All those, and all that els does horror breed,
About them flew, and fild their fayles with feare:
Yet ftayd they not, but forward did proceed,
Whiles th' one did row, and th' other ftifly steare;
Till that at last the weather gan to cleare,
And the faire land itselfe did playnly show.
Said then the palmer, "Lo where does appeare
"The facred foile where all our perills grow,
T'allure weake traveillers, whom gotten they did Therefore, Sir Knight, your ready armes about
He hearkned, and his armes about him tooke,
The whiles the nimble bote so well her fped,
That with her crooked keele the land the ftrookeş
Then forth the noble Guyon fallied,
And his fage palmer that him governed;
But th' other by his bote behind did stay.
They marched fayrly forth, of nought ydred,
Both firmely armd for every hard affay, [difmay,
With conftancy and care, gainft daunger and
Ere long they heard an hideous bellowing
Of many beafts, that roard outrageously,
As if that Hunger's poynt, or Venus' sting,
Had them enraged with fell furquedry;
Yet nought they feard, but paft on hardily,
Untill they came in vew of those wilde beasts,
Who all attonce, gaping full greedily,
And rearing fercely their upftaring crests,
Ran towards to devoure thofe unexpected guefta
But foone as they approcht with deadly threat,
The palmer over them his staffe upheld,
His mighty staffe, that could all charmes defeat;
Eftefoones their stubborne corages were queld,
And high-advaunced crefts downe meekely feld:
Instead of fraying they themselves did feare,
And trembled, as them paffing they beheld;
Such wondrous powre did in that staffe appeare,
All monsters to fubdew to him that did it beare.
Of that fame wood it fram'd was cunningly
Of which Caduceus whileome was made,
Caduceus, the rod of Mercury,
With which he wonts the Stygian realmes invade
Through ghaftly horror and eternall shade;
Th' infernall feends with it he can affwage,
And Orcus tame, whom nothing can perfwade,
And rule the furyes when they most doe rage:
Such vertue in his staffe had eke this palmer fage.
Thence paffing forth, they fhortly doe arryve
Whereat the Bowre of Bliffe was fituate,
A place pickt out by choyce of best alyve,
That Nature's worke by Art can imitate;
In which whatever in this worldly state
Is fweete and pleafing unto living sense,
Or that may daynteft fantafy aggrate,
Was poured forth with plentifull difpence,
And made there to abound with lavish affluence.
XLIII.
Goodly it was enclosed rownd about,
As well their entred gueftes to keep within,
As thofe unruly beafts to hold without;
Yet was the fence thereof but weake and thin;
Nought feard they force that fortilage to win,
But Wifedome's powre and Temperaunce's might,
By which the mightiest things efforced bin;
And eke the gate was wrought of substaunce
light,
Rather for pleasure then for battery or fight.
Yt framed was of precious yvory,
That feemd a worke of admirable witt,
And therein all the famous history
Of lafon and Medea was ywritt;
Her mighty charmes, her furious loving fitt,
His goodly conquest of the Golden Fleece,
His falfed fayth, and love too lightly flitt,
The wondred Argo, which in venturous peece
First through the Euxine feas bore all the flowr of
Greece.
Ye might have feene the frothy billowes fry
Under the ship, as thorough them she went,
That feemd the waves were into yvory,
Or yvory into the waves, were fent;
And otherwhere the snowy fubftaunce fprent
With vermell, like the boyes blood therein shed,
A piteous fpectacle did reprefent;
And otherwhiles with gold befprinkeled,
A mighty mazer bowle of wine was fett,
As if it had to him bene facrifide,
Wherewith all new-come guests he gratyfidé;
So did he eke Sir Guyon paffing by;
But he his ydle courtesy defide,
And overthrew his bowle difdainfully,
And broke his staffe, with which he charged sem-
blants fly.
Thus being entred, they behold arownd
A large and fpacious plaine on eyery fide
Strowed with pleafauns: whofe fayre graffy
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
Did decke her, and too lavishly adorne,
When forth from virgin bowre she comes in
th' early morne.
Therewith the heavens, alwayes joviall,
Lookte on them lovely ftill in ftedfast state,
Ne fuffred forme nor froft on them to fall,
Their tender buds or leaves to violate,
Nor fcorching heat, nor cold intemperate,
T' afflict the creatures which therein did dwell;
But the milde ayre with season moderate
Yt seemd th' inchaunted flame which did Creufa Gently attempred, and difpofd fo well,
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 fate
A comely perfonage of ftature tall,
And femblaunce pleafing, more than naturall,
That traveilers to him feemd to entize;
His loofer garment to the ground did fall,
And flew about his heels in wanton wize,
Not fitt for speedy pace or manly exercize.
They in that place him Genius did call;
Not that celeftiall powre to whom the care
Of life, and generation of all
That lives, perteines in charge particulare,
Who wondrous things concerning our welfare,
And ftraunge phantomes, doth lett us ofte forefce,
And ofte of fecret ills bids us beware,
That is ourselfe, whom though we do not fee,
Yet each doth in himfelfe it well perceive to bee:
Therefore a god him fage Antiquity
Did wifely make, and good Agdiftes call;
But this fame was to that quite contrary,
The foe of life, that good envyes to all,
That fecretly doth us procure to fall
Through guilefull femblants, which he makes us
fee;
He of this gardin had the governall,
And Pleafure's porter was devizd to bee,
Holding a staffe in hand for more formalitee.
With diverse flowres he daintily was deckt
And ftrowed rownd about, and by his fide
That still it breathed forth sweet spirit and holesom fmell:
To fly about, playing their wanton toyes, Whyleft others did themselves embay in liquid ioyes.
And over all of pureft gold was fpred
A trayle of yvie in his native hew;
For the rich metall was fo coloured,
That wight, who did not well avis'd it vew,
Would furely deeme it to bee yvie trew :
Low his lafcivious armes adown did creepe,
That themselves, dipping in the filver dew
Their fleecy flowres, they fearefully did steepe,
Which drops of christall seemd for wantones to
weep.
Infinit ftreames continually did well
Out of this fountaine, fweet and faire to fee,
The which into an ample laver fell,
And shortly grew to so great quantitie,
That like a litle lake it feemd to bee,
Whofe depth exceeded not three cubits hight,
That through the waves one might the bottom
fee,
All pav'd beneath with jafper shining bright, That feemd the fountaine in that fea did fayle upright.
And all the margent round about was fett
With fhady laurell trees, thence to defend
The funny beames which on the billowes bett,
And thofe which therein bathed mote offend.
As Guyon hapned by the fame to wend,
Two naked damzelles he therein espyde,
Which therein bathing feemed to contend,
And wrestle wantonly, ne car'd to hyde
Their dainty partes from vew of any which them
eyd.
Sometimes the one would lift the other quight
Above the waters, and then downe againe
Her plong, as over-maystered by might,
Where both awhile would covered remaine,
And each the other from to rise restraine;
The whiles their fnowy limbes, as through a vele,
So through the christall waves appeared plaine;
Then fuddeinly both would themfcives unhele,
And th' amorous sweet spoiles to greedy eyes re-
vele.
As that faire ftarre, the messenger of morne,
His deawy face out of the fea doth reare,
Or as the Cyprian goddeffe, newly borne
Of th' ocean's fruitfull froth, did first appeare,
Such feemed they, and fo their yellow heare
Christalline humor dropped downe apace.
Whom, fuch when Guyon faw, he drew him neare
And fomewhat gan relent his earnest pace;
His stubborne breft gan fecret pleafaunce to em
The wanton maidens him efpying stood
Gazing awhile at his unwonted guife;
Then th' one herselfe low ducked in the flood,
Abafht that her a ftraunger did avife;
"So paffeth, in the paffing of a day,
"Of mortall life the leafe, the bud, the flowre; "Ne more doth florish after first decay, "That earst was fought to deck both bed and "bowre
“Of many a lady and many a paramowre : "Gather therefore the rose whileft yet is prime, "For foone comes age that will her pride de"flowre;
"Gather the rose of love whileft yet is time, "Whileft loving thou mayft loved be with equal "crime."
He ceaft, and then gan all the quire of birdes
Their diverse notes t'attune unto his lay,
As in approvaunce of his pleafing wordes.
The conftant payre heard all that he did say,
Yet fwarved not, but kept their forward way,
Through many covert groves and thickets close,
In which they creeping did at laft display
That wanton lady with her lover lose,
Whose fleepie head fhe in her lap did soft difpofe
Upon a bed of roses she was layd,
As faint through heat, or dight to pleasaunt fin,
And was arayd, or rather difarayd,
All in a vele of filke and filver thin,
That hid no whit her alabaster skin,
But rather fhewd more white, if more might bee
More fubtile web Arachne cannot spin,
Nor the fine nets, which oft we woven fee
Of scorched deaw, do not in th`ayre more light
ly flee.
Her fnowey breft was bare to ready fpoyle
Of hungry eies, which no'te therewith be fild;
And yet through languour of her late fweet toy!
Few drops, more cleare then nectar, forth diftild
That like pure orient perles adowne it trild;
And her faire eyes, fweet fmyling in delight,
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