The Faerie Queene (66 page)

Much dearer be the things, which come through hard distresse.

29
Yet all those sights, and all that else I saw,

Might not my steps withhold, but that forthright

Vnto that purposd place I did me draw,

Where as my loue was lodged day and night:

The temple of great
Venus,
that is bight

The Queene of beautie, and of loue the mother,

There worshipped of euery liuing wight;

Whose goodly workmanship farre past all other

That euer were on earth, all were they set together.

30
Not that same famous Temple of
Diane,

Whose hight all
Ephesus
did ouersee,

And which all
Asia
sought with vowes prophane,

One of the worlds seuen wonders sayd to bee,

Might match with this by many a degree:

Nor that, which that wise King of
Iurie
framed,

With endlesse cost, to be th'Almighties see;

Nor all that else through all the world is named

To all the heathen Gods, might like to this be clamed.

31
I much admyring that so goodly frame,

Vnto the porch approcht, which open stood;

But therein sate an amiable Dame,

That seem'd to be of very sober mood,

And in her semblant shewed great womanhood:

Strange was her tyre; for on her head a crowne

She wore much like vnto a Danisk hood,

Poudred with pearle and stone, and all her gowne

Enwouen was with gold, that raught full low a downe.

32
On either side of her, two young men stood,

Both strongly arm'd, as fearing one another;

Yet were they brethren both of halfe the blood,

Begotten by two fathers of one mother,

Though of contrarie natures each to other:

The one of them hight
Loue
, the other
Hate,

Hate
was the elder,
Loue
the younger brother;

Yet was the younger stronger in his state

Then th'elder, and him maystred still in all debate.

33
Nathlesse that Dame so well them tempred both,

That she them forced hand to ioyne in hand,

Albe that
Hatred
was thereto full loth,

And turn'd bis face away, as he did stand,

Vnwilling to behold that louely band.

Yet she was of such grace and vertuous might,

That her commaundment he could not withstand,

But bit his lip for felonous despight,

And gnasht his yron tuskes at that displeasing sight.

34
Concord
she cleeped was in common reed,

Mother of blessed
Peace,
and
Friendship
trew;

They both her twins, both borne of heauenly seed,

And she her selfe likewise diuinely grew;

The which right well her workes diuine did shew:

For strength, and wealth, and happinesse she lends,

And strife, and warre, and anger does subdew:

Of litle much, of foes she maketh frends,

And to afflicted minds sweet rest and quiet sends.

35
By her the heauen is in his course contained,

And all the world in state vnmoued stands,

As their Almightie maker first ordained,

And bound them with inuiolable bands;

Else would the waters ouerflow the lands,

And fire deuoure the ayre, and hell them quight,

But that she holds them with her blessed hands.

She is the nourse of pleasure and delight,

And vnto
Venus
grace the gate doth open right

36
By her I entring halfe dismayed was,

But she in gentle wise me entertayned,

And twixt her selfe and Loue did let me pas;

But
Hatred
would my entrance haue restrayned,

And with his club me threatned to haue brayned,

Had not the Ladie with her powrefull speach

Him from his wicked will vneath refrayned;

And th'other eke his malice did empeach,

Till I was throughly past the perill of his reach.

37
Into the inmost Temple thus I came,

Which fuming all with frankensence I found,

And odours rising from the altars name.

Vpon an hundred marble pillors round

The roofe vp high was reared from the ground,

All deckt with crownes, * chaynes, and girlands gay,

And thousand pretious gifts worth many a pound,

The which sad louers for their vowes did pay;

And all the ground was strow'd with flowres, as fresh as May.

38
An hundred Altars round about were set,

All flaming with their sacrifices fire,

That with the steme thereof the Temple swet,

Which rould in clouds to heauen did aspire,

And in them bore true louers vowes entire:

And eke an hundred brasen caudrons bright,

To bath in ioy and amorous desire,

Euery of which was to a damzell hight;

For all the Priests were damzels, in soft linnen dight.

39
Right in the midst the Goddesse selfe did stand

Vpon an altar of some costly masse,

Whose substance was vneath to vnderstand:

For neither pretious stone, nor durefull brasse,

Nor shining gold, nor mouldring clay it was;

But much more rare and pretious to esteeme,

Pure in aspect, and like to christall glasse,

Yet glasse was not, if one did rightly deeme,

But being faire and brickle, likest glasse did seeme.

40
But it in shape and beautie did excell

All other Idoles, which the heathen adore,

Farre passing that, which by surpassing skill

Phidias
did make in
Paphos
Isle of yore,

With which that wretched Greeke, that life forlore

Did fall in loue: yet this much fairer shined,

But couered with a slender veile afore;

And both her feete and legs together twyned

Were with a snake, whose head & tail were fast combyned.

41
The cause why she was couered with a vele,

Was hard to know, for that her Priests the same

From peoples knowledge labour'd to concele.

But sooth it was not sure for womanish shame,

Nor any blemish, which the worke mote blame;

But for, they say, she hath both kinds in one,

Both male and female, both vnder one name:

She syre and mother is her selfe alone,

Begets and eke conceiues, ne needeth other none.

42
And all about her necke and shoulders flew

A flocke of litle loues, and sports, and ioyes,

With nimble wings of gold and purple hew;

Whose shapes seem'd not like to terrestriall boyes,

But like to Angels playing heauenly toyes;

The whilest their eldest brother was away,

Cupid
their eldest brother; he enioyes

The wide kingdome of loue with Lordly sway,

And to his law compels all creatures to obay.

43
And all about her altar scattered lay

Great sorts of louers piteously complayning,

Some of their losse, some of their loues delay,

Some of their pride, some paragons disdayning,

Some fearing fraud, some fraudulently fayning,

As euery one had cause of good or ill.

Amongst the rest some one through loues constrayning,

Tormented sore, could not containe it still,

But thus brake forth, that all the temple it did fill

44
Great
Venus,
Queene of beautie and of grace,

The ioy of Gods and men, that vnder skie

Doest fayrest shine, and most adorne thy place,

That with thy smyling looke doest pacifie

The raging seas, and makst the stormes to me;

Thee goddesse, thee the winds, the clouds doe feare,

And when thou spredst thy mantle forth on hie,

The waters play and pleasant lands appeare,

And heauens laugh, & al the world shews ioyous cheare.

45
Then doth the d
æ
dale earth throw forth to thee

Out of her fruitfull lap aboundant flowres,

And then all liuing wights, soone as they see

The spring breake forth out of his lusty bowres,

They all doe learne to play the Paramours;

First doe the merry birds, thy prety pages

Priuily pricked with thy lustfull powres,

Chirpe loud to thee out of their leauy cages,

And thee their mother call to coole their kindly rages.

46
Then doe the saluage beasts begin to play

Their pleasant friskes, and loath their wonted food;

The Lyons rore, the Tygres loudly bray,

The raging Buls rebellow through the wood,

And breaking forth, dare tempt the deepest flood,

To come where thou doest draw them with desire:

So all things else, that nourish vitall blood,

Soone as with fury thou doest them inspire,

In generation seeke to quench their inward fire.

47
So all the world by thee at first was made,

And dayly yet thou doest the same repayre:

Ne ought on earth that merry is and glad,

Ne ought on earth that louely is and fayre,

But thou the same for pleasure didst prepayre.

Thou art the root of all that ioyous is,

Great God of men and women, queene of th'ayre,

Mother of laughter, and welspring of blisse,

O graunt that of my loue at last I may not misse.

48
So did he say: but I with murmure soft,

That none might heare the sorrow of my hart,

Yet inly groning deepe and sighing oft,

Besought her to graunt ease vnto my smart,

And to my wound her gratious help impart.

Whitest thus I spake, behold with happy eye

I spyde, where at the Idoles feet apart

A beuie of fayre damzels close did lye,

Wayting when as the Antheme should be sung on hye.

49
The first of them did seeme ofryper yeares,

And grauer countenance then all the rest;

Yet all the rest were eke her equall peares,

Yet vnto her obayed all the best.

Her name was
Womanhood,
that she exprest

By her sad semblant and demeanure wyse:

For stedfast still her eyes did fixed rest,

Ne rov'd at randon after gazers guyse,

Whose luring baytes oftimes doe heedlesse harts entyse.

50
And next to her sate goodly
Shamefastnesse,

Ne euer durst her eyes from ground vpreare,

Ne euer once did looke vp from her desse,

As if some blame of euill she did feare,

That in her cheekes made roses oft appeare:

And her against sweet
Cherefulnesse
was placed,

Whose eyes like twinkling stars in euening cleare,

Were deckt with smyles, that all sad humors chaced,

And darted forth delights, the which her goodly graced.

51
And next to her sate sober
Modestie,

Holding her hand vpon her gentle hart;

And her against sate comely
Curtesie,

That vnto euery person knew her part;

And her before was seated ouerthwart

Soft
Silence,
and submisse
Obedience,

Both linckt together neuer to dispart,

Both gifts of God not gotten but from thence,

Both girlonds of his Saints against their foes offence.

52
Thus sate they all a round in seemely rate:

And in the midst of them a goodly mayd,

Euen in the lap of
Womanhood
there sate,

The which was all in lilly white arayd,

With siluer streames amongst the linnen stray'd;

Like to the Morne, when first her shyning face

Hath to the gloomy world it selfe bewray'd,

That same was fayrest
Amoret
in place,

Shyning with beauties light, and heauenly vertues grace.

53
Whom soone as I beheld, my hart gan throb,

And wade in doubt, what best were to be donne:

For sacrilege me seem'd the Church to rob,

And folly seem'd to leaue the thing vndonne,

Which with so strong attempt I had begonne.

Tho shaking off all doubt and shamefast feare,

Which Ladies loue I heard had neuer wonne

Mongst men of worth, I to her stepped neare,

And by the lilly hand her labour'd vp to reare.

54
Thereat that formost matrone me did blame,

And sharpe rebuke, for being ouer bold;

Saying it was to Knight vnseemely shame,

Vpon a recluse Virgin to lay hold,

That vnto
Venus
seruices was sold.

To whom I thus, Nay but it fitteth best,

For
Cupids
man with
Venus
mayd to hold,

For ill your goddesse seruices are drest

By virgins, and her sacrifices let to rest.

55
With that my shield I forth to her did show,

Which all that while I closely had conceld;

On which when
Cupid
with his killing bow

And cruell shafts emblazond she beheld,

At sight thereof she was with terror queld,

And said no more: but I which all that while

The pledge of faith, her hand engaged held,

Like warie Hynd within the weedie soyle,

For no intreatie would forgoe so glorious spoyle.

56
And euermore vpon the Goddesse face

Mine eye was fixt, for feare of her offence,

Whom when I saw with amiable grace

To laugh at me, and fauour my pretence,

I was emboldned with more confidence,

And nought for nicenesse nor for enuy sparing,

In presence of them all forth led her thence,