And on her knee before him falling lowe,

Made humble fuit vnto his Maieftie,

To graunt to her, her fonnes life, which his foe

A cruell Tyrant had prefumpteouflie

By wicked doome condemn'd, a wretched death to die./

To whom God Neptune foftly fmyling, thus ;

Daughter me feemes of double wrong ye plaine,
Gainft one that hath both wronged you, and vs:

For death t'adward I ween'd did appertaine
To none, but to the feas fole Soueraine.

270

Read therefore who it is, which this hath wrought,
And for what caufe; the truth difcouer plaine.
For neuer wight fo euill did or thought,

But would fome rightfull caufe pretend, though rightly nought.

To whom fhe anfwerd, Then it is by name

Proteus, that hath ordayn'd my fonne to die;
For that a waift, the which by fortune came
Vpon your seas, he claym'd as propertie :
And yet nor his, nor his in equitie,
But yours the waift by high prerogatiue.
Therefore I humbly craue your Maieftie,
It to repleuie, and my sonne repriue :
So fhall you by one gift faue all vs three aliue.

He graunted it: and ftreight his warrant made,

Vnder the Sea-gods feale autenticall,

280

Commaunding Proteus ftraight t'enlarge the mayd, Which wandring on his feas imperiall,

He lately tooke, and fithence kept as thrall,

Which the receiuing with meete thankefulneffe, 290 Departed ftraight to Proteus therewithall:

Who reading it with inward loathfulnesse,

Was grieued to restore the pledge, he did possesse.

Yet durft he not the warrant to withstand,

But vnto her deliuered Florimell.

Whom she receiuing by the lilly hand,

Admyr'd her beautie much, as fhe mote well:
For/fhe all liuing creatures did excell;
And was right ioyous, that fhe gotten had
So faire a wife for her fonne Marinell.
So home with her fhe ftreight the virgin lad,
And fhewed her to him, then being sore bestad.

Who foone as he beheld that angels face,

Adorn'd with all diuine perfection,

His cheared heart eftfoones away gan chace
Sad death, reuiued with her sweet inspection
And feeble spirit inly felt refection;

300

As withered weed through cruell winters tine,
That feeles the warmth of funny beames reflection,
Liftes vp his head, that did before decline

310

And gins to fpread his leafe before the faire funshine.

Right fo himselfe did Marinell vpreare,

When he in place his dearest loue did spy;

And though his limbs could not his bodie beare,

Ne former ftrength returne fo fuddenly,

Yet chearefull fignes he fhewed outwardly.

Ne leffe was fhe in fecret hart affected,

But that the mafked it with modeftie,
For feare she should of lightnesse be detected:
Which to another place I leaue to be perfected.

1. 320-after this in 1609 The end of the fourth Booke.'

329

THE FIFTH

BOOKE OF THE

FAERIE QVEENE.

Contayning

THE LEGEND OF ARTEGALL

OR

OF IVSTICE.

O oft as I with ftate of present time,

S°

ΙΟ

The image of the antique world compare, When as mans age was in his freshest prime, And the first blossome of faire vertue bare, Such oddes I finde twixt thofe, and these which are, As that, through long continuance of his course, Me feemes the world is runne quite out of square, From the first point of his appointed fourse,

And being once amiffe growes daily wourfe and wourse.

For from the golden age, that first was named,

It's now as earft become a stonie one;

1. 1, 'Fift': 1. 5, 'Arthegall,' as throughout: 1. 10,, for .-accepted :

1. 18, 'as' accepted from 1611, for 'at' of '96 and 1609.

VII.

31

20

And men themfelues, the which at first were framed
Of earthly mould, and form'd of flesh and bone,
Are now transformed into hardest stone:
Such as behind their backs (fo backward bred)
Were throwne by Pyrrha and Deucalione:
And if then those may any worse be red,
They into that ere long will be degendered. /
Let none then blame me, if in difcipline
Of vertue and of ciuill vses lore,

I doe not forme them to the common line
Of present dayes, which are corrupted fore,
But to the antique vfe, which was of yore,
When good was onely for it felfe defyred,

30

And all men fought their owne, and none no more;
When Iuftice was not for moft meed outhyred,
But fimple Truth did rayne, and was of all admyred.
For that which all men then did vertue call,

Is now cald vice and that which vice was hight,
Is now hight vertue, and fo vf'd of all:
Right now is wrong, and wrong that was isright,
As all things elfe in time are chaunged quight.
Ne wonder; for the heauens reuolution
Is wandred farre from, where it firft was pight,
And foe doe make contrarie conftitution
Of all this lower world, toward his diffolution.

For who fo lift into the heauens looke,

40

And search the courses of the rowling fpheares,
Shall find that from the point, where they first tooke
Their fetting forth, in these few thousand yeares
They all are wandred much; that plaine appeares.

1. 25, degenered' (1611).