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

482THE FA BRIE QEE [BOK V.
And with magnific might andlwondrous wit Upon wildcbeasts, which she in woods did find
Dost to:thy people righteous doom aread,' With wrongful pow'r oppressing others of their
That farthest nations fills with awful dread, kind.
Pardon the boldness of thy basest thrall, Thus she him rain, and thus she him taught
That dare discourse of so divine a read 2 deeming6 wrong and right,
In all the skill of deeming 6 wrong. and right,
As thy great justice praisied over all; ^Until the ripeness of man's years he raught; 7
The instrument whereof, lo! here thy Artegall.3 That ev'n wild beasts did fear his awful sight,
And men admir'd his over-ruling might;
Nor any liv'd on ground that durst withstand
His dreadful hest, 8 much less him match in fight,
Or bide the horror of his wreakful 9 hand,
Whenso he list in wrath lift up his steely brand:
CANTO I. Which steely brand, to make him dreaded more,
She gave unto him, gotten by her sleight
Artegall'train'd in Justice' lore; And earnest search, where it was kept in store
Irena's quest pursued; In Jove's eternal house, unwist 10 of wight,
le doth avenge on Sangiter Since he himself it us'd in that great fight
His lady's blood embruted. Against the Titans, that whilbm rebell'd'Gainst highest heav'n; Chrysaor 1" it was hight;
THOUGH, virtue were held in highest price in Chrysaor that all other swords excell'd,
the old times of which the poet treats, yet, he se dy w J
ss te s s of vWell prov'd in that same day when Jove those
says, the seeds of vice sprang and grew great, giants quell'd:
beating with their boughs the gentle plants.
"But evermore some of the virtuous race rose For of most perfect metal it was made,
up, inspired with heroic heat," and cropped the Temper'd with adamant amongst the same,
base branches. Such first was Bacchus, who And garnish'd all with gold upon the blade
established right in the East, before his time In goodly wise, whereof it took its name;
untamed; and next, Hercules, in the West, And was of no less virtue than of fame:
subdued monstrous tyrants with the club of For there no substance was so firm and hard,
justice. Such also was "the champion of true But it would pierce or cleave whereso it came;
justice, Artegall;" who, when he quitted Brito- Nor any armour could its dint.out ward; 12
mart (as told at the end of canto vi., book iv.), But wheresoever it did light, it throughly
went forth to succour a distressed dame, unjustly shar'd.13
held in bondage by a strong tyrant named Gran- Now when the world with sin gan to abound,
torto,4 who withheld her from her heritage. Astrasa, loathing longer here to space14
Irena,5 the dame in question, had besought re-'ongst wicked men, in whom no truth she
dress from the Faery Queen; and Gloriana had f
found,
entrusted the task to Artegall, "for that to her Return'd to heaven, whence she deriv'd her race;
he seem'd best skill'd in righteous lore." He Where she hath now an everlasting place
had been brought up in justice from his infancy,'Mongst those twelve signs, which nightlywe do
and taught "all the depth of rightful doom" by see
Astroea while she dwelt on earth. She had The heans' brightshining baldric to en
taken him from among his youthful peers, and chase; 16
nursed-and trained him " in a cave from co- is the irgin, sith in her degree,
panyuexiP-d." And is the Virgin, sixth in her dex'ee,17
pany exil'd." And next herself her righteous Balance 18 hangThere she him taught to weigh both right and ing be.
wrong But when she parted hence she left her groom,l9
In equal balance with due recompense, An Iron Man, which did on her attend
And equity to measure out along Always to execute her steadfast doom,
According to the line of conscience, And willed him with Artegall to wend,20
Whenso it needs with rigour to dispense: And do whatever thing he did intend:
Of all the which, for want there of mankind, His name was Talus,2' made of iron mould,
She caused him to make experience Immovable, resistless, without end;
1 Judgment declare. 2 Theme. 12 Keep out. 13 Sheared, cleaved.
3 Artegall (called Arthegall, by the original editions, 14 Dwell, roam. 15 Belt; the Milky Way.
in the earlier books of the poem)is understood to repre- 16 Adorn.
sent Arthur, Lord Grey of Wilton, who was Lord 17 Reckoning from March, in which month the year
Lieutenant of Ireland for two years from July 1580. at Spenser's day began, August-the month in which
Spenser was his secretary; and the events in Ireland the sun enters Virgo-was the sixth.
during his government, which included the suppression 18 The sign Libra, following Virgo in the Zodiac.
of the rebellion of Earl Desmond, are shadowed forth in 19 Servant.
the present book. The name of the hero is obviously 20 Go.
compounded of " Arthur," and "egal," equal oi just. 21 Talos, in the ancient mythology, was a brazen man
4 Great Wrong. given by Vulcan to Minos, king of Crete; he protected
5 Ireland; anciently called Iern, modern Irish, Erin. the island by walking round it thrice daily. Spenser
6 Judging. 7 Reached. has modified the fable, making Talus the personifi8 Command, will. 9 Avenging. cation of the inflexible and unpitying power that must
1o Unknown. 11 Golden-sword. accompany Justice.