The Faerie Queene (47 page)

But in vaine sheows, that wont yong knights bewitch,

And courtly seruices tooke no delight,

But rather ioyd to be, then seemen sich:

For both to be and seeme to him was labour lich.

30
It was to weete the good Sir
Satyrane,

That raungd abroad to seeke aduentures wilde,

As was his wont in forrest, and in plaine;

He was all armd in rugged Steele vnfilde,

As in the smoky forge it was compilde,

And in his Scutchin bore a Satyres hed:

He comming present, where the Monster vilde

Vpon that milke-white Palfreyes carkas fed,

Vnto his reskew ran, and greedily him sped.

31
There well perceiu'd he, that it was the horse,

Whereon faire
Florimell
was wont to ride,

That of that feend was rent without remorse:

Much feared he, least ought did ill betide

To that faire Mayd, the flowre of womens pride;

For her he dearely loued, and in all

His famous conquests highly magnifide:

Besides her golden girdle, which did fall

From her in flight, he found, that did him sore apall.

32
Full of sad feare, and doubtfull agony,

Fiercely he flew vpon that wicked feend,

And with huge strokes, and cruell battery

Him forst to leaue his pray, for to attend

Him selfe from deadly daunger to defend:

Full many wounds in his corrupted flesh

He did engraue, and muchell bloud did spend,

Yet might not do him dye, but aye more fresh

And fierce he still appeard, the more he did him thresh.

33
He wist not, how him to despoile of life,

Ne how to win the wished victory,

Sith him he saw still stronger grow through strife,

And him selfe weaker through infirmity;

Greatly he grew enrag'd, and furiously

Hurling his sword away, he lightly lept

Vpon die beast, that with great cruelty

Rored, and raged to be vnder-kept:

Yet he perforce him held, and strokes vpon him hept.

34
As he that striues to stop a suddein flood,

And in strong banckes his violence enclose,

Forceth it swell aboue his wonted mood,

And largely ouerflow the fruitfull plaine,

That all the countrey seemes to be a Maine,

And the rich furrowes flote, all quite fordonne:

The wofull husbandman doth lowd complaine,

To see his whole yeares labour lost so soone,

For which to God he made so many an idle boone.

35
So him he held, and did through might amate:

So long he held him, and him bet so long,

That at the last his fiercenesse gan abate,

And meekely stoup vnto the victour strong:

Who to auenge the implacable wrong,

Which he supposed donne to
Florimell,

Sought by all meanes his dolour to prolong,

Sith dint of Steele his carcas could not quell:

His maker with her charmes had framed him so well.

36
The golden ribband, which that virgin wore

About her sclender wast, he tooke in hand,

And with it bound the beast, that lowd did rore

For great despight of that vnwonted band,

Yet dared not his victour to withstand,

But trembled like a lambe, fled from the pray,

And all the way him followd on the strand,

As he had long bene learned to obay;

Yet neuer learned he such seruice, till that day.

37
Thus as he led the Beast along the way,

He spide far off a mighty Giauntesse,

Fast flying on a Courser dapled gray,

From a bold knight, that with great hardinesse

Her hard pursewd, and sought for to suppresse;

She bore before her lap a dolefull Squire,

Lying athwart her horse in great distresse,

Fast bounden hand and foote with cords of wire,

Whom she did meane to make the thrall of her desire.

38
Which whenas
Satyrane
beheld, in hast

He left his captiue Beast at liberty,

And crost the nearest way, by which he cast

Her to encounter, ere she passed by:

But she the way shund nathemore for thy,

But forward gallopt fast; which when he spyde,

His mighty speare he couched warily,

And at her ran: she hauing him descryde,

Her selfe to fight addrest, and threw her lode aside.

39
Like as a Goshauke, that in foote doth beare

A trembling Culuer, hauing spide on hight

An Egle, that with plumy wings doth sheare

The subtile ayre, stouping with all his might,

The quarrey throwes to ground with fell despight,

And to the battell doth her selfe prepare:

So ran the Geauntesse vnto the fight;

Her firie eyes with furious sparkes did stare,

And with blasphemous bannes high God in peeces tare.

40
She caught in hand an huge great yron mace,

Wherewith she many had of life depriued,

But ere the stroke could seize his aymed place,

His speare amids her sun-broad shield arriued;

Yet nathemore the steele a sunder riued,

All were the beame in bignesse like a mast,

Ne her out of the steadfast sadle driued,

But glauncing on the tempred mettall, brast

In thousand shiuers, and so forth beside her past.

41
Her Steed did stagger with that puissaunt strooke;

But she no more was moued with that might,

Then it had lighted on an aged Oke;

Or on the marble Pillour, that is pight

Vpon the top of Mount
Olympus
hight,

For the braue youthly Champions to assay,

With burning charet wheeles it nigh to smite:

But who that smites it, mars his ioyous play,

And is the spectacle of ruinous decay.

42
Yet therewith sore enrag'd, with sterne regard

Her dreadfull weapon she to him addrest,

Which on his helmet martelled so hard,

That made him low incline his lofty crest,

And bowd his battred visour to his brest:

Wherewith he was so stund, that he n'ote ryde,

But reeled to and fro from East to West:

Which when his cruell enimy espyde,

She lightly vnto him adioyned side to syde;

43
And on his collar laying puissant hand,

Out of his wauering seat him pluckt perforse,

Perforse him pluckt, vnable to withstand,

Or helpe himselfe, and laying thwart her horse,

In loathly wise like to a carion corse,

She bore him fast away. Which when the knight,

That her pursewed, saw with great remorse,

He neare was touched in his noble spright,

And gan encrease his speed, as she encreast her flight.

44
Whom when as nigh approching she espyde,

She threw away her burden angrily;

For she list not the battell to abide,

But made her selfe more light, away to fly:

Yet her the hardy knight pursewd so nye,

That almost in the backe he oft her strake:

But still when him at hand she did espy,

She turnd, and semblaunce of faire fight did make;

But when he stayd, to flight againe she did her take.

45
By this the good Sir
Satyrane
gan wake

Out of his dreame, that did him long entraunce,

And seeing none in place, he gan to make

Exceeding mone, and curst that cruell chaunce,

Which reft from him so faire a cheuisaunce:

At length he spide, whereas that wofull Squire,

Whom he had reskewed from captiuaunce

Of his strong foe, lay tombled in the myre,

Vnable to arise, or foot or hand to styre.

46
To whom approching, well he mote perceiue

In that foule plight a comely personage,

And louely face, made fit for to deceiue

Fraile Ladies hart with loues consuming rage,

Now in the blossome of his freshest age:

He reard him vp, and loosd his yron bands,

And after gan inquire his parentage,

And how he fell into that Gyaunts hands,

And who that was, which chaced her along the lands.

47
Then trembling yet through feare, the Squire bespake,

That Geauntesse
Argante
is behight,

A daughter of the
Titans
which did make

Warre against heauen, and heaped hils on hight,

To scale the skyes, and put
Ioue
from his right:

Her sire
Typhœus
was, who mad through merth,

And drunke with bloud of men, slaine by his might,

Through incest, her of his owne mother Earth

Whilome begot, being but halfe twin of that berth.

48
For at that berth another Babe she bore,

To weet the mighty
Ollyphant,
that wrought

Great wreake to many errant knights of yore,

And many hath to foule confusion brought.

These twinnes, men say, (a thing far passing thought)

Whiles in their mothers wombe enclosd they were,

Ere they into the lightsome world were brought,

In fleshly lust were mingled both yfere,

And in that monstrous wise did to the world appere.

49
So liu'd they euer after in like sin,

Gainst natures law, and good behauioure:

But greatest shame was to that maiden twin,

Who not content so fowly to deuoure

Her natiue flesh, and staine her brothers bowre,

Did wallow in all other fleshly myre,

And suffred beasts her body to deflowre:

So whot she burned in that lustfull fyre,

Yet all that might not slake her sensuall desyre.

50
But ouer all the countrey she did raunge,

To seeke young men, to quench her flaming thurst,

And feed her fancy with delightfull chaunge:

Whom so she fittest finds to serue her lust,

Through her maine strength, in which she most doth trust,

She with her brings into a secret Ile,

Where in eternall bondage dye he must,

Or be the vassall of her pleasures vile,

And in all shamefull sort him selfe with her defile.

51
Me seely wretch she so at vauntage caught,

After she long in waite for me did lye,

And meant vnto her prison to haue brought,

Her lothsome pleasure there to satisfye;

That thousand deathes me leuer were to dye,

Then breake the vow, that to faire
Columbell

I plighted haue, and yet keepe stedfastly:

As for my name, it mistreth not to tell;

Call me the
Squyre of Dames
that me beseemeth well.

52
But that bold knight, whom ye pursuing saw

That Geauntesse, is not such, as she seemed,

But a faire virgin, that in martiall law,

And deedes of armes aboue all Dames is deemed,

And aboue many knights is eke esteemed,

For her great worth; She
Palladine
is hight:

She you from death, you me from dread redeemed.

Ne any may that Monster match in fight,

But she, or such as she, that is so chaste a wight.

53
Her well beseemes that Quest (quoth
Satyrane)

But read, thou
Squyre of Dames,
what vow is this,

Which thou vpon thy selfe hast lately ta'ne?

That shall I you recount (quoth he) ywis,

So be ye pleasd to pardon all amis.

That gentle Lady, whom I loue and serue,

After long suit and weary seruicis,

Did aske me, how I could her loue deserue,

And how she might be sure, that I would neuer swerue.

54
I glad by any meanes her grace to gaine,

Bad her commaund my life to saue, or spill.

Eftsoones she bad me, with incessaunt paine

To wander through the world abroad at will,

And euery where, where with my power or skill

I might do seruice vnto gentle Dames,

That I the same should faithfully fulfill,

And at the twelue monethes end should bring their names

And pledges; as the spoiles of my victorious games.

55
So well I to faire Ladies seruice did,

And found such fauour in their louing hartes,

That ere the yeare his course had compassid,

Three hundred pledges for my good desartes,

And thrise three hundred thanks for my good partes

I with me brought, and did to her present:

Which when she saw, more bent to eke my smartes,

Then to reward my trusty true intent,

She gan for me deuise a grieuous punishment.

56
To weet, that I my trauell should resume,

And with like labour walke the world around,

Ne euer to her presence should presume,

Till I so many other Dames had found,

The which, for all the suit I could propound,

Would me refuse their pledges to afford,

But did abide for euer chast and sound.

Ah gentle Squire (quoth he) tell at one word,

How many foundst thou such to put in thy record?

57
In deed Sir knight (said he) one word may tell

All, that I euer found so wisely stayd;

For onely three they were disposd so well,

And yet three yeares I now abroad haue strayd,

To find them out. Mote I (then laughing sayd

The knight) inquire of thee, what were those three,

The which thy profited curtesie denayd?

Or ill they seemed sure auizd to bee,

Or brutishly brought vp, that neu'r did fashions see.

58
The first which then refused me (said hee)

Certes was but a common Courtisane,