There he him found all carelefly display'd,
In fecret fhadow from the funny ray,
On a sweet bed of Lillies foftly laid,
Amidft a flock of Damzels fresh and gay,
That round about him diffolute did play
Their wanton follies, and light merriment;
Every of which did loosely difarray
Her upper parts of meet habiliments,
And fhew'd them naked, deckt with many ornaments,
XXXIII.
And every of them ftrove, with most delights,
Him to aggrate, and greateft pleasures fhew.
Some fram'd fair looks, glancing like evening lights;
Others sweet words, dropping like honey dew;
Some, bathed kiffes, and did foft embrew
The fugred liquor through his melting lips:
One boasts her beauty, and does yield to view
Her dainty limbs above her tender hips :
Another her out-boasts, and all for tryal strips.
XXXIV.
He like an Adder, lurking in the weeds,·
His wandring thought in deep defire does steep,
And his frail eye with fpoil of beauty feeds;
Sometimes he falfly feigns himself to fleep,
Whiles through their lids his wanton eyes do peep,
To steal a fnatch of amorous conceit,
Whereby close fire into his heart does creep:
So them deceives, deceiv'd in his deceipt,
Made drunk with drugs of dear voluptuous receipt.
XXXV.
Atin arriving there, when him he fpy'd,
Thus in ftill waves of deep delight to wade,
Fiercely approaching, to him loudly cry'd,
Cymochles; O no, but Cymochles fhade,
In which that manly perfon late did fade,
What is become of great Acrates Son?
Or where hath he hung up his mortal blade,
That hath fo many haughty conquests won?
Is all his force forlorn, and all his glory done?
Then pricking him with his fharp pointed dart,
He faid; Up, up, thou womanifh weak Knight,
That here in Ladies lap entombed art,
Unmindful of thy praise and proweft might,
And weetlefs eke of lately wrought defpight,
Whiles fad Pyrochles lies on fenflefs ground,
And groaneth out his utmost grudging fpright,
Through many a ftroke, and many a ftreaming wound,
Calling thy help in vain, that here in joys art drown'd.
XXXVII.
Suddenly out of his delightful dream
The man awoke, and would have queftion'd m,
But he would not endure that woeful theam
For to dilate at large, but urged fore
With piercing words, and pitiful implore.
Him hafty to arife. As one affright
With hellith fiends, or Furies mad uprore,
He then uprofe, inflam'd with fell defpight,
And called for his arms; for he would algates fight,
XXXVIII.
They been ybrought; he quickly does him dight,
And lightly mounted, paffeth on his way:
Ne Ladies loves, ne fweet entreaties might
Appease his heat, or hafty paffage ftay;
For he has vow'd to been aveng'd that day.
(That day itself him feemed all too long:)
On him, that did Pyrochles dear difmay :
So proudly pricketh on his courfer strong,
And Atin aye him pricks with fpurs of fhame and wrong.
CANTO VI.
Guyon is of immodest Mirth
Led into loofe defire,
Fights with Cymochles, whiles his Bro-
ther burns in furious fire.
A harder leffon, to learn continence
In joyous pleasure, than in grievous pain,
For fweetnefs doth allure the weaker fenfe
So ftrongly, that uneaths it can refrain
From that, which feeble nature covets fain:
But grief and wrath, that be her enemies,
And foes of life, fhe better can restrain;
Yet vertue vaunts in both her victories,
And Guyon in them all fhews goodly maysteries.
II.
Whom bold Cymochles travelling to find,
With cruel purpose bent to wreak on him
The wrath, which Atin kindled in his mind,
Came to a river, by whofe utmost brim
Waiting to pafs, he faw whereas did fwim
Along the fhore, as fwift as glance of eye,
A little gondelay, bedecked trim
With boughs and arbours woven cunningly,
That like a little foreft feemed outwardly.
And therein fate a Lady fresh and fair,
Making sweet folace to herself alone;
Sometimes fhe fung, as loud as Lark in air,
Sometimes the laught, that nigh her breath was gone,
Yet was there not with her else any one,
That might to her move cause of merriment:
Matter of mirth enough, though there were none
She could devife, and thousand ways invent
To feed her foolish humour and vain jolliment.
Which when far off Cymochles heard and faw,
He loudly call'd to fuch as were abord,
The little bark unto the fhore to draw,
And him to ferry over that deep ford:
The merry mariner unto his word
Soon hearkned, and her painted boat ftraightway Turn'd to the fhore, where that fame warlike Lord She in receiv'd; but Atin by no way
She would admit, albe the Knight her much did
Eftfoons her fhallow fhip away did slide,
More swift than fwallow fheres the liquid sky,
Withouten oar or Pilot it to guide,
Or winged canvas with the wind to fly;
Only the turn'd a pin, and by and by
It cut away upon the yielding wave,
Ne cared the her courfe for to apply:
For it was taught the way, which the would have, And both from rocks and flats itfelf could wifely fave VI,
And all the way, the wanton Damfel found
New mirth, her paffenger to entertain:
For fhe in pleasant purpofe did abound,
And greatly joyed merry tales to fain,
Of which a ftore-houfe did with her remain,
Yet feemed, nothing well they her became;
For all her words the drown'd with laughing vain,
And wanting grace in utt'ring of the fame;
That turned all her pleafance to a scoffing game.
And other whiles vain toys fhe would devife,
As her fantastick wit did moft delight:
Sometimes her head the fondly would aguife
With gaudy girlonds, or fresh flowrets dight
About her neck, or rings of rufhes plight;
Sometimes to do him laugh, fhe would affay
To laugh at fhaking of the leaves light,
Or to behold the water work, and play
About her little frigot, therein making way,
Her light behaviour, and loofe dalliaunce
Gave wondrous great contentment to the Knight,
That of his way he had no fovenaunce,
Nor care of vow'd revenge, and cruel fight,
But to weak wench did yield his martial might.
So eafie was to quench his flamed mind
With one fweet drop of fenfual delight;
So eafie is, t'appeafe the ftormy wind
Of malice in the calm of pleafant woman-kind.
IX.
Diverse discourses in their way they spent,
Mongft which Cymockles of her questioned,
Both what she was, and what that ufage meant,
Which in her cot fhe daily practiced.
Vain man, faid fhe, that wouldft be reckoned
A ftranger in thy home, and ignorant
Of Phadria (for fo my name is read)
Of Phadria thine own fellow fervaunt;
For thou to serve Acrafia thyfelf doft vaunt.
X.
In this wide inland fea, that hight by name
The Idle lake, my wandring fhip I row,
That knows her port, and thither fails by aim,
Ne care, ne fear I, how the wind do blow,
Or whether swift I wend, or whether flow:
Both flow and swift alike to ferve my tourn,
Ne fwelling Neptune, ne loud thundring Jove
Can change my chear, or make me ever mourn,
My little boat can fafely pass this perlous bourn.
Whiles thus fhe talked, and whiles thus fhe toy'd,
They were far paft the paffage which he spake,
And come unto an Inland waste and void,
That floated in the midft of that great lake:
There her small gondelay her port did make,
And that gay pair iffuing on the shore
Disburdned her. Their way they forward take
Into the land that lay them fair before,
Whose pleasance the him fhew'd,and plentiful great-ftore
VOL, I.
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