XLIII.

Not fo, quoth fhe: but fith that heavens King
From hope of heaven hath thee excluded quight,
Why fearest thou, that canft not hope for thing,
And fearest not, that more thee hurten might,
Now in the powre of everlasting Night?
Go to then, O thou far renowned fon
Of great Apollo, fhew thy famous might
In medicine, that else hath to thee won

Great pains, and greater praise, both never to be done.
XLIV.

Her words prevaild and then the learned leach
His cunning hand 'gan to his wounds to lay,
And all things elfe, the which his art did teach:
Which having feen, from thence arofe away
The mother of dread darkness, and let stay
Aveugles fon there in the leaches cure,

And back returning took her wonted way,
To run her timely race, whilft Phœbus pure
In western waves his weary wagon did recure.
XLV.

The falfe Duelfa, leaving noyous Night,

Return'd to ftately palace of Dame pride;
Where when she came, fhe found the Fairy Knight
Departed thence, albe his woundes wide,
Not throughly heal'd, unready were to ride.
Good cause he had to haften thence away;
For on a day his wary Dwarf had spide,
Where in a dungeon deep huge numbers lay
Of caitive wretched thrals, that wailed night and day.
XLVI.

A rueful fight, as could be feen with eye;
Of whom he learned had in fecret wife
The hidden cause of their captivity,
How mortgaging their lives to Covetife,
Through wafteful pride, and wanton riotife,
They were by law of that proud tyrannefs
Provokt with Wrath, and Envies false furmife,
Condemned to that dungeon merciless,

Where they should live in woe, and dye in wretchedness,

XLVII.

There was that great proud King of Babylon,
That would compel all nations to adore,
And him as only God to call upon,

Till through celeftial doom thrown out of door,
Into an Oxe he was transform'd of yore.
There also was King Crafus, that enhaunst
His heart too high through his great riches store;
And proud Antiochus, the which advaunct

His curfed hand 'gainft God, and on his altars daunct.
XLVIII.

And them long time before, great Nimrod was,.
That first the world with fword and fire warrayd;
And after him, old Ninus far did pafs
In princely pomp, of all the world obayd:
There alfo was that mighty Monarch layd
Low under all, yet above all in pride,
That name of native fire did foul up-braid,
And would as Ammons fon be magnifyde

Till fcorn'd of God and man a fhameful death he dyde.
XLIX.

All these together in one heap were thrown,
Like carkafes of beafts in butchers ftall.
And in another corner wide were ftrown
The antique ruins of the Romans fall;
Great Romulus the Grandfire of them all,
Proud Tarquin, and too lordly Lentulus,
Stout Scipio, and stubborn Hannibal,
Ambitious Sylla, and ftern Marius,

High Cafar, great Pompey, and fierce Antonius.

L.

Amongst these mighty men, were women mixt,
Proud women, vain, forgetful of their yoke:
The bold Semiramis, whole fides transfixt
With fons own blade, her foul reproches fpoke;
Fair Sthenobea, that herself did choke
With wilful cord, for wanting of her will;
High minded Cleopatra, that with stroke

Of Afpes fting herself did ftoutly kill;

And thousands more the like, that did that dungeon fill;

LI.

Befides the endless routs of wretched thralls,
Which thither were affembled day by day,
From all the world after their woeful falls,
Through wicked pride, and wasted wealths decay.
But most of all, which in that dungeon lay,
Fell from high Princes courts, or Ladies bowres,
Where they in idle pomp, or wanton play,
Confumed had their goods, and thriftlefs howres,
And lastly, thrown themselves into these heavy stowres.
LII.

Whose case whenas the careful Dwarf had told,
And made enfample of their mournful fight
Unto his master, he no longer would
There dwell in peril of like painful plight,
But early rofe and ere that dawning light
Discover'd had the world to heaven wide,
He by a privy postern took his flight,
That of no envious eyes he mote be spide:
For doubtless death enfued, if any him defcride
LIII.

Scarce could he footing find in that foul way,
For many corfes, like a great lay-stall
Of murdred men which therein ftrowed lay,
Without remorfe, or decent funeral :

Which all through that great Princess pride did fall
And came to shameful end. And them befide
Forth riding underneath the castle wall,

A dunghill of dead carcafes he fpide,

The dreadful spectacle of that fad houfe of Pride.

AS

CANTO VI.

From lawless luft by wondrous grace
Fair Una is releaft:

Whom falvage nation does adore,
And learns her wife bebeaft.

I.

S when a fhip, that flyes fair under fail,
An hidden rock efcaped hath unwares,
That lay in wait her wrack for to bewail,
The mariner yet half amazed ftares
At peril paft, and yet in doubt ne dares
To joy at his fool hardy overfight:
So doubly is diftreft twixt joy and cares
The dreadless courage of this Elfin Knight,
Having escapt so fad enfamples in his fight.
II.

Yet fad he was that his too hafty speed,

The fair Duefs had forct him leave behind;
And yet more fad, that Una his dear dreed
Her truth had ftain'd with treafon fo unkind;
Yet crime in her could never creature find,
But for his love, and for her own felf fake,
She wandred had from one to other Ind,
Him for to feek, ne ever would forfake,
Till her unwares the fierce Sans-loy did overtake.
III.

Who, after Archimagoes foul defeat,

Led her away into a forest wild,

And turning wrathful fire to luftful heat, With beaftly fin thought her to have defil'd, And made the vaffal of his pleasures vild, Yet first he caft by treaty, and by trains, Her to perfwade, that ftubborn fort to yield: For, greater conqueft of hard love he gains, That works it to his will, than he that it conftrains.

IV.

With fawning words he courted her awhile,
And looking lovely, and oft fighing fore,
Her conftant heart did tempt with diverse guile :
But words, and looks, and fighs fhe did abhore
As rock of diamond, ftedfaft evermore.

Yet for to feed his fiery luftful eye,

He snatcht the veil, that hung her face before;
Then 'gan her beauty fhine, as brightest sky,
And burnt his beaftly heart t'efforce her chastity.
V..

So when he saw his flatt'ring arts to fail,
And fubtile engines beat from battery,
With greedy force he 'gan the fort affail,
Whereof he ween'd poffeffed foon to be,
And with rich spoil of ranfackt chastity.
Ah heavens ! that do this hideous act behold,
And heavenly virgin thus outraged fee,

How can ye vengeance juft fo long with-hold, And hurl not flashing flames upon that Paynim bold? VI.

The pitious maiden, careful, comfortless,

Does throw out thrilling fhrieks, and fhrieking cryes, The last vain help of womens great distress, And with loud plaints importuneth the skyes, That molten stars do drop like weeping eyes; And Phebus flying fo moft fhameful fight, His blushing face in foggy cloud implyes, And hides for fhame. What wit of mortal wight Can now devise to quit a thrall from fuch a plight? VII.

Eternal providence, exceeding thought,

Where none appears can make herself a way:
A wondrous way it for this Lady wrought,
From Lyons claws to pluck the griped prey.
Her fhrill out-cryes and fhrieks fo loud did bray,
That all the woods and forests did refound;
A troop of Faunes and Satyrs far away
Within the wood were dancing in a round,
Whiles old Sylvanus flept in fhady arbour found.