Then came the smallest tribe I yet had feen;
Plain was their dress, and modeft was their mien.
Great idol of mankind! we neither claim
The praise of merit, nor afpire to fame!
But, fafe in deserts from th' applause of men,
Would die unheard-of, as we liv'd unfeen.
'Tis all we beg thee, to conceal from fight
Those acts of goodness, which themselves requite.
O let us still the fecret joy partake,
To follow virtue ev'n for virtue's fake.
Ver. 356. Then came the smallest, &c.]
I faw anone the fifth route,
That to this lady gan loute,
And downe on knees anone to fall,
And to her they besoughten all,
To hiden their good works eke.
And faid, they yeve not a leke
For no fame ne fuch renowne;
For they for contemplacyoune,
And Goddes love had it wrought,
Ne of fame would they ought.
What, quoth fhe, and be ye
And ween ye for to do good,
And for to have it of no fame ?
Have ye despite to have my name?
Nay ye fhall lien everichone:
Blow thy trump, and that anone
(Quoth fhe) thou Eolus, I hote,
And ring thefe folks works by rote,
That all the world may of it heare;
And he gan blow their loos fo cleare,
In his golden clarioune,
Through the world went the foune,
All fo kindly, and eke so soft,
That ther fame was blown aloft.
And live there men, who flight immortal fame?
Who then with incenfe fhall adore our name?
But, mortals! know, 'tis ftill our greatest pride,
To blaze those virtues which the good would hide.
Rife! Mufes, rife! add all your tuneful breath;
Thefe must not fleep in darkness and in death.
She faid in air the trembling music floats,
And on the winds triumphant fwell the notes;
So foft, though high, fo loud, and yet fo clear,
Ev'n listening Angels lean from heaven to hear:
To fartheft fhores th' Ambrofial spirit flies,
Sweet to the world, and grateful to the skies.
Next these a youthful train their vows exprefs'd, With feathers crown'd, with gay embroidery drefs'd: Hither, they cry'd, direct your eyes, and fee The men of pleasure, dress, and gallantry; Ours is the place at banquets, balls, and plays, Sprightly our nights, polite are all our days; Courts we frequent, where 'tis our pleafing care pay due vifits, and address the fair:
In fact, 'tis true, no nymph we could perfuade,
But ftill in fancy vanquish'd every maid;
Of unknown Dutcheffes lewd tales we tell,
Yet, would the world believe us, all were well.
The joy let others have, and we the name,
And what we want in pleasure, grant in fame.
The Queen affents, the trumpet rends the skies,
And at each blaft a Lady's honour dies.
Pleas'd with the ftrange fuccefs, vaft numbers prest Around the shrine, and made the fame requeft:
What you (the cry'd), unlearn'd in arts to please,
Slaves to yourselves, and ev'n fatigued with ease,
Who lose a length of undeserving days,
Would you ufurp the lover's dear-bought praise ?
To juft contempt, ye vain pretenders, fall,
The people's fable, and the fcorn of all.
Straight the black clarion fends a horrid found,
Loud laughs burst out, and bitter scoffs fly round,
Whispers are heard, with taunts reviling loud,
And scornful hiffes run through all the croud.
Laft, those who boast of mighty mischiefs done,
Enslave their country, or ufurp a throne;
Or who their glory's dire foundation lay'd
On fovereigns ruin'd, or on friends betray'd;
Calm, thinking villains, whom no faith could fix, 410 Of crooked counfels and dark politics;
Of these a gloomy tribe furround the throne,
And beg to make th' immortal treasons known.
The trumpet roars, long flaky flames expire,
With sparks, that seem'd to set the world on fire.
At the dread found, pale mortals ftood aghast,
And ftartled nature trembled with the blast.
This having heard and feen, fome power unknown Straight chang'd the fcene, and fnatch'd me from the
Ver. 406. Laft, those who boast of mighty, &c.]
Tho came another companye,
That had y-done the treachery, &c.
Ver. 418. This having heard and feen, &c.] The Scene here changes from the Temple of Fame, to that
my view appear'd a structure fair,
Its fite uncertain, if in earth or air;
With rapid motion turn'd the mansion round;
With ceaseless noise the ringing walls resound ;
Not lefs in number were the spacious doors,
Than leaves on trees, or fands upon the shores;
Which still unfolded ftand, by night, by day,
Pervious to winds, and open every way.
As flames by nature to the skies ascend,
As weighty bodies to the centre tend,
of Rumour, which is almost entirely Chaucer's. The particulars follow.
Tho faw I ftonde in a valey,
Under the caftle faft by'
A houfe, that Domus Dedali.
That Labyrinthus cleped is,
Nas made fo wonderly, I wis,
Ne half fo queintly y-wrought;
And evermo as fwift as thought,
This queint house about went,
That never more it ftill ftent-
And eke this houfe hath of entrees,
As many as leaves are on trees
In Summer, when they ben grene;
And in the roof yet men may fene
A thousand hoels and well mo
To letten the foune out-go;
And by day in every tide,
Ben all the doors open wide,
And by night each one unfhet;
No porter is there one to let,
No manner tydings in to pace:
Ne never reft is in that place.
As to the fea returning rivers roll,
And the touch'd needle trembles to the pole;
Hither as to their proper place, arise,
All various founds from earth, and feas, and skies,
Or fpoke aloud, or whisper'd in the ear;
Nor ever filence, reft, or peace, is here.
As on the smooth expanse of cryftal lakes
The finking stone at first a circle makes;
The trembling furface, by the motion stirr'd,
Spreads in a fecond circle, then a third;
Wide, and more wide, the floating rings advance, 440
Fill all the watery plain, and to the margin dance:
Thus every voice and found, when first they break,
On neighbouring air a foft impreffion. make;
Another ambient circle then they move;
That, in its turn, impels the next above;
Through undulating air the founds are fent,
And spread o'er all the fluid element.
There various news I heard of love and ftrife,
Of peace and war, health, ficknefs, death, and life,
Ver. 448. There various news I heard, &c.]
Of werres, of peace, of marriages,
Of rest, of labour, of voyages,
Of abode, of dethe, and of life,
Of love and hate, accord and strife,
Of lofs, of lore, and of winnings,
Of hele, of fickness, and leffings,
Of divers tranfmutations,
Of estates and eke of regions,
Of trust, of dred, of jealoufy,
Of wit, of winning, and of folly,
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