Jerusalem Delivered

by Torquato Tasso

  Of gold and steel, illuminate the sky.

  XXX

  ‘Mong them Alarco is, and Odemar,

  Idraort, and Rimedon, who hath

  Great reputation from bold feats in war,

  Scorner alike of mortals and of death.

  Rapoldo, the sea-king, and corsair famed;

  Tigranes, and Ormond, the powerful hight,

  And Marlabusto the Arabian, named

  So from the Arabs he subdued in fight.

  XXXI

  There Pirga, Arimon, Orindo were;

  Brimarté, conqueror of towns; Siphant,

  Tamer of horse; and thou, beyond compare,

  First in the wrestler’s art, Aridamant;

  And Tisaphernes, thunderbolt of Mars,

  Whom none can vaunt to match as cavalier,

  Whether on horseback or on foot he wars,

  The broadsword whirls or hurls the massy spear.

  XXXII

  Them an Armenian leads, who left the truth

  Of Jesus’ word, and turned Mahometan,

  Ev’n in the prime and vigour of his youth;

  His name Clementè erst, now Emiren.

  Still true he was to Egypt’s king, and dear

  Beyond all other princes of the land;

  Uniting worth of chief and cavalier,

  In heart, in judgment, and in strength of hand.

  XXXIII

  No more remained, when, like a shooting star,

  Armida suddenly her train displayed.

  She sat sublime upon a gorgeous car,

  And as a quivered archer was arrayed.

  Her lovely face with recent anger gleamed,

  Which with its fire her natural sweetness armed;

  Relentless, and in bitter mood, she seemed

  To threaten all, and still, while threatening, charmed.

  XXXIV

  Her car with jacinths and carbuncles shone,

  And vied in splendour with the glorious Morn’s;

  A charioteer, the golden joke upon,

  Drove, bound in pairs, four docile unicorns.

  A hundred girls and pages round her course,

  Whose tender shoulders polished quivers bear;

  Each mounted is upon a milk-white horse,

  Well broke, and bitted, and as swift as air.

  XXXV

  Then came her troops, by Aradino led,

  And raised by Idraot in Palestine.

  As when reborn the bird unique doth spread

  His wings to visit lands beneath the line,

  His variegated plumage, necklace rare,

  And golden coronet, the world astound;

  While flocks of birds, his escort thro’ the air,

  In wonder lost, on all sides hover round;

  XXXVI

  So passed Armida, seeming, as she drove,

  In look, attire, and port, a marvel rare;

  Nor was there one such stubborn soul of love,

  But straight became enamoured of the fair.

  If, when scarce seen, and in such sullen mood,

  She could so great and various hosts beguile,

  What were the spell, when she, all sunshine, wooed

  With her seductive eyes and witching smile?

  XXXVII

  When she had passed, the king of kings commands

  That they the gallant Emireno call;

  Preferred to the other captains of his bands,

  He meant to make him captain over all;

  Divining his intent, with look of pride,

  That told how due the honour, he attends:

  Straight the Circassian guard their ranks divide,

  And make a path, while he the throne ascends.

  XXXVIII

  With head in reverence bowed, and bended knee,

  Upon his heart he laid his loyal hand,

  When thus the king: ‘O Emiren, to thee

  I entrust this sceptre and the chief command;

  Hurl on the Franks my vengeful wrath, and rive

  The galling chains of the beleaguered king;

  Go, see, and conquer; leave no soul alive,

  Or should one ‘scape, him back a prisoner bring.’

  XXXIX

  The knight then took the symbol of command,

  Soon as the tyrant ceased, and thus replied:

  ‘I take the sceptre from thy unconquered hand,

  And to the emprise proceed, thy star my guide;

  And, as thy captain, hope, in right of thee,

  Asia’s deep wrongs to vindicate. Thy face

  I ne’er, except as conqueror, will see;

  Failure may bring me death, but not disgrace.

  XL

  ‘And Heaven I pray, should its indignant arm

  Misfortune menace, which I don’t believe,

  That on my head alone the fatal storm

  May spend its fury, but uninjured leave

  The gallant host, and that their chief be borne

  Back in triumphal, more than funeral pride.’

  He ceased, the clang of many a barbarous horn

  To the camp’s hearty wild huzzas replied.

  XLI

  Girt by his staff, amid their ringing cheers,

  The mighty monarch hastened to depart;

  And, reached his tent, assembled his chief peers

  To a gay banquet — but he sat apart,

  Dispensing viands now, now words of grace,

  He honoured all. There fair Armida found

  For her designs a most convenient place,

  While ‘mong them mirth and revelry flew round.

  XLII

  Soon as the tables cleared, the artful fair

  Perceived all eyes were fixed on her alone,

  And was by many well-known signs aware

  How deep her poison on their minds was sown.

  She rose, and turning round in attitude

  That of respect and stateliness partook,

  Tried to appear as fully as she could

  Fierce and magnanimous in voice and look:

  XLIII

  ‘I, too, have come,’ she said, ‘O king supreme,

  Aid for our faith and country to afford;

  Woman I am, but royal, nor can deem

  It wrong that I, a queen, unsheathe the sword:

  Who reigns should practise every royal art,

  And the same hand both arms and sceptre wield.

  Mine shall strike home, aye, to the very heart,

  And strow with foeman’s blood the battle-field.

  XLIV

  ‘Nor think that this is the first day my zeal

  Has urged me forward in this noble cause,

  For I before have battled for thy weal,

  And in support of Mahmoud’s sacred laws;

  Thou shouldst remember if I speak the truth,

  Who hast some knowledge of each gain, each loss;

  Thou know’st what numbers of its bravest youth

  I captured prisoners from the purple Cross.

  XLV

  ‘By me they were both taken and secured,

  And unto thee as splendid trophies sent;

  And still in thy dark dungeons had endured

  From thee perpetual imprisonment,

  And thou hadst been a thousand times more sure

  To have crowned thy great dispute with victory,

  Did not Rinaldo fatal means procure

  To slay my escort, and to set them free.

  XLVI

  ‘Who this Rinaldo is, is widely known,

  Ev’n here has reached some mention of his name;

  He is that cruel, who on me has thrown

  Such deep affronts, uncancelled yet their shame;

  Hence wrath to reason adds its rankling sting,

  And makes me burn his insults to avenge:

  But what they are, some day you will know, O king;

  Enough at present, that I want revenge.

  XLVII

  ‘And I will have i
t; since not all in vain

  The winds are wont to carry every dart,

  Nor does at times Heaven’s equal hand disdain

  To guide just arms against offender’s heart;

  But if there be who from that wretch will rive

  His odious head, and it present to me,

  That mode of vengeance will some pleasure give,

  Tho’ if I wrought it, ’twould more noble be.

  XLVIII

  Some pleasure — yes; from him I’ll not withhold

  The greatest recompense within my power;

  I, richly endowed by Nature and with gold,

  Will give him, if required, myself and dower;

  Thus with an oath this pledge I solemnise,

  My promise thus inviolable make:

  Now, if there be those that esteem our prize

  Worthy the risk, let them stand forth and speak.

  XLIX

  As thus Armida spoke, his greedy eyes

  Love-struck Adrastus riveted on her:

  ‘Nay, Heaven forbid thou shouldst discharge,’ he cries,

  ‘One shaft against that barbarous murderer;

  A villain heart like his, O archer fair,

  Were quite unworthy of thy touch: instead,

  I will the arrows of thy anger bear,

  And thee present with his accursed head.

  L

  ‘I’ll tear his heart out, and his limbs divide,

  As food for ravenous vultures to devour.’

  Thus the Indian potentate, Adrastus, cried;

  But Tisapherne his vaunts could not endure.

  ‘And who art thou,’ said he,’ that show’st such brass,

  In thy king’s presence and thy peers among;

  Here’s one, maybe, that would thy boasts surpass

  By valiant actions, and yet holds his tongue.’

  LI

  The fiery Indian answered: ‘I am one

  Whose deeds were never by his words surpassed,

  And hadst thou spoken elsewhere, as thou hast done

  Before me here, such words had been thy last.’

  They had continued; but the king supreme,

  His hand extending, bade the rivals part;

  Then to Armida said: ‘Illustrious dame,

  Thou hast, indeed, a manly generous heart.

  LII

  ‘And worthy art, that they to thee transfer

  The scorn and passions which their bosoms fill,

  That ‘gainst this strong enfeloned plunderer

  Thou mayst hereafter launch them at thy will;

  There they were best employed, their courage there

  In friendly rivalry were best displayed,’

  This said, he ceased; again the jealous pair

  To avenge their idol’s cause fresh offers made.

  LIII

  Not only these, but all most famous there,

  Offer with ready tongue their blood to shed;

  All volunteer, all bloody vengeance swear

  Against Rinaldo’s execrable head.

  Such arms she moved, such anger roused meanwhile,

  ‘Gainst the bold warrior once esteemed so dear:

  But he, as soon as he had left the isle,

  Began his homeward prosperous course to steer.

  LIV

  The shallop, favoured by the western gales

  Returning, did its former course pursue,

  And the fair breeze, that winged the bellying sails,

  To waft it back no less propitious blew.

  The youth now saw the Pole and either Bear,

  And now the stars that, as bright Pharos, keep

  Illumed the path of Night; here streams, and there

  Hills, whose rough peaks rise beetling o’er the deep.

  LV

  News of the camp now, now the usages

  Of various realms he asks; and they had gone

  So far already through the briny seas,

  That the fourth morning from the Orient shone;

  But when the sun’s declining rays had fled,

  The enchanted vessel reached the Syrian shore.

  ‘Behold fair Palestine,’ the lady said;

  ‘Your journey’s ended, and my task is o’er.’

  LVI

  The three knights then upon the beach she placed,

  And, ere a word could uttered be, had gone;

  Meanwhile dark night the lingering twilight chased,

  And blent the varied colours into one.

  They could not in those sandy deserts scan

  Or circling wall or sheltering abode;

  No trace appeared of either horse or man,

  Or any sign to indicate the road.

  LVII

  But when perplexed they had some moments been,

  Their shoulders to the sounding sea they turned,

  When going, lo! before their eyes was seen

  Something that with unusual lustre burned,

  And lit with gold and silver rays the night,

  Making the shadows rarer; whereupon

  Their footsteps they directed towards the light,

  And see already what it is that shone.

  LVIII

  On a huge trunk arms newly made they spy,

  Suspended opposite the moon’s clear rays,

  And, brighter far than planets in the sky,

  Gems in the gilded casque and breastplate blaze;

  In the great shield they see, by Dian lit,

  Fair figures stretching in extended rows:

  Near, as if guardian, did an old man sit,

  Who, when he saw, to meet them straightway rose.

  LIX

  Well, by two of the noble knights, the face

  Of their sage venerable friend is known,

  Who, when he had received their warm embrace,

  And had to them a courteous greeting shown,

  Turned to the youth, who mute and silently

  Returned his gaze, and said to him: ‘For none,

  Save thee, O prince, at such an hour have I

  Thus waited here, impatient and alone.

  LX

  ‘I, tho’ thou know’st not, am thy friend, and how

  I watch thy interests but enquire of these,

  Who, led by me, o’ercame the spells, where thou

  Thy life wast wasting in ignoble ease.

  Now mark my words — unlike the siren’s song,

  May they not thee offend, O noble youth,

  But may thy heart preserve them till a tongue

  More wise and holy guide thee to the Truth.

  LXI

  ‘Not among nymphs and sirens, founts and flowers,

  Not on voluptuous herbage in the shade,

  But on the toilsome steep, where Virtue towers,

  Alone, O prince, our supreme good is laid;

  Who from the paths of pleasure will not raise

  His thoughts, nor freeze nor sweat, arrives not there;

  And wilt thou, lordly eagle, turn thy gaze

  From that high goal, and to the vales repair.

  LXII

  ‘Nature thy brow directed toward the skies,

  And gave thee instincts generous and sublime,

  To look aloft, and to that glorious prize,

  By virtuous deeds and brilliant actions, climb.

  She gave thee, too, a swift and ready ire,

  But not to use it in each civil broil;

  Not that it should thy vaulting fancy fire,

  And, foe to reason, ‘gainst thyself recoil;

  LXIII

  ‘But that thy valour, armed by it, should smite

  With greater force external adversaries,

  And that repressed should be with greater might

  Thy passions — foul, internal enemies.

  Let the sage chief, then, govern and employ

  It in the use for which it was ordained,

  And at his will its too great strength alloy;

  By hi
m be it now quickened — now restrained,’

  LXIV

  He ceased. The other, in attentive mood,

  Treasured those maxims of advice profound;

  Meek as a child, abashed, ashamed he stood,

  His modest eyelids fixed upon the ground.

  Well did his secret thoughts the sage surmise,

  And to him said: ‘Raise up thy brow, my son;

  Upon this sculptured shield affix thine eyes,

  And view the deeds thy ancestors have done.

  LXV

  ‘Thy sires’ historic honours thou shalt see,

  Up in that steep and solitary place;

  And wilt thou, laggard, lag behind, and be

  A tardy runner in the glorious race?

  Up, up! arouse thyself, and may what I

  Depict thereon thy generous heart incite!’

  Thus spoke; and, as he spoke, attentively

  Upon the shield Rinaldo fixed his sight.

  LXVI

  With subtile skill, into a narrow space

  The artist had unnumbered forms compressed;

  The august and glorious line of Azzo’s race

  Was there in chain unbroken manifest.

  From its old Roman source each branch renowned,

  Limpid and pure, still uncorrupted flows;

  With laurel chaplets are its princes crowned,

  Whose deeds in peace and war the old man shows.

  LXVII

  Caius he shows, when first to foreign bands

  The empire fell, already in decline,

  The reins of power receive from willing hands,

  And the first prince become of Este’s line;

  To whom for help his weaker neighbours came,

  And him elected ruler over all.

  But when the savage Goths recrossed the same

  Pass as of yore, at base Honorio’s call,

  LXVIII

  And when all Italy appeared to smoke,

  And blaze more fiercely from barbaric fire;

  When Rome, too, crouching neath the stranger’s yoke,

  Feared in the general ruin to expire;

  Shows how Aurelius, his intrepid son,

  To guard his subjects’ liberty stood forth;

  Shows him Foresto, who opposed the Hun,

  Despotic ruler of the distant North.

  LXIX

  Well by his look fierce Attila is known;

  His eyes like furious dragon’s seem to spark;

  Enough it is, his dog-faced features shown,

  To swear he snarled, and deem you heard him bark.

  Worsted in single fight the savage see,

  Back on his armies for protection fall.

  Here shows the Hector of fair Italy,

  Foresto, guarding Aquilea’s wall.

  LXX

  His death is blazoned elsewhere, and his own,

  With it, the ruin of his country draws.

  Him Acarino, his great sire’s great son,

  Succeeds, as champion of the Italian cause;