Dye rather, dye, then ever from her service swerve.
XLVII
‘But, foolish boy, what bootes thy service bace 415
To her, to whom the hevens doe serve and sew?
Thou a meane squyre, of meeke and lowly place,
She hevenly borne, and of celestiall hew.
How then? of all Love taketh equall vew:
And doth not Highest God vouchsafe to take 420
The love and service of the basest crew?
If she will not, dye meekly for her sake:
Dye rather, dye, then ever so faire love forsake.’
XLVIII
Thus warreid he long time against his will,
Till that through weaknesse he was forst at last 425
To yield himselfe unto the mightie ill:
Which, as a victour proud, gan ransack fast
His inward partes, and all his entrayles wast,
That neither blood in face nor life in hart
It left, but both did quite drye up and blast; 430
As percing levin, which the inner part
Of every thing consumes and calcineth by art.
XLIX
Which seeing fayre Belphoebe, gan to feare
Least that his wound were inly well not heald,
Or that the wicked steele empoysned were: 435
Litle shee weend that love he close conceald:
Yet still he wasted, as the snow congeald,
When the bright sunne his beams theron doth beat;
Yet never he his hart to her reveald,
But rather chose to dye for sorow great, 440
Then with dishonorable termes her to entreat.
L
She, gracious lady, yet no paines did spare,
To doe him ease, or doe him remedy:
Many restoratives of vertues rare
And costly cordialles she did apply, 445
To mitigate his stubborne malady:
But that sweet cordiall, which can restore
A love-sick hart, she did to him envy;
To him, and to all th’ unworthy world forlore,
She did envy that soveraine salve, in secret store. 450
LI
That daintie rose, the daughter of her morne,
More deare then life she tendered, whose flowre
The girlond of her honour did adorne:
Ne suffred she the middayes scorching powre,
Ne the sharp northerne wind thereon to showre, 455
But lapped up her silken leaves most chayre,
When so the froward skye began to lowre;
But soone as calmed was the christall ayre,
She did it fayre dispred, and let to florish fayre.
LII
Eternall God, in his almightie powre, 460
To make ensample of his heavenly grace,
In paradize whylome did plant this flowre;
Whence he it fetcht out of her native place,
And did in stocke of earthly flesh enrace,
That mortall men her glory should admyre. 465
In gentle ladies breste and bounteous race
Of woman kind it fayrest flowre doth spyre,
And beareth fruit of honour and all chast desyre.
LIII
Fayre ympes of beautie, whose bright shining beames
Adorne the world with like to heavenly light, 470
And to your willes both royalties and reames
Subdew, through conquest of your wondrous might,
With this fayre flowre your goodly girlonds dight
Of chastity and vertue virginall,
That shall embellish more your beautie bright, 475
And crowne your heades with heavenly coronall,
Such as the angels weare before Gods tribunall.
LIV
To youre faire selves a faire ensample frame
Of this faire virgin, this Belphebe fayre,
To whom, in perfect love and spotlesse fame 480
Of chastitie, none living may compayre:
Ne poysnous envy justly can empayre
The prayse of her fresh flowring maydenhead;
Forthy she standeth on the highest stayre
Of th’ honorable stage of womanhead, 485
That ladies all may follow her ensample dead.
LV
In so great prayse of stedfast chastity
Nathlesse she was so courteous and kynde,
Tempred with grace and goodly modesty,
That seemed those two vertues strove to fynd 490
The higher place in her heroick mynd:
So striving each did other more augment,
And both encreast the prayse of woman kynde,
And both encreast her beautie excellent;
So all did make in her a perfect complement. 495
Faerie Queene Detailed Table of Contents
Glossary for ‘The Faerie Queene’
Canto VI
The birth of fayre Belphoebe and
Of Amorett is told:
The Gardins of Adonis fraught
With pleasures manifold.
I
WELL may I weene, faire ladies, all this while
Ye wonder how this noble damozell
So great perfections did in her compile,
Sith that in salvage forests she did dwell,
So farre from court and royall citadell, 5
The great schoolmaistresse of all courtesy:
Seemeth that such wilde woodes should far expell
All civile usage and gentility,
And gentle sprite deforme with rude rusticity.
II
But to this faire Belphœbe in her berth 10
The hevens so favorable were and free,
Looking with myld aspect upon the earth
In th’ horoscope of her nativitee,
That all the gifts of grace and chastitee
On her they poured forth of plenteous horne; 15
Jove laught on Venus from his soverayne see,
And Phœbus with faire beames did her adorne,
And all the Graces rockt her cradle being borne.
III
Her berth was of the wombe of morning dew,
And her conception of the joyous prime, 20
And all her whole creation did her shew
Pure and unspotted from all loathly crime,
That is ingenerate in fleshly slime.
So was this virgin borne, so was she bred,
So was she trayned up from time to time 25
In all chaste vertue and true bounti-hed,
Till to her dew perfection she was ripened.
IV
Her mother was the faire Chrysogonee,
The daughter of Amphisa, who by race
A Faerie was, yborne of high degree: 30
She bore Belphæbe, she bore in like cace
Fayre Amoretta in the second place:
These two were twinnes, and twixt them two did share
The heritage of all celestiall grace;
That all the rest it seemd they robbed bare 35
Of bounty, and of beautie, and all vertues rare.
V
It were a goodly storie to declare
By what straunge accident faire Chrysogone
Conceiv’d these infants, and how them she bare,
In this wilde forrest wandring all alone, 40
After she had nine moneths fulfild and gone:
For not as other wemens commune brood
They were enwombed in the sacred throne
Of her chaste bodie, nor with commune food,
As other wemens babes, they sucked vitall blood. 45
VI
But wondrously they were begot and bred,
Through influence of th’ hevens fruitfull ray,
As it in antique bookes is mentioned.
It was upon a sommers shinie day,
When Titan faire his beames did display, 50
In a fresh fountaine, far from all men
s vew,
She bath’d her brest, the boyling heat t’ allay;
She bath’d with roses red and violets blew,
And all the sweetest flowres that in the forrest grew:
VII
Till, faint through yrkesome wearines, adowne 55
Upon the grassy ground her selfe she layd
To sleepe, the whiles a gentle slombring swowne
Upon her fell all naked bare displayd:
The sunbeames bright upon her body playd,
Being through former bathing mollifide, 60
And pierst into her wombe, where they embayd
With so sweet sence and secret power unspide,
That in her pregnant flesh they shortly fructifide.
VIII
Miraculous may seeme to him that reades
So straunge ensample of conception; 65
But reason teacheth that the fruitfull seades
Of all things living, through impression
Of the sunbeames in moyst complexion,
Doe life conceive and quickned are by kynd:
So, after Nilus inundation, 70
Infinite shapes of creatures men doe fynd,
Informed in the mud, on which the sunne hath shynd.
IX
Great father he of generation
Is rightly cald, th’ authour of life and light;
And his faire sister for creation 75
Ministreth matter fit, which, tempred right
With heate and humour, breedes the living wight.
So sprong these twinnes in womb of Chrysogone;
Yet wist she nought thereof, but, sore affright,
Wondred to see her belly so upblone, 80
Which still increast, till she her terme had full outgone.
X
Whereof conceiving shame and foule disgrace,
Albe her guiltlesse conscience her cleard,
She fled into the wildernesse a space,
Till that unweeldy burden she had reard, 85
And shund dishonor, which as death she feard:
Where, wearie of long traveill, downe to rest
Her selfe she set, and comfortably cheard;
There a sad cloud of sleepe her overkest,
And seized every sence with sorrow sore opprest. 90
XI
It fortuned, faire Venus having lost
Her little sonne, the winged God of Love,
Who for some light displeasure, which him crost,
Was from her fled, as flit as ayery dove,
And left her blisfull bowre of joy above; 95
(So from her often he had fled away,
When she for ought him sharpely did reprove,
And wandred in the world in straunge aray,
Disguiz’d in thousand shapes, that none might him bewray;)
XII
Him for to seeke, she left her heavenly hous, 100
The house of goodly formes and faire aspects,
Whence all the world derives the glorious
Features of beautie, and all shapes select,
With which High God his workmanship hath deckt;
And searched everie way through which his wings 105
Had borne him, or his tract she mote detect:
She promist kisses sweet, and sweeter things,
Unto the man that of him tydings to her brings.
XIII
First she him sought in court, where most he us’d
Whylome to haunt, but there she found him not; 110
But many there she found, which sore accus’d
His falshood, and with fowle infamous blot
His cruell deedes and wicked wyles did spot:
Ladies and lordes she every where mote heare
Complayning, how with his empoysned shot 115
Their wofull harts he wounded had whyleare,
And so had left them languishing twixt hope and feare.
XIV
She then the cities sought from gate to gate,
And everie one did aske, did he him see?
And everie one her answerd, that too late 120
He had him seene, and felt the crueltee
Of his sharpe dartes and whot artilleree;
And every one threw forth reproches rife
Of his mischievous deedes, and sayd that hee
Was the disturber of all civill life, 125
The enimy of peace, and authour of all strife.
XV
Then in the countrey she abroad him sought,
And in the rurall cottages inquir’d,
Where also many plaintes to her were brought,
How he their heedelesse harts with love had fir’d, 130
And his false venim through their veines inspir’d;
And eke the gentle shepheard swaynes, which sat
Keeping their fleecy flockes, as they were hyr’d,
She sweetly heard complaine both how and what
Her sonne had to them doen; yet she did smile thereat. 135
XVI
But when in none of all these she him got,
She gan avize where els he mote him hyde:
At last she her bethought, that she had not
Yet sought the salvage woods and forests wyde,
In which full many lovely nymphes abyde, 140
Mongst whom might be that he did closely lye,
Or that the love of some of them him tyde:
Forthy she thether cast her course t’ apply,
To search the secret haunts of Dianes company.
XVII
Shortly unto the wastefull woods she came, 145
Whereas she found the goddesse with her crew,
After late chace of their embrewed game,
Sitting beside a fountaine in a rew;
Some of them washing with the liquid dew
From of their dainty limbs the dusty sweat 150
And soyle, which did deforme their lively hew;
Others lay shaded from the scorching heat;
The rest upon her person gave attendance great.
XVIII
She, having hong upon a bough on high
Her bow and painted quiver, had unlaste 155
Her silver buskins from her nimble thigh,
And her lanck loynes ungirt, and brests unbraste,
After her heat the breathing cold to taste;
Her golden lockes, that late in tresses bright
Embreaded were for hindring of her haste, 160
Now loose about her shoulders hong undight,
And were with sweet ambrosia all besprinckled light.
XIX
Soone as she Venus saw behinde her backe,
She was asham’d to be so loose surpriz’d,
And woxe halfe wroth against her damzels slacke, 165
That had not her thereof before aviz’d,
But suffred her so carelesly disguiz’d
Be overtaken. Soone her garments loose
Upgath’ring, in her bosome she compriz’d,
Well as she might, and to the goddesse rose, 170
Whiles all her nymphes did like a girlond her enclose.
XX
Goodly she gan faire Cytherea greet,
And shortly asked her, what cause her brought
Into that wildernesse for her unmeet,
From her sweete bowres, and beds with pleasures fraught: 175
That suddein chaung the straung adventure thought.
To whom halfe weeping she thus answered:
That she her dearest sonne Cupido sought,
Who in his frowardnes from her was fled;
That she repented sore to have him angered. 180
XXI
Thereat Diana gan to smile, in scorne
Of her vaine playnt, and to her scoffing sayd:
‘Great pitty sure that ye be so forlorne
Of your gay sonne, that gives ye so good ayd
To your disports: ill mote ye bene apayd!’ 185
But she was m
ore engrieved, and replide:
‘Faire sister, ill beseemes it to upbrayd
A dolefull heart with so disdainfull pride;
The like that mine, may be your paine another tide.
XXII
‘As you in woods and wanton wildernesse 190
Your glory sett, to chace the salvage beasts,
So my delight is all in joyfulnesse,
In beds, in bowres, in banckets, and in feasts:
And ill becomes you, with your lofty creasts,
To scorne the joy that Jove is glad to seeke; 195
We both are bownd to follow heavens beheasts,
And tend our charges with obeisaunce meeke:
Spare, gentle sister, with reproch my paine to eeke.
XXIII
‘And tell me if that ye my sonne have heard
To lurke emongst your nimphes in secret wize, 200
Or keepe their cabins: much I am affeard,
Least he like one of them him selfe disguize,
And turne his arrowes to their exercize:
So may he long him selfe full easie hide:
For he is faire, and fresh in face and guize, 205
As any nimphe (let not it be envide.)’
So saying, every nimph full narrowly shee eide.
XXIV
But Phœbe therewith sore was angered,
And sharply saide: ‘Goe, dame; goe, seeke your boy,
Where you him lately lefte, in Mars his bed: 210
He comes not here; we scorne his foolish joy,
Ne lend we leisure to his idle toy:
But if I catch him in this company,
By Stygian lake I vow, whose sad annoy
The gods doe dread, he dearly shall abye: 215
Ile clip his wanton wings, that he no more shall flye.’
XXV
Whom whenas Venus saw so sore displeasd,
Shee inly sory was, and gan relent
What shee had said: so her she soone appeasd
With sugred words and gentle blandishment, 220
Which as a fountaine from her sweete lips went,
And welled goodly forth, that in short space
She was well pleasd, and forth her damzells sent
Through all the woods, to search from place to place,
If any tract of him or tidings they mote trace. 225
XXVI
To search the God of Love her nimphes she sent,
Throughout the wandring forest every where:
And after them her selfe eke with her went
To seeke the fugitive both farre and nere.
So long they sought, till they arrived were 230
In that same shady covert whereas lay
Faire Crysogone in slombry traunce whilere:
Who in her sleepe (a wondrous thing to say)
Unwares had borne two babes, as faire as springing day.
XXVII
Unwares she them conceivd, unwares she bore: 235
She bore withouten paine that she conceiv’d
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