All platted fast, well knit, and joined meet,
She framed a soft but surely holding chain,
Wherewith she bound his neck his hands and feet;
Thus bound, thus taken, did the prince remain,
And in a coach which two old dragons drew,
She laid the sleeping knight, and thence she flew:
LXVIII
‘With privet, then, with lily and the rose,
That flowered profusely on those pleasant plains,
Did she with skill entwine, and thence compose
Pliant, but strong and most unyielding, chains.
These round his neck, and arms, and feet she laced,
Thus bound, and thus secured her captive prize;
Whom, as he slept, upon her car she placed
And thence transported thro’ the liquid skies;
LXIX.
Nè già ritorna di Damasco al regno,
Nè dove ha il suo castello in mezzo all’onde;
Ma, ingelosita di sì caro pegno
548 E vergognosa del suo amor, s’asconde
Nell’Oceano immenso, ove alcun legno
Rado o non mai va dalle nostre sponde,
Fuor tutti i nostri lidi: e quivi eletta
552 Per solinga sua stanza è un’isoletta.
LXIX
“Nor turned she to Damascus’ kingdoms large,
Nor to the fort built in Asphalte’s lake,
But jealous of her dear and precious charge,
And of her love ashamed, the way did take,
To the wide ocean whither skiff or barge
From us doth seld or never voyage make,
And there to frolic with her love awhile,
She chose a waste, a sole and desert isle.
LXIX
‘Nor to Damascus’ realms returned, nor where
Secure her wave-encircled castle lay;
Since, jealous of a pledge so very dear,
And of her love ashamed, she fled away,
And hid herself in the unbounded sea,
Where ship from us or ne’er or rarely goes;
And there, long past our farthest confines, she,
For her retreat, a little island chose.
LXX.
Un’isoletta la qual nome prende,
Con le vicine sue, dalla Fortuna.
Quinci ella in cima a una montagna ascende
556 Disabitata, e d’ombre oscura e bruna.
E per incanto a lei nevose rende
Le spalle, e i fianchi: e senza neve alcuna
Gli lascia il capo verdeggiante e vago:
560 E vi fonda un palagio appresso un lago;
LXX
“An isle that with her fellows bears the name
Of Fortunate, for temperate air and mould,
There in a mountain high alight the dame,
A hill obscured with shades of forests old,
Upon whose sides the witch by art did frame
Continual snow, sharp frost and winter cold,
But on the top, fresh, pleasant, sweet and green,
Beside a lake a palace built this queen.
LXX
‘An isle which, with the neighbouring islets, takes
Its name from Fortune: there the enamoured maid
At once her way to a high mountain makes,
All uninhabited, and dark with shade.
By magic she then cast a snowy band
Around its sides and spurs, but left the peak
Snowless, and on that verdant table-land
A princely palace built beside a lake;
LXXI.
Ove, in perpetuo April, molle amorosa
Vita seco ne mena il suo diletto.
Or da così lontana e così ascosa
564 Prigion trar voi dovete il giovinetto:
E vincer della timida e gelosa
Le guardie, ond’è difeso il monte e ‘l tetto.
E già non mancherà chi là vi scorga,
568 E chi per l’alta impresa arme vi porga.
LXXI
“There in perpetual sweet and flowering spring,
She lives at ease, and joys her lord at will;
The hardy youth from this strange prison bring
Your valors must, directed by my skill,
And overcome each monster and each thing,
That guards the palace or that keeps the hill,
Nor shall you want a guide, or engines fit,
To bring you to the mount, or conquer it.
LXXI
‘Where, in perpetual April, the fond pair
Each others’ sweet society enjoy.
Now from that distant and secluded lair,
Tis yours to drag the infatuated boy,
And the guards conquer of the jealous fair,
Who both the palace and the mount defend;
Nor will be wanting one to guide you there,
Nor arms, for the great enterprise, to lend.
LXXII.
Troverete, del fiume appena sorti,
Donna giovin di viso, antica d’anni:
Ch’ai lunghi crini in su la fronte attorti
572 Fia nota, ed al color vario de’ panni.
Questa per l’alto mar fia che vi porti
Più ratta che non spiega aquila i vanni,
Più che non vola il folgore: nè guida
576 La troverete al ritornar men fida.
LXXII
“Beside the stream, yparted shall you find
A dame, in visage young, but old in years,
Her curled locks about her front are twined,
A party-colored robe of silk she wears:
This shall conduct you swift as air or wind,
Or that flit bird that Jove’s hot weapon bears,
A faithful pilot, cunning, trusty, sure,
As Tiphys was, or skilful Palinure.
LXXII
‘Scarce issued from the river, ye will find
A damsel, young in face but old in years,
Known by the hair around her forehead twined,
And by the party-coloured robe she wears.
She will conduct you thro’ the soundless main,
Swifter than eagle’s wings the air divide,
Or lightnings flash; and, coming back again,
In her ye’ll find a no less faithful guide.
LXXIII.
A piè del monte, ove la maga alberga,
Sibilando strisciar novi Pitoni,
E cinghiali arricciar l’aspre lor terga,
580 Ed aprir la gran bocca orsi e leoni
Vedrete; ma scuotendo una mia verga,
Temeranno appressarsi ove ella suoni.
Poi via maggior (se dritto il ver s’estima)
584 Troverete il periglio in su la cima.
LXXIII
“At the hill’s foot, whereon the witch doth dwell,
The serpents hiss, and cast their poison vilde,
The ugly boars do rear their bristles fell,
There gape the bears, and roar the lions wild;
But yet a rod I have can easily quell
Their rage and wrath, and make them meek and mild.
Yet on the top and height of all the hill,
The greatest danger lies, and greatest ill:
LXXIII
‘At the hill’s foot where dwells the enchantress, ye
Will hear outlandish crawling pythons hiss;
Curling their bristling backs, wild boars ye’ll see,
And bears and lions ope their jaws’ abyss;
But shaking this, my own enchanter-wand,
They’ll fear to approach its sound. Yet, judging right,
A far, far greater trial lies beyond,
Which ye’ll encounter on the mountain’s height.
LXXIV.
Un fonte sorge in lei che vaghe e monde
Ha l’acque sì, che i riguardanti asseta;
Ma dentro ai freddi suoi cristalli asconde
588 Di tosco
estran malvagità secreta;
Chè un picciol sorso di sue lucide onde
Inebria l’alma tosto, e la fa lieta:
Indi a rider uom muove, e tanto il riso
592 S’avanza alfin, ch’ei ne rimane ucciso.
LXXIV
“There welleth out a fair, clear, bubbling spring,
Whose waters pure the thirsty guests entice,
But in those liquors cold the secret sting
Of strange and deadly poison closed lies,
One sup thereof the drinker’s heart doth bring
To sudden joy, whence laughter vain doth rise,
Nor that strange merriment once stops or stays,
Till, with his laughter’s end, he end his days:
LXXIV
‘There from a fountain such pure water steals,
That to behold it causes thirst intense;
But deep in its cold crystal it conceals
A poison of such secret virulence,
That of its lucid waves the smallest drop
The soul intoxicates, and man inspires
To laugh so, that at last he cannot stop,
But laughs, and laughs, till laughing he expires.
LXXV.
Lunge la bocca disdegnosa e schiva
Torcete voi dall’acque empie omicide
Nè le vivande poste in verde riva
596 V’allettin poi, nè le donzelle infide:
Chè voce avran piacevole e lasciva,
E dolce aspetto che lusinga e ride.
Ma voi, gli sguardi e le parole accorte
600 Sprezzando, entrate pur nelle alte porte.
LXXV
“Then from those deadly, wicked streams refrain
Your thirsty lips, despise the dainty cheer
You find exposed upon the grassy plain,
Nor those false damsels once vouchsafe to hear,
That in melodious tunes their voices strain,
Whose faces lovely, smiling, sweet, appear;
But you their looks, their voice, their songs despise,
And enter fair Armida’s paradise.
LXXV
‘Far from its homicidal waters turn
Disdainfully your lips; the banquet laid
Upon the water’s mossy margent, spurn,
Nor let the tongue of treacherous girls persuade,
Whose siren voices, and soft eloquent eyes,
Possess such tempting, such destructive baits;
But both their looks and blandishments despise,
And enter boldly through the lofty gates.
LXXVI.
Dentro è di muri inestricabil cinto,
Che mille torce in se confusi giri:
Ma in breve foglio io ve ‘l darò distinto
604 Sì che nessun error fia che v’aggiri.
Siede in mezzo un giardin del laberinto,
Che par che da ogni fronde amore spiri.
Quivi in grembo alla verde erba novella
608 Giacerà il cavaliero e la donzella.
LXXVI
“The house is builded like a maze within,
With turning stairs, false doors and winding ways,
The shape whereof plotted in vellum thin
I will you give, that all those sleights bewrays,
In midst a garden lies, where many a gin
And net to catch frail hearts, false Cupid lays;
There in the verdure of the arbors green,
With your brave champion lies the wanton queen.
LXXVI
‘Within, all’s masked by tortuous walls from view,
That in themselves a complex labyrinth make;
For this, on parchment, I will give the clue,
So that the road ye cannot well mistake:
In centre of the maze a garden lies,
That breathes forth love from every leaf, and here,
On the green carpet of its paradise,
Ye’ll find the damsel and the cavalier.
LXXVII.
Ma come essa, lasciando il caro amante,
In altra parte il piede avrà rivolto;
Vuò ch’a lui vi scopriate, e d’adamante
612 Un scudo, ch’io darò, gli alziate al volto;
Sicch’egli vi si specchi, e ‘l suo sembiante
Veggia, e l’abito molle onde fu involto:
Chè a tal vista potrà vergogna e sdegno
616 Scacciar dal petto suo l’amor indegno.
LXXVII
“But when she haply riseth from the knight,
And hath withdrawn her presence from the place,
Then take a shield I have of diamonds bright,
And hold the same before the young man’s face,
That he may glass therein his garments light,
And wanton soft attire, and view his case,
That with the sight shame and disdain may move
His heart to leave that base and servile love.
LXXVII
‘But as she, leaving her dear lover, strays
To other parts, I will that ye surprise
The wanton youth by showing yourselves, and raise
The diamond shield I’ll give before his eyes;
That seeing himself in his true naked light,
And the effeminate garb in which he’s drest,
Shame and remorse at such reproachful sight
May drive the unworthy passion from his breast.
LXXVIII.
Altro che dirvi omai nulla m’avanza,
Se non ch’assai sicuri ir ne potrete,
E penetrar dell’intricata stanza
620 Nelle più interne parti e più secrete:
Perchè non fia che magica possanza
A voi ritardi il corso, o ‘l passo viete:
Nè potrà pur (cotal virtù vi guida!)
624 Il giunger vostro antiveder Armida.
LXXVIII
“Now resteth naught that needful is to tell,
But that you go secure, safe, sure and bold,
Unseen the palace may you enter well,
And pass the dangers all I have foretold,
For neither art, nor charm, nor magic spell,
Can stop your passage or your steps withhold,
Nor shall Armida, so you guarded be,
Your coming aught foreknow or once foresee:
LXXVIII
‘Superfluous ‘twere that I should more dilate,
Save that in perfect safety ye may go,
And to the parts most secret penetrate
Of the intricate edifice; for know,
Not all the power of sorcery can bar,
Not ev’n delay your journey, nor can she,
Since guided by such influence ye are,
Be able your arrival to foresee.
LXXIX.
Nè men sicura dagli alberghi suoi
L’uscita vi sarà poscia e ‘l ritorno.
Ma giunge omai l’ora del sonno, e voi
628 Sorger diman dovete a par col giorno.
Così lor disse; e gli menò dipoi
Ove essi avean la notte a far soggiorno.
Ivi lasciando lor lieti e pensosi,
632 Si ritrasse il buon vecchio a’ suoi riposi.
LXXIX
“And eke as safe from that enchanted fort
You shall return and scape unhurt away;
But now the time doth us to rest exhort,
And you must rise by peep of springing day.”
This said, he led them through a narrow port,
Into a lodging fair wherein they lay,
There glad and full of thoughts he left his guests,
And in his wonted bed the old man rests.
LXXIX
‘Nor less securely from the enchanted halls
Shall ye retire and take your homeward way;
But now the hour to gentle slumber calls,
And ye must rise to-morrow with the day,’
He ceased, and led the noble envoys where
They could their senses in night’s lethe steep;
And having left the pleased but pensive pair,
The gentle sage retired himself to sleep.
Canto quindicesimo
FIFTEENTH BOOK
ARGOMENTO.
Dal Mago instrutti, i duo guerrier sen vanno
Dove il pino fatal gli attende in porto:
Spiegan la vela, e pria del gran Tiranno
D’Egitto i legni e l’apparecchio han scorto:
Poi tale il vento, e tale il nocchiero hanno,
Che ben lungo viaggio estiman corto.
All’Isola remota alfine spinti,
Da lor le forze sono e i vezzi vinti.
THE ARGUMENT.
And come where their strange bark in harbor lay,
And setting sail behold on Egypt’s coast
The monarch’s ships and armies in array:
Their wind and pilot good, the seas in post
They pass, and of long journeys make short way:
The far-sought isle they find; Armida’s charms
They scorn, they shun her sleights, despise her arms.
I.
Già richiamava il bel nascente raggio
All’opre ogni animal che in terra alberga;
Quando venendo ai due guerrieri il Saggio
4 Portò il foglio, e lo scudo, e l’aurea verga.
Accingetevi, disse, al gran viaggio
Prima che ‘l dì, che spunta omai, più s’erga.
Eccovi quì quanto ho promesso, e quanto
8 Può della maga superar l’incanto.
I
The rosy-fingered morn with gladsome ray
Rose to her task from old Tithonus’ lap
When their grave host came where the warriors lay,
And with him brought the shield, the rod, the map.
“Arise,” quoth he, “ere lately broken day,
In his bright arms the round world fold or wrap,
All what I promised, here I have them brought,
Enough to bring Armida’s charms to naught.”
I
ALREADY to their toils the dawn’s first lights
Had called earth’s habitants, when prompt the old
And friendly sage came to the warrior knights,
Bringing the chart, the shield, and wand of gold;
And said: ‘Prepare for your great journey ere
The breaking day mount higher in the skies;
Here are the spells I promised you, and here
All that the witch’s charms can exorcise.’
Jerusalem Delivered Page 252
