Then forth the noble Guyon sallied,
And his sage Palmer that him governed;
But th' other by his bote behind did stay.
They marched fayrly forth, of nought ydred,1
Both firmely armd for every hard assay,

With constancy and care, gainst daunger and dismay.

XXXIX.

Ere long they heard an hideous bellowing
Of many beasts, that roard outrageously,
As if that hungers poynt or Venus sting
Had them enraged with fell surquedry2;
Yet nought they feard, but past on hardily,
Untill they came in vew of those wilde beasts,
Who all attonce, gaping full greedily,

And rearing fercely their upstaring 3 crests,
Ran towards to devoure those unexpected guests.

XL.

But, soone as they approcht with deadly threat,
The Palmer over them his staffe upheld,
His mighty staffe, that could all charmes defeat:
Eftesoones1 their stubborne corages were queld,
And high advaunced crests downe meekely feld 5;
Instead of fraying they themselves did feare,
And trembled, as them passing they beheld:

1 Ydred, afraid.

6

2 Surquedry, insolence.

3 Upstaring, high-advanced.

4 Eftesoones, instantly.

5 Feld, were felled,

6 Fraying, terrifying.

XL. 2.-His staffe upheld.] In the fifteenth book of the Jerusalem Delivered, (from which Spenser has drawn some of the incidents and descriptions of this canto,) the knights Charles and Ubaldo encounter various wild beasts on their way to the Gardens of Armida, which are rendered harmless by holding a charmed rod over them. The virtues of this staff express that power over the inferior appetites, which springs from habits of temperance and self-control.

Such wondrous powre did in that staffe appeare, All monsters to subdew to him that did it beare.

XLI.

Of that same wood it fram'd was cunningly,
Of which Caduceus whilome1 was made,
Caduceus, the rod of Mercury,

With which he wonts the Stygian realmes invade
Through ghastly horror and eternall shade;
Th' infernall feends with it he can asswage,
And Orcus tame, whome nothing can persuade,
And rule the Furyes when they most doe rage:
Such vertue in his staffe had eke this Palmer sage.

XLII.

Thence passing forth, they shortly doe arryve
Whereas the Bowre of Blisse was situate;
A place pickt out by choyce of best alyve,
That natures worke by art can imitate :
In which whatever in this worldly state
Is sweete and pleasing unto living sense,
Or that may dayntest 2 fantasy aggrate,

3

Was poured forth with plentifull dispence,4 And made there to abound with lavish affluence.

XLIII.

Goodly it was enclosed rownd about,

As well their entred guestes to keep within,
As those unruly beasts to hold without;

Yet was the fence thereof but weake and thin;
Nought feard their force that fortilage 5 to win,

1 Whilome, formerly.

2 Dayntest, daintiest, most delicate.

3 Aggrate, delight.

XLIII. 5.- Nought feard, &c.]

4 Dispence, expense.
Fortilage, fortress.

Their forces did not apprehend

danger from the assault of any power, except the power of wisdom and

the might of temperance.

But Wisedomes powre, and Temperaunces might,
By which the mightiest things efforced bin1:

And eke the gate was wrought of substaunce light,
Rather for pleasure then for battery or fight.

XLIV.

Yt framed was of precious yvory,

That seemd a worke of admirable witt;
And therein all the famous history
Of Iason and Medea was ywritt;

Her mighty charmes, her furious loving fitt;
His goodly conquest of the golden fleece,
His falsed fayth, and love too lightly flitt2;

The wondred 3 Argo, which in venturous peece

First through the Euxine seas bore all the flowr of Greece.

XLV.

Ye might have seene the frothy billowes fry 4

Under the ship as thorough them she went,

That seemd the waves were into yvory,

5

And otherwhere the snowy substaunce sprent 6

With vermell, like the boyes blood therein shed,

palace of Armida as being of silver, on which were wrought the stories of Hercules and Iole, and of Antony and Cleopatra. - JER. DEL., canto XVI.

XLIV. 8. — In venturous peece.] Peece was formerly used to designate a castle, or any large structure. Hence it is here applied to a ship.

XLV. 6.

The boyes blood.] Medea put to death the children she had by Jason, and presented Creusa, the destined wife of Jason, with an enchanted garment, which consumed her to ashes.

A piteous spectacle did represent;

And otherwhiles with gold besprinkeled

Yt seemed th' enchaunted flame, which did Crëusa wed.

XLVI.

All this and more might in that goodly gate

Be red, that ever open stood to all

Which thether came: but in the porch there sate

A comely personage of stature tall,

And semblaunce pleasing, more then naturall,
That traveilers to him seemd to entize;
His looser garment to the ground did fall,
And flew about his heeles in wanton wize,
Not fitt for speedy pace or manly exercise.

XLVII.

They in that place him Genius did call:
Not that celestiall Powre, to whom the care
Of life, and generation of all

That lives, perteines in charge particulare,
Who wondrous things concerning our welfare,
And straunge phantomes, doth lett us ofte foresee,
And ofte of secret ills bids us beware:

That is our Selfe, whom though we do not see,
Yet each doth in himselfe it well perceive to bee:

XLVIII.

Therefore a god him sage Antiquity

Did wisely make, and good Agdistes call:

XLVII. 1.

Genius.] This personage, called Genius, represents what is called the genius of the place, and is here a loose reveler. The "celestiall Powre" is that genius or spirit which the ancients supposed was assigned to each individual, to watch over him, of which the "demon of Socrates is an example.

XLVII. 8.- Our Selfe.] Our soul.

XLVIII. 2.-Agdistes.] Agdistes was a name given by the Greeks to the genius or demon. He was a being of a double sex, born, some

But this same was to that quite contrary,

The foe of life, that good envýes to all,
That secretly doth us procure to fall

Through guilefull semblants,' which he makes us see:
He of this Gardin had the governall,2

And Pleasures Porter was devizd to bee,
Holding a staffe in hand for more formalitee.

XLIX.

With diverse flowres he daintily was deckt,
And strowed rownd about; and by his side
A mighty mazer 3 bowle of wine was sett,
As if it had to him bene sacrifide;
Wherewith all new-come guests he gratyfide:
So did he eke Sir Guyon passing by;

But he his ydle curtesie defide,

And overthrew his bowle disdainfully,

And broke his staffe, with which he charmed semblants sly.

L.

Thus being entred, they behold arownd

A large and spacious plaine, on every side

Strowed with pleasauns1; whose fayre grassy grownd
Mantled with greene, and goodly beautifide
With all the ornaments of Floraes pride,
Wherewith her mother Art, as halfe in scorne
Of niggard Nature, like a pompous bride

2 Governall, government.

1 Semblants, phantoms, appearances. 3 Mazer, made of maple. 4 Pleasauns, objects inspiring pleasure.

say of Jupiter and Terra, and others, of Jupiter and a woman into whom the Rock Agdus had been changed, which rock supplied the fragments which Deucalion and Pyrrha used in repeopling the world. XLIX. 9.- He charmed semblants sly.] He conjured up thin phan