That to his force to yielden it was faine;
Ne ought his sturdy strokes might stand afore, That high trees overthrew, and rocks in peeces tore.
The same advauncing high above his head,
With sharpe intended sting so rude him smott,
That to the earth him drove, as stricken dead;
Ne living wight would have him life behott.
The mortall sting his angry needle shott
Quite through his shield, and in his shoulder seasd,
Where fast it stucke, ne would thereout be gott;
The griefe thereof him wondrous sore diseasd,
Ne might his rancling paine with patience be appeasd.
But yet more mindfull of his honour deare
Then of the grievous smart, which him did wring,
From loathed soile he can him lightly reare,
And strove to loose the far infixèd sting; Which when in vaine he tryde with struggeling, Inflamed with wrath, his raging blade he hefte, And strooke so strongly that the knotty string Of his huge taile he quite a sonder clefte: Five joints thereof he hewd, and but the stump him lefte.
Hart cannot thinke what outrage and what cries,
With fowle enfouldred smoake and flashing fire,
The hell-bred beast threw forth unto the skies,
That all was coverèd with darkenesse dire.
Then, fraught with rancour and engorgèd yre,
He cast at once him to avenge for all,
And, gathering up himselfe out of the mire,
With his uneven wings did fiercely fall
Upon his sunne-bright shield, and grypt it fast withall. 360
Much was the man encombred with his hold,
In feare to lose his weapon in his paw,
Ne wist yett how his talaunts to unfold;
For harder was from Cerberus greedy jaw
To plucke a bone then from his cruell claw
To reave by strength the gripèd gage away:
Thrise he assayd it from his foote to draw,
And thrise in vaine to draw it did assay;
It booted nought to thinke to robbe him of his pray.
Tho when he saw no power might prevaile,
His trustie sword he cald to his last aid,
Wherewith he fiersely did his foe assaile,
And double blowes about him stoutly laid,
That glauncing fire out of the yron plaid,
As sparckles from the andvile use to fly
When heavy hammers on the wedg are swaid;
Therewith at last he forst him to unty
One of his grasping feete, him to defend thereby.
The other foote, fast fixed on his shield,
Whenas no strength nor stroks mote him constraine
To loose, ne yet the warlike pledg to yield,
He smott thereat with all his might and maine,
That nought so wondrous puissaunce might sustaine;
Upon the joint the lucky steele did light,
And made such way that hewd it quite in twaine;
The paw yett missèd not his minisht might,
But hong still on the shield as it at first was pight.
For griefe thereof and divelish despight,
From his infernall fournace forth he threw
Huge flames, that dimmèd all the hevens light,
Enrold in duskish smoke and brimstone blew;
As burning Aetna from his boyling stew
Doth belch out flames, and rockes in peeces broke,
And ragged ribs of mountaines molten new,
Enwrapt in coleblacke clowds and filthy smoke,
That al the land with stench and heven with horror choke.
It chaunst (eternall God that chaunce did guide),
As he recoiled backeward, in the mire
His nigh foreweried feeble feet did slide,
And downe he fell, with dread of shame sore terrifide.
There grew a goodly tree him faire beside,
Loaden with fruit and apples rosy redd,
As they in pure vermilion had beene dyde,
Whereof great vertues over all were redd;
For happy life to all which thereon fedd,
And life eke everlasting, did befall:
Great God it planted in that blessed stedd
With His Almighty hand, and did it call
The tree of life, the crime of our first fathers fall.
In all the world like was not to be fownd,
Save in that soile, where all good things did grow,
And freely sprong out of the fruitfull grownd,
As incorrupted Nature did them sow,
Till that dredd dragon all did overthrow.
Another like faire tree eke grew thereby,
Whereof whoso did eat eftsoones did know
Both good and ill: O mournfull memory!
That tree through one mans fault have doen us all to dy.
From that first tree forth flowd, as from a well,
A trickling streame of balme, most soveraine
And dainty deare, which on the ground still fell,
And overflowèd all the fertile plaine,
As it had deawèd bene with timely raine:
Life and long health that gracious ointment gave,
And deadly wounds could heale, and reare againe
The sencelesse corse appointed for the grave.
Into that same he fell, which did from death him save.
For nigh thereto the ever damned beast
Durst not approch, for he was deadly made,
And al that life preservèd did detest;
Yet he it oft adventured to invade.
By this the drouping day-light gan to fade,
And yield his rowme to sad succeeding Night,
Who with her sable mantle gan to shade
The face of earth and wayes of living wight,
And high her burning torch set up in heaven bright.
When gentle Una saw the second fall
Of her deare knight, who, weary of long fight,
And faint through losse of blood, mooved not at all,
But lay as in a dreame of deepe delight,
Besmeard with pretious balme, whose vertuous might
Did heale his woundes, and scorching heat alay,
Againe she stricken was with sore affright,
And for his safetie gan devoutly pray,
And watch the noyous night, and wait for joyous day.
The joyous day gan early to appeare,
And fayre Aurora from the deawy bed
Of aged Tithone gan her selfe to reare,
With rosy cheekes, for shame as blushing red;
Her golden locks for hast were loosely shed
About her eares, when Una her did marke
Clymbe to her charet, all with flowers spred,
From heven high to chace the chearelesse darke;
With mery note her lowd salutes the mounting larke.
Then freshly up arose the doughty knight,
All healed of his hurts and woundès wide,
And did himselfe to battaile ready dight;
Whose early foe awaiting him beside
To have devourd, so soone as day he spyde,
When now he saw himselfe so freshly reare,
As if late fight had nought him damnifyde,
He woxe dismaid, and gan his fate to feare:
Nathlesse with wonted rage he him advauncèd neare.
And in his first encounter, gaping wyde,
He thought attonce him to have swallowd quight,
And rusht upon him with outragious pryde;
Who, him rencountring fierce, as hauke in flight,
Perforce rebutted backe: the weapon bright,
Taking advantage of his open jaw,
Ran through his mouth with so importune might
That deepe emperst his darksom hollow maw,
And, back retyrd, his life-blood forth with all did draw.
So downe he fell, and forth his life did breath,
That vanisht into smoke and cloudès swift;
So downe he fell, that th' earth him underneath
Did grone, as feeble so great load to lift;
So downe he fell, as an huge rocky clift,
Whose false foundacion waves have washt away,
With dreadfull poyse is from the mayneland rift,
And, rolling down, great Neptune doth dismay; So downe he fell, and like an heaped mountaine lay.
The knight him selfe even trembled at his fall,
So huge and horrible a masse it seemd;
And his deare lady, that beheld it all,
Durst not approch for dread which she misdeemd:
But yet at last, whenas the direfull feend
She saw not stirre, of-shaking vaine affright,
She nigher drew, and saw that joyous end:
Then God she praysd, and thankt her faithfull knight,
That had atchievde so great a conquest by his might.
Guyon findes Mamon in a delve,
Sunning his threasure hore;
Is by him tempted, and led downe
To see his secrete store.
As pilot well expert in perilous wave,
That to a sted fast starre his course hath bent,
When foggy mistes or cloudy tempests have
The faithfull light of that faire lampe yblent,
And covered heaven with hideous dreriment,
Upon his card and compas firmes his eye,
The maysters of his long experiment,
And to them does the steddy helme apply,
Bidding his wingèd vessell fairely forward fly;
So Guyon, having lost his trustie guyde,
Late left beyond that Ydle Lake, proceedes
Yet on his way, of none accompanyde;
And evermore himselfe with comfort feedes
Of his owne vertues and praise-worthie deedes.
So, long he yode, yet no adventure found,
Which Fame of her shrill trompet worthy reedes;
For still he traveild through wide wast full ground,
That nought but desert wildernesse shewed all around.
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