The guilefull great Enchaunter parts.
The Redcrosse Knight from
Truth:
Into whose
ſteadstead
ſtepssteps
faire falshood steps,
And workes him woefull ruth.
[1]
BYBy this the Northerne wagoner had set
His seuenfoldsevenfold teme behind the stedfast starre,
That was in Ocean waueswaves yet neuernever wet,
ButBur firme is fixt, and sendeth light from farre
To al, that in the wide deepe wandring arre:
And chearefull Chaunticlere with his note shrill
Had warned once, that Phoebus fiery
carre,
In hast was climbing vpup the Easterne hill,
Full enuiousenvious that night so long his roome did fill.
[2]
When those accursed messengers of
hell,
That feigning dreame, and that faire-forged Spright
Came to their wicked maister, and gan tel
Their bootelesse paines, and ill succeeding night:
Who all in rage to see his skilfull might
Deluded so, gan threaten hellish paine
And sad Proserpines wrath, them to
affright.
But when he saw his threatning was but vaine,
He cast about, and searcht his baleful
bokes againe.
[3]
Eftsoones he tooke that miscreated
faire,
And that false other Spright, on whom he spred
A seeming body of the subtile aire,
Like a young Squire, in louesloves and lusty hed
His wanton daies that euerever loosely led,
Without regard of armes and dreaded fight:
Those twoo he tooke, and in a secrete bed,
CoueredCovered with darkenes and misdeeming night,
Them both together laid, to ioyjoy in vaine delight.
[4]
Forthwith he runnes with feigned
faithfull hast
VntoUnto his guest, who after troublous sights
And dreames gan now to take more sound repast,
Whom suddenly he wakes with fearful frights,
As one aghast with feends or damned sprights,
And to him cals, Rise rise vnhappyunhappy Swaine,
That here wex old in sleepe, whiles
wicked wights
HaueHave knit themseluesthemselves in Venus
shameful chaine;
Come see, where your false Lady doth her
honor staine.
[5]
All in amaze he suddenly vpup start
With sword in hand, and with the old man went;
Who soone him brought into a secret part,
Where that false couple were full closely ment
In wanton lust and leud enbracement:
Which when he saw, he burnt with gealous fire,
The eie of reason was with rage yblent,
And would hauehave slaine them in his furious ire,
But hardly was restreined of that aged
sire.
[6]
Retourning to his bed in torment
great,
And bitter anguish of his guilty sight,
He could not rest, but did his stout heart eat,
And wast his inward gall with deepe despight,
Yrkesome of life, and too long lingring night.
At last faire Hesperus in highest
skie
Had spent his lãpelampe, and brought forth dawning light,
Then vpup he rose, and clad him hastily;
The dwarfe him brought his steed: so both
away do fly.
[7]
Now when the rosy fingred Morning
faire,
Weary of aged Tithones saffron
bed,
Had spred her purple robe through deawy aire,
And the high hils Titan
discouereddiscovered,
The royall virgin shooke of drousy hed,
And rising forth out of her baser bowre,
Lookt for her knight, who far away was fled,
And for her dwarfe, that wont to wait each howre;
Then gan she wail and weepe, to see that
woeful stowre.
[8]
And after him she rode with so much
speede,
As her slowe beast could make; but all in vaine:
For him so far had borne his light-foot steede,
Pricked with wrath and fiery fierce disdaine,
That him to follow was but fruitlesse paine;
Yet she her weary limbes would neuernever rest,
But eueryevery hil and dale, each wood and plaine
Did search, sore grieuedgrieved in her gentle brest,
He so vngentlyungently left her, whome she
louedloved
louestloveſtlovest
best.
[9]
But subtill Archimago when his guests
He saw diuideddivided into double parts,
And VnaUna wandring in woods and forrests,
Th’end of his drift, he praisd his diuelishdivelish arts,
That had such might ouerover true meaning harts:
Yet rests not so, but other meanes doth make,
How he may worke vntounto her further smarts:
For her he hated as the hissing snake,
And in her many troubles did most
pleasure take.
[10]
He then deuisdedevisde himselfe how to disguise;
For by his mighty science he could take
As many formes and shapes in seeming wise,
As euerever
Proteus to himselfe
could make:
Sometime a fowle, sometime a fish in lake,
Now like a foxe, now like a dragon fell,
That of himselfe he ofte for feare would quake,
And oft would flie away. O who can tell
The hidden powre of herbes, and might of
Magick spel?
[11]
But now seemde best, the person to put
on
Of that good knight, his late beguiled guest:
In mighty armes he was yclad anon:
And siluersilver shield, vponupon his coward brest
A bloody crosse, and on his crauencraven crest
A bounch of heares discolourd diuerslydiversly:
Full iollyjolly knight he seemde, and wel addrest,
And when he sate vpponuppon his courser free,
Saint George
himselfe ye would hauehave deemed him to be.
[12]
But he the knight, whose semblaunt he
did beare,
The true Saint
George was wandred far away,
Still flying from his thoughts and gealous feare;
Will was his guide, and griefe led him astray.
At last him chaunst to meete vponupon the way
A faithlesse Sarazin all armde to point,
In whose great shield was writ with letters gay
Sans foy: full large
of limbe and eueryevery
iointjoint
He was, and cared not for God or man a
point.
[13]
Hee had a faire companion of his
way,
A goodly Lady clad in scarlot red,
Purfled with gold and pearle of rich assay,
And like a Persian mitre on her
hed
Shee wore, with crowns and owches garnished,
The which her lauishlavish
louerslovers to her gauegave,
Her wanton palfrey all was ouerspredoverspred
With tinsell trappings, wouenwoven like a wauewave,
Whose bridle rung with golden bels and
bosses brauebrave.
[14]
With faire disport and courting
dalliaunce
She intertainde her louerlover all the way:
But when she saw the knight his speare aduaunceadvaunce,
Shee soone left 1590.bk1.I.ii.14.4. of: offofoff her mirth and
wanton play,
And bad her knight addresse him to the fray:
His foe was nigh at hand. He prickte with pride
And hope to winne his Ladies hearte that day,day.
Forth spurred fast: adowne his coursers side
The red bloud trickling staind the way,
as he did ride.
[15]
The knight of the Redcrosse when him he
spide,
Spurring so hote with rage dispiteous,
Gan fairely couch his speare, and towards ride:
Soone meete they both, both fell and furious,
That daunted with theyr forces hideous,
TheirTheit steeds doe stagger, and amazed stand,
And eke themseluesthemselves too rudely rigorous,
Astonied with the stroke of their owne hand,
Doe backe rebutte, and ech to other
yealdeth land.
[16]
As when two rams stird with ambitious
pride,
Fight for the rule of the rich fleeced flocke,
Their horned fronts so fierce on either side,
Doe meete, that with the terror of the
ſ⁀hockeshocke
ſ⁀hocke.shocke.
ſ⁀hockshock
Aſtonied both,Astonied both,
Aſtonied, bothAstonied, both
ſtand ſenceleſ⁀ſestand sencelesse
ſtands fenceleſ⁀ſestands fencelesse
as a blocke,blocke.block,
Forgetfull of the hanging victory:
So stood these twaine, vnmouedunmoved as a rocke,
Both staring fierce, and holding idely,
The broken reliques of their former
cruelty.
[17]
The Sarazin sore daunted with the buffe
Snatcheth his sword, and fiercely to him flies;
Who well it wards, and quyteth cuff with cuff:
Each others equall puissaunce enuiesenvies,
And through their iron sides with cruell spies cruelties
Does seeke to perce: repining courage yields
No foote to foe. The flashing fier flies
As from a forge out of their burning shields,
And streams of purple bloud new dies the verdãtverdant fields.
[18]
Curse on that Crosse
(qd.quoth then the Sarazin)
That keepes thy body from the bitter fitt;
Dead long ygoe I wote thou haddest bin,
Had not that charme from thee forwarned itt:
But yet I warne thee now assured sitt,
And hide thy head. Therewith vponupon his crest
With rigor
so outrageous he
smitt,
That a large share it hewd out of the rest,
And glauncing downe his shield, from
blame him fairely blest.
[19]
Who thereat wondrous wroth, the sleeping
spark
Of natiuenative vertue gan eftsoones reuiuerevive,
And at his haughty helmet making mark,
So hugely stroke, that it the steele did riuerive,
And cleft his head. He tumbling downe aliuealive,
With bloudy mouth his mother earth did kis,
Greeting his grauegrave: his grudging ghost did striuestrive
With the fraile flesh; at last it flitted is,
Whether the soules doe fly of men, that liuelive amis.
[20]
The Lady when she saw her champion
fall,
Like the old ruines of a broken towre,
Staid not to waile his woefull funerall,
But from him fled away with all her powre;
Who after her as hastily gan scowre,
Bidding the dwarfe with him to bring away
The Sarazins shield, signe of the conqueroure,
Her soone he ouertookeovertooke, and bad to stay,
For present cause was none of dread her
to dismay.
[21]
Shee turning backe with ruefull
countenaunce,
Cride, Mercy mercy Sir vouchsafe to
ſ⁀howshow
ſ⁀howeshowe
ſ⁀howshow
ſ⁀howeshowe
On silly Dame, subiectsubject to hard mischaunce,
And to your mighty wil. Her humblesse low
In so ritch weedes and seeming glorious show,
Did much emmoueemmove his stout heroïcke heart,
And said, Deare dame, your suddein ouerthrowoverthrow
Much rueth me; but now put feare apart,
And tel, both who ye be, and who that
tooke your part.
[22]
Melting in teares, then gan shee thus
lament;
The wreched woman, whom vnhappyunhappy howre
Hath now made thrall to your commandement,
Before that angry heauensheavens list to lowre,
And fortune false betraide me to thyyour powre,
Was, (O what now auailethavaileth that I was?was!)
Borne the sole daughter of an Emperour,
He that the wide West vnderunder his rule has,
And high hath set his throne, where Tiberis doth pas.
[23]
He in the first flowre of my freshest
age,
Betrothed me vntounto the onely haire
Of a most mighty king, most rich and sage;
Was neuernever Prince so faithfull and so faire,
Was neuernever Prince so meeke and debonaire;
But ere my hoped day of spousall shone,
My dearest Lord fell from high honors staire,
Into the hands of hys accursed fone,
And cruelly was slaine, that shall I euerever mone.
[24]
His blessed body spoild of liuelylively breath,
Was afterward, I know not how, conuaidconvaid
And fro me hid: of whose most innocent death
When tidings came to mee vnhappyunhappy maid,
O how great sorrow my sad soule assaidsoulea ssaid.
Then forth I went his woefull corse to find,
And many yeares throughout the world I straid,
A virgin widow, whose deepe wounded mind
With louelove, long time did languish as the striken hind.
[25]
At last it chaunced this proud Sarazin,
To meete me wandring, who perforce me led
With him away, but yet could neuernever win
The Fort, that Ladies hold in soueraignesoveraigne dread.
There lies he now with foule dishonor dead,
Who whiles he liudelivde, was called proud Sans
foy,
The eldest of three brethren, all three bred
Of one bad sire, whose youngest is SansioySansjoy,
And twixt them both was born the bloudy
bold SansloySans loy.
[26]
In this sad plight, friendlesse, vnfortunateunfortunate,
Now miserable I Fidessa dwell,
CrauingCraving of you in pitty of my state,
To doe none ill, if please ye not doe well.
He in great passion al this while did dwell,
More busying his quicke eies, her face to view,
1590.bk1.I.ii.26.7. Then: ThanThenThan his dull eares, to heare what shee did tell,
And said, faire Lady hart of flint would rew
The vndeseruedundeserved woes and sorrowes, which ye shew.
[27]
Henceforth in safe assuraunce may ye
rest,
HauingHaving both found a new friend you to aid,
And lost an old foe, that did you molest:
Better new friend 1590.bk1.I.ii.27.4. then: thanthenthan an old foe is said.
With chaunge of chear the seeming simple maid
Let fal her eien, as shamefast to the earth,
And yeelding soft, in that she nought gain-said,
So forth they rode, he feining seemely merth,
And shee coy lookes: so dainty they say
maketh derth.
[28]
Long time they thus together traueiledtraveiled,
Til weary of their way, they came at last,
Where grew two goodly trees, that faire did spred
Their armes abroad, with gray mosse ouercastovercast,
And their greene leauesleaves trembling with eueryevery blast,
Made a calme shadowe far in compasse round:
The fearefull Shepheard often there aghast
VnderUnder them neuernever sat, ne wont there sound
His mery oaten pipe, but shund th’vnluckyunlucky ground.
[29]
But this good knight soone as he them
can spie,
For the coole
ſ⁀hade himshade
him
ſ⁀hadeshade
ſ⁀hadowshadow
thither hastly got:
For golden Phoebus now ymountedthat mounted hie,
From fiery wheeles of his faire chariot
Hurled his beame so scorching cruell hot,
That liuingliving creature mote it not abide;
And his new Lady it endured not.
There they alight, in hope themseluesthemselves to hide
From the fierce heat, and rest their
weary limbs a tide.tide,
[30]
Faire seemely pleasaunce each to other
makes,
With goodly purposes there as they sit:
And in his falsed fancy he her takes
To be the fairest wight, that liuedlived yit;
Which to expresse, he bends his gentle wit,
And thinking of those braunches greene to frame
A girlond for her dainty forehead fit,
He pluckt a bough; out of whose rifte there came
Smal drops of gory bloud, that trickled
down the same.
[31]
Therewith a piteous yelling voice was
heard,
Crying, O spare with guilty hands to teare
My tender sides in this rough rynd embard,
But fly, ah fly far hence away, for feare
Least to you hap, that happened to me heare,
And to this wretched Lady, my deare louelove,
O too deare louelove, louelove bought with death too deare.
Astond he stood, and vpup his heare did houehove,
And with that suddein horror could no
member mouemove.
[32]
At last whenas the dreadfull passion
Was ouerpastoverpast, and manhood well awake,
Yet musing at the straunge occasion,
And doubting much his sence, he thus bespake;
What voice of damned Ghost from Limbo lake,
Or guilefull spright wandring in empty aire,
Both which fraile men doe oftentimes mistake,
Sends to my doubtful eares these speaches rare,
And ruefulltuefull
plaintsplants, me bidding guiltlesse blood to spare?
[33]
Then groning deep, Nor damned Ghost,
(qd.quoth he,)
Nor guileful sprite to thee these words doth speake,
But once a man Fradubio, now a tree,
Wretched man, wretched tree; whose nature weake
A cruell witch her cursed will to wreake,
Hath thus transformd, and plast in open plaines,
Where Boreas doth blow full bitter
bleake,
And scorching Sunne does dry my secret vaines:
For though a tree I seme, yet cold &and heat me paines.
[34]
Say on Fradubio then, or man, or tree,
Qd.Quoth then the
knight, by whose mischieuousmischievous arts
Art thou misshaped thus, as now I see?
He oft finds med’cine, who his griefe imparts;
But double griefs afflict concealing harts,
As raging flames who striuethstriveth to suppresse.
The author then (said he) of all my smarts,
Is one Duessa a false sorceresse,
That many errãterrant knights hath broght to wretchednesse.
[35]
In prime of youthly yeares, when corage
hott
The fire of louelove and ioyjoy of cheualreechevalree
First kindled in my brest, it was my lott
To louelove this gentle Lady, whome ye see,
Now not a Lady, but a seeming tree;
With whome as once I rode accompanyde,
Me chaunced of a knight encountred bee,
That had a like faire Lady by his syde,
Lyke a faire Lady, but did fowle
Duessa hyde.
[36]
Whose forged beauty he did take in
hand,
All other Dames to hauehave exceded farre;
I in defence of mine did likewise stand,
Mine, that did then shine as the Morning starre:
So both to batteill fierce arraunged arre,
In which his harder fortune was to fall
VnderUnder my speare: such is the dye of warre:
His Lady left as a prise martiall,
Did yield her comely person, to be at my
call.
[37]
So doubly lou’dlov’d of ladies vnlikeunlike faire,
Th’one seeming such, the other such indeede,
One day in doubt I cast for to compare,
Whether in beauties glorie did exceede;
A Rosy girlond was the victors meede:
Both seemde to win, and both seemde won to bee,
So hard the discord was to be agreede.
Fræliſſa
Frælissa
FraliſſaFralissa
was as faire, as faire mote bee,
And euerever
false Duessa seemde as faire as
shee.
[38]
The wicked witch now seeing all this
while
The doubtfull ballaunce equally to sway,
What not by right, she cast to win by guile,
And by her hellish science raisd streight way
A foggy mist, that ouercastovercast the day,
And a dull blast, that breathing on her face,
Dimmed her former beauties shining ray,
And with foule vglyugly forme did her disgrace:
Then was she fayre alone, when none was
faire in place.
[39]
Then cride she out, fye, fye, deformed
wight,
Whose borrowed beautie now appeareth plaine
To hauehave before bewitched all mens sight;
O leaueleave her soone, or let her soone be slaine.
Her loathly visage viewing with disdaine,
Eftsoones I thought her such, as she me told,
And would hauehave kild her; but with faigned paine,
The false witch did my wrathfull hand with-hold:
So left her, where she now is turnd to
treen mould.
[40]
Thens forthThen
forthThenceforth I tooke Duessa
for my Dame,
And in the witch vnweetingunweeting
ioydjoyd long time,
Ne euerever wist, but that she was the same,
Till on a day (that day is euerieeverie Prime,
When Witches wont do penance for their crime)
I chaunst to see her in her proper hew,
Bathing her selfe in origane and thyme:
A filthy foule old woman I did vew,
That euerever to hauehave toucht her, I did deadly rew.
[41]
Her neather partes misshapen,
monstruous,
Were hidd in water, that I could not see,
But they did seeme more foule and hideous,
1590.bk1.I.ii.41.4. Then: ThanThenThan womans shape man would beleeuebeleeve to bee.
Thens forthThen
forthThenceforth from her most beastly companie
I gan refraine, in minde to slipp away,
Soone as appeard safe opportunitie:
For danger great, if not assurd decay
I saw before mine eyes, if I were knowne
to stray.
[42]
The diuelishdivelish hag by chaunges of my cheare
Perceiu’dPerceiv’d my thought, and drownd in sleepie night,
With wicked herbes and oyntments did besmeare
My body all, through charmes and magicke might,
That all my senses were bereauedbereaved quight:
Then brought she me into this desert waste,
And by my wretched louerslovers side me pight,
Where now enclosd in wooden wals full faste,
Banisht from liuingliving wights, our wearie daies we waste.
[43]
But how long time, said then the Elfin
knight,
Are you in this misformed hous to dwell?
We may not chaunge (quoth he) this euillevill plight,
Till we be bathed in a liuingliving well;
That is the terme prescribed by the spell.
O how, sayd he, mote I that well out find,
That may restore you to your wonted well?
Time and suffised fates to former kynd
Shall vsus restore, none else from hence may vsus
vnbyndunbynd.
[44]
The false Duessa, now Fidessa hight,
Heard how in vaine Fradubio did lament,
And knew well all was true. But the good knight
Full of sad feare and ghastly dreriment,
When all this speech the liuingliving tree had spent,
The bleeding bough did thrust into the ground,
That from the blood he might be innocent,
And with fresh clay did close the wooden wound:
Then turning to his Lady, dead with
feare her fownd.
[45]
Her seeming dead he fownd with feigned
feare,
As all vnweetingunweeting of that well she knew,
And paynd himselfe with busie care to reare
Her out of carelesse swowne. Her eylids blew
And dimmed sight with pale and deadly hew
At last she vpup gan lift: with trembling cheare
Her vpup he tooke, too simple and too trew,
And oft her kist. At length all passed feare,
He set her on her steede, and forward
forth did beare.
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