi

But breaking off[484] the end for want of breath,

And slyding soft, as downe to sleepe her layd,

And ended all her woe in quiet death.

That seeing good Sir Guyon, could vneath

From teares abstaine, for griefe his hart did grate,

And from so heauie sight his head did wreath,

Accusing fortune, and too cruell fate,

Which plunged[485] had faire Ladie in so wretched state.

Then turning to his[486] Palmer said, Old syre lvii

Behold the image of mortalitie,

And feeble nature cloth’d with fleshly tyre,

When raging passion with fierce tyrannie

Robs reason of her due regalitie,

And makes it seruant to her basest part:

The strong it weakens with infirmitie,

And with bold furie armes the weakest hart;

The strong through pleasure soonest falles, the weake through smart.

But temperance (said he) with golden squire lviii

Betwixt them both can measure out a meane,

Neither to melt in pleasures whot[487] desire,

Nor fry[488] in hartlesse griefe and dolefull teene.

Thrise happie man, who fares them both atweene:

But sith this wretched woman ouercome

Of anguish, rather then of crime hath beene,

Reserue her cause to her eternall doome,

And in the meane vouchsafe her honorable toombe.

Palmer (quoth he) death is an equall[489] doome lix

To good and bad, the common Inne of rest;

But after death the tryall is to come,

When best shall be to them, that liued best:

But both alike, when death hath both supprest,

Religious reuerence doth buriall teene,

Which who so wants, wants so much of his rest:

For all so great shame after death I weene,

As selfe to dyen bad, vnburied bad to beene.

So both agree their bodies to engraue; lx

The great earthes wombe they open to the sky,

And with sad Cypresse seemely it embraue,

Then couering with a clod their closed eye,

They lay therein those corses tenderly,

And bid them sleepe in euerlasting peace.

But ere they did their vtmost obsequy,

Sir Guyon more affection to increace,

Bynempt a sacred vow, which none should aye releace.

The dead knights sword out of his sheath he drew, lxi

With which he cut a locke of all their heare,

Which medling with their bloud and earth, he threw

Into the graue, and gan deuoutly sweare;

Such and such euill God on Guyon reare,

And worse and worse young Orphane be thy paine,

If I or thou dew vengeance doe forbeare,

Till guiltie bloud her guerdon doe obtaine:

So shedding many teares, they closd the earth againe.

FOOTNOTES:

[436] i 4 vnderstands, 1590 &c.

[437] 7 caytiue 1609

[438] ii 7 natiues 1596, 1609

[439] iii 2 food] feude 1609

[440] 5 bend 1590, 1596

[441] 9 be] he 1609

[442] iv 1 lay. 1590, 1596

[443] 5 avantage 1609

[444] 6, 7 transposed in 1596, 1606

[445] 6, 7 transposed in 1596, 1606

[446] viii 5 with a faire 1596

[447] 7 spoile. 1596

[448] ix 7 languorous 1590

[449] x 5 corps 1590

[450] xi 6 sword, 1590 &c.

[451] xiv 7 despight; 1596, 1609

[452] xvi 1 liefe] life 1590

[453] xvii 3 desyre, 1590: desire, 1596

[454] xviii 2 plight. 1590, 1596

[455] 6 did he] he did 1590

[456] xx 2 quite] quit 1590

[457] 7 blotting 1590

[458] xxvi 9 betidde] betide 1590

[459] xxix 1 attone] at one 1590

[460] xxxi 2 handling] handing 1596

[461] 4 on] one 1590

[462] 7 fayre 1590: faire 1596

[463] xxxii 7 Must] Most 1590

[464] xxxiii 8 thrise] these 1590 &c.: corr. F. E.

[465] xxxiv 6 steedy 1590: steadie 1609

[466] xxxvi 4 liues] lifes 1609

[467] xxxviii 7 launced 1609

[468] xxxix 4 dolour] labour 1596, 1609

[469] xl 4 gore] gold 1596, 1609

[470] 5 louely] little 1609

[471] xli 5 ded, 1590, 1596

[472] xlii 4 attone, 1596

[473] 8 constraine, 1590, 1596

[474] 9 stout courage] courage stout 1609

[475] xliv 6 reuenging] auenging 1590

[476] xlv 8 despight. 1590: despight, 1596, 1609

[477] xlvii 1 low, 1596

[478] 2 sigh’t 1609

[479] xlix 9 Mortdant 1590, 1596

[480] l 3 brow, 1590, 1596

[481] li 6 is, 1590, 1596

[482] lii 5 liefest 1590

[483] lv 6 lincke, 1590, 1596

[484] lvi 2 off] of, 1590: off, 1596

[485] 9 plonged 1590

[486] lvii 1 his] the 1609

[487] lviii 3 whot] hot 1609 passim

[488] 4 fry] fryze sugg. Church

[489] lix 1 equall] euill 1596, 1609

Spenser's Faerie Queene, Vol. 1 (of 2)

About This Book

FOOTNOTES: