The Canterbury tales and Faerie queene &c., &c., &c., ed. for popular perusal with current illustrations and explanatory notes, by D. Laing Purves.

472 THE'FAERIE QUEEN. [BOOK IV.
Else would,the waters overflow the lands, But sooth it was not sure for womanish shame,
And fire devour the air, and hele 1 them quite; Nor any blemish which the work might blame;
But that she holds them with her bl6ssed hands. But for (they say) she hath both kinds 10 in one,
She is the nurse of pleasure and delight, Both male and female, both under one name:
Anld unto Venus' grace the gate doth open right. She sire and mother is herself alone,
Begets and eke conceives, nor needeth other
"By her I' ent'ring half dismayed was; n
But she in gentle wise me entertaind,one.
And'twixt herself and Love did let me pass; "And all about her neck and shoulders flew
But Hatred would my entrance have restrain'd, A flock of little Loves, and Sports, and Joys,
And with his club me threaten'd to have brain'd, With nimble wings of gold and purple hue;
Had not the Lady with her pow'rful speech Whose shapes seem'd not like to terrestrialboys,
Him from his wicked will unneth2 refrain'd; But like to angels playing heav'nly toysl
And th' other eke his malice did impeach,3 The whilst their eldest brother was away;Till I was throughly past the peril of his reach. Cupid, their eldest brother: he enjoys
"Into the inmost templethusIcaThe wide kingdom of Love with lordly sway,
"Into the inmost temple thus I came,
And to his law compels all creatures to obey.
TVhich fuming all with frankincense I found,
And odours rising from the altars' flame. "And all about her altar scatterd lay
Upon a hundred marble pillars round Ge orts 12 of lovers piteously complaining,
The roof up high was reared from the ground, Some of their loss, some of their love's delay,
All deck'd with crowns, and chains, and gar- Some of their pride, some paragons' disdaining,3
lands gay, Some fearing fraud, some fraudulently feigning
Andthousandpreciousgiftsworthmanyapound, As ev'ry one had cause of good or ill.
The which sad lovers for their vows did pay; Amongst the rest some one, through love's conAnd all the ground was strow'd with flowers as straining
fresh as May. Tormented sore, could not contain it still,
But thus brake forth, that all the temple it did'A hundred altars round about were set, fill
All flaming with their sacrifices' fire,
hAll faming with their sacrifices' fire, "' Great Venus! queen of beauty and of grace,14
That with the steam thereof the temple sweat, The joy of gods and men, that under sky
Which, roll'd in clouds, to heaven did aspire, Dos f s s and men that under sky
And in them bore true lovers' vows entire: t fairest sine, and most adorn thy place;
Aad eke a hundred brazen caldrons bright, That with thy smiling look dost pacify
To bathnd e in joy and amorous desir, The raging seas, and mak'st the storms to fly;
To bathe in joy and amorous desire,
Ev'ry of which was to a damsel hight; 4 Thee, goddess, thee the winds, the clouds do
For all the priests were damsels in soft linen fear;
dight.5 And, when thou spread'st thy mantle forth on
high,
"Right in the midst the goddess' self did stand, The waters play, and pleasant lands appear,
Upon an altar of some costly mass, And heavens laugh, and all the world shows
Whose substance was unneth 6 to understand: joyous cheer:
For neither precious stone, nor dureful7 brass, o he
"' Then doth the deedal'15 earth throw forth to
Nor shining gold, nor mould'ring clay it was; the
But much more rare and precious to esteem, t
Pure iaspct, and like to crystal glass Out of her fruitful. lap abundant flow'rs;
Pure in aspect, and like to crystal glass;
ut glass was not, if ole did rightly deem; And then all living wights, soon as they see
Yet glass was not, if one did rightly deem;
But being fair and brittle likest glass did seem. The Spring break forth out of his lusty bow'rs,
But, being fair and brittle, likest glass did seem. T al do la t p t p m:
They all do learn to play the paramofrs:
" But it in shape and beauty did excel First do the merry birds, thy pretty pages,
All other idols which the heath'n adore, Privily pricked with thy lustful pow'rs,
Far passing that which by surpassing skill Chirp loud to thee out of their leafy cages,
Phidias did make in Paphos isle of yore, And thee their mother call to cool their kindly'
With which that wretched Greek, that life for- rages.
lore 8
l.~ or-. e', i..'.'"' Then do the salvage beasts begin to play
Did fall in love: yet this much fairer shin'd, Their pleasant frisks, and loathe their wonted
But cover'd with a slender veil afore; food:
And both her feet and legs together twin'd The lions roar; the tigers loudly by;
Were with a snake, whose head and tail were The raging bulls rebellow through the wood
fast combin'd.9
fast combin'~d.5 And breaking forth dare tempt the deepest flood
"The cause why she was cover'd with a veil To come where thou dost draw them with
Was hard to know, for that her priests the same desire:
From people's knowledge labour'd to conceal: So all things else, that nourish vital blood,
1 Conceal, cover. 13 The disdain of their companions or rivals.
2 With difficulty. 3 Hinder. 14 The four stanzas that follow are imitated from the
4 Intrusted. & Dressed. invocation of, VenuA with which Lucretius opens his
6 Difficult. 7 Enduring. poem; and they may be compared with the "Second
8 Forsook, lost. 9 Firmly united. Song of Troilus," in Chaucer's " Troilus and Cressida,"
10 Sexes. n Sports. 12 Troops. page 262. 15 Productive. 16 Natural.