The Faerie Queene (15 page)

29
Whom thus recouer'd by wise Patience,

And trew
Repentance
tiiey to
Vna
brought:

Who ioyous of his cured conscience,

Him dearely kist, and fairely eke besought

Himselfe to chearish, and consuming thought

To put away out of his carefull brest.

By this
Charissa,
late in child-bed brought,

Was woxen strong, and left her fruitfull nest;

To her faire
Vna
brought this vnacquainted guest.

30
She was a woman in her freshest age,

Of wondrous beauty, and of bountie rare,

With goodly grace and comely personage,

That was on earth not easie to compare;

Full of great loue, but
Cupids
wanton snare

As hell she hated, chast in worke and will;

Her necke and breasts were euer open bare,

That ay thereof her babes might sucke their fill;

The rest was all in yellow robes arayed still.

31
A multitude of babes about her hong,

Playing their sports, that ioyd her to behold,

Whom still she fed, whiles they were weake & young,

But thrust them forth still, as they wexed old:

And on her head she wore a tyre of gold,

Adornd with gemmes and owches wondrous faire,

Whose passing price vneath was to be told;

And by her side there sate a gentle paire

Of turtle doues, she sitting in an yuorie chaire.

32
The knight and
Vna
entring, faire her greet,

And bid her ioy of that her happie brood;

Who them requites with court'sies seeming meet,

And entertaines with friendly chearefull mood.

Then
Vna
her besought, to be so good,

As in her vertuous rules to schoole her knight,

Now after all his torment well withstood,

In that sad house of
Penaunce,
where his spright

Had past the paines of hell, and long enduring night.

33
She was right ioyous of her iust request,

And taking by the hand that Faeries sonne,

Gan him instruct in euery good behest,

Of loue, and righteousnesse, and well to donne,

And wrath, and hatred warely to shonne,

That drew on men Gods hatred, and his wrath,

And many soules in dolours had fordonne:

In which when him she well instructed hath,

From thence to heauen she teacheth him the ready path.

34
Wherein his weaker wandring steps to guide,

An auncient matrone she to her does call,

Whose sober lookes her wisedome well descride:

Her name was
Mercie,
well knowne ouer all,

To be both gratious, and eke liberall:

To whom the carefull charge of him she gaue,

To lead aright, that he should neuer fall

In all his waes through this wide worldes waue,

That Mercy in the end his righteous soule might saue.

35
The godly Matrone by the hand him beares

Forth from her presence, by a narrow way,

Scattred with bushy thornes, and ragged breares,

Which still before him she remou'd away,

That nothing might his ready passage stay:

And euer when his feet encombred were,

Or gan to shrinke, or from the right to stray,

She held him fast, and firmely did vpbeare,

As carefull Nourse her child from falling oft does reare.

36
Eftsoones vnto an holy Hospitall,

That was fore by the way, she did him bring,

In which seuen Bead-men that had vowed all

Their life to sendee of high heauens king

Did spend their dayes in doing godly thing:

There gates to all were open euermore,

That by the wearie way were traueiling,

And one sate wayting euer them before,

To call in commers-by, that needy were and pore.

37
The first of them that eldest was, and best,

Of all the house had charge and gouernement,

As Guardian and Steward of the rest:

His office was to giue entertainement

And lodging, vnto all that came, and went:

Not vnto such, as could him feast againe,

And double quite, for that he on them spent,

But such, as want of harbour did constraine:

Those for Gods sake his dewty was to entertaine.

38
The second was as Almner of the place,

His office was, the hungry for to feed,

And thristy giue to drinke, a worke of grace:

He feard not once him selfe to be in need,

Ne car'd to hoord for those, whom he did breede:

The grace of God he layd vp still in store,

Which as a stocke he left vnto his seede;

He had enough, what need him care for more?

And had he lesse, yet some he would giue to the pore.

39
The third had of their wardrobe custodie,

In which were not rich tyres, nor garments gay,

The plumes of pride, and wings of vanitie,

But clothes meet to keepe keene could away,

And naked nature seemely to aray;

With which bare wretched wights he dayly clad,

The images of God in earthly clay;

And if that no spare cloths to giue he had,

His owne coate he would cut, and it distribute glad.

40
The fourth appointed by his office was,

Poore prisoners to relieue with gratious ayd,

And captiues to redeeme with price of bras,

From Turkes and Sarazins, which them had stayd,

And though they faultie were, yet well he wayd,

That God to vs forgiueth euery howre

Much more then that, why they in bands were layd,

And he that harrowd hell with heauie stowre,

The faultie soules from thence brought to his heauenly bowre.

41
The fift had charge sicke persons to attend,

And comfort those, in point of death which lay;

For them most needeth comfort in the end.

When sin, and hell, and death do most dismay

The feeble soule departing hence away.

All is but lost, that liuing we bestow,

If not well ended at our dying day.

O man haue mind of that last bitter throw;

For as the tree does fall, so lyes it euer low.

42
The sixt had charge of them now being dead,

In seemely sort their corses to engraue,

And deck with dainty flowres their bridall bed,

That to their heauenly spouse both sweet and braue

They might appeare, when he their soules shall saue.

The wondrous workemanship of Gods owne mould,

Whose face he made, all beasts to feare, and gaue

All in his hand, euen dead we honour should.

Ah dearest God me graunt, I dead be not defould.

43
The seuenth now after death and buriall done,

Had charge the tender Orphans of the dead

And widowes ayd, least they should be vndone:

In face of iudgement he their right would plead,

Ne ought the powre of mighty men did dread

In their defence, nor would for gold or fee

Be wonne their rightfull causes downe to tread:

And when they stood in most necessitee,

He did supply their want, and gaue them euer free.

44
There when the Elfin knight arriued was,

The first and chiefest of the seuen, whose care

Was guests to welcome, towardes him did pas:

Where seeing
Merck,
that his steps vp bare,

And alwayes led, to her with reuerence rare

He humbly louted in meeke lowlinesse,

And seemely welcome for her did prepare:

For of their order she was Patronesse,

Albe
Charissa
were their chiefest founderesse.

45
There she awhile him stayes, him selfe to rest,

That to the rest more able he might bee:

During which time, in euery good behest

And godly worke of Almes and cliaritee

She him instructed with great industree;

Shortly therein so perfect he became,

That from the first vnto the last degree,

His mortall life he learned had to frame

In holy righteousnesse, without rebuke or blame.

46
Thence forward by that painfull way they pas,

Forth to an hill, that was both steepe and hy;

On top whereof a sacred chappell was,

And eke a litle Hermitage thereby,

Wherein an aged holy man did lye,

That day and night said his deuotion,

Ne other worldly busines did apply;

His name was heauenly
Contemplation;

Of God and goodnesse was his meditation.

47
Great grace that old man to him giuen had;

For God he often saw from heauens hight,

All were his earthly eyen both blunt and bad,

And through great age had lost their kindly sight,

Yet wondrous quick and persant was his spright,

As Eagles eye, that can behold the Sunne:

That hill they scale with all their powre and might,

That his frayle thighes nigh wearie and fordonne

Gan faile, but by her helpe the top at last he wonne.

48
There they do finde that godly aged Sire,

With snowy lockes adowne his shoulders shed,

As hoarie frost with spangles doth attire

The mossy braunches of an Oke halfe ded.

Each bone might through his body well be red,

And euery sinew seene through his long last:

For nought he car'd his carcas long vnfed;

His mind was full of spirituall repast,

And pyn'd his flesh, to keepe his body low and chast.

49
Who when these two approching he aspide,

At their first presence grew agrieued sore,

That font him lay his heauenly thoughts aside;

And had he not that Dame respected more,

Whom highly he did reuerence and adore,

He would not once haue moued for the knight.

They him saluted standing far afore;

Who well them greeting, humbly did requight,

And asked, to what end they clomb that tedious height

50
What end (quoth she) should cause vs take such paine,

But that same end, which euery liuing wight

Should make his marke, high heauen to attaine?

Is not from hence the way, that leadeth right

To that most glorious house, that glistreth bright

With burning starres, and euerliuing fire,

Whereof the keyes are to thy hand behight

By wise
Fidelia?
she doth thee require,

To shew it to this knight, according his desire.

51
Thrise happy man, said then the father graue,

Whose staggering steps thy steady hand doth lead,

And shewes the way, his sinfull soule to saue.

Who better can the way to heauen aread,

Then thou thy selfe, that was both borne and bred

In heauenly throne, where thousand Angels shine?

Thou doest the prayers of the righteous sead

Present before the maiestie diuine,

And his auenging wrath to clemence incline.

52
Yet since thou bidst, thy pleasure shalbe donne.

Then come thou man of earth, and see the way,

That neuer yet was seene of Faeries sonne,

That neuer leads the traueiler astray,

But after labours long, and sad delay,

Brings them to ioyous rest and endlesse blis.

But first thou must a season fast and pray,

Till from her bands the spright assoiled is,

And haue her strength recur'd from fraile infirmitis.

53
That done, he leads him to the highest Mount;

Such one, as that same mighty man of God,

That bloud-red billowes like a walled front

On either side disparted with his rod,

Till that his army dry-foot through them yod,

Dwelt fortie dayes vpon; where writ in stone

With bloudy letters by the hand of God,

The bitter doome of death and balefull mone

He did receiue, whiles flashing fire about him shone.

54
Or like that sacred hill, whose head full hie,

Adornd with fruitful! Oliues all arownd,

Is, as it were for endlesse memory

Of that deare Lord, who oft thereon was fownd,

For euer with a flowring girlond crownd:

Or like that pleasaunt Mount, that is for ay

Through famous Poets verse each where renownd,

On which the thrise three learned Ladies play

Their heauenly notes, and make full many a louely lay.

55
From thence, far off he vnto him did shew

A Me path, that was both steepe and long,

Which to a goodly Citie led his vew;

Whose wals and towres were builded high and strong

Of perle and precious stone, that earthly tong

Cannot describe, nor wit of man can tell;

Too high a ditty for my simple song;

The Citie of the great king hight it well,

Wherein eternall peace and happinesse doth dwell.

56
As he thereon stood gazing, he might see

The blessed Angels to and fro descend

From highest heauen, in gladsome companee,

And with great ioy into that Citie wend,

As commonly as friend does with his frend.

Whereat he wondred much, and gan enquere,

What stately building durst so high extend

Her loftie towres vnto the starry sphere,

And what vnknowen nation there empeopled were.

57
Faire knight (quoth he)
Hierusalem
that is,

The new
Hierusalem,
that God has built

For those to dwell in, that are chosen his,

His chosen people purg'd from sinfull guilt,

With pretious bloud, which cruelly was spilt