FOOTNOTES:

THE FIFTHBOOKE OF THEFAERIE QVEENE.Contayning,THE LEGEND OF ARTEGALLOROF IVSTICE.

So oft as I with state of present time,iThe image of the antique world compare,When as mans age was in his freshest prime,[238]And the first blossome of faire vertue bare,Such oddes I finde twixt those, and these which are,As that, through long continuance of his course,Me seemes the world is runne quite out of square,From the first point of his appointed sourse,And being once amisse growes daily wourse and wourse[239].For from the golden age, that first was named,iiIt’s now at earst[240]become a stonie one;And men themselues, the which at first were framedOf earthly mould, and form’d of flesh and bone,Are now transformed into hardest stone:Such as behind their backs (so backward bred)Were throwne byPyrrhaandDeucalione:And if then those may any worse be red,They into that ere long will be degendered.Let none then blame me, if in disciplineiiiOf vertue and of ciuill vses lore,I doe not forme them to the common lineOf present dayes, which are corrupted sore,But to the antique vse, which was of yore,When good was onely for it selfe desyred,And all men sought their owne, and none no more;When Iustice was not for most meed outhyred,But simple Truth did rayne, and was of all admyred.For that which all men then did vertue call,ivIs now cald vice; and that which vice was hight,Is now hight vertue, and so vs’d of all:Right now is wrong, and wrong that was is right,As all things else in time are chaunged quight.Ne wonder; for the heauens reuolutionIs wandred farre from[241]where it first was pight,And so doe make contrarie constitutionOf all this lower world, toward his dissolution.For who so list into the heauens looke,vAnd search the courses of the rowling spheares,Shall find that from the point, where they first tookeTheir setting forth[242], in these few thousand yearesThey all are wandred much; that plaine appeares.For that same golden fleecy Ram, which borePhrixusandHellefrom their stepdames feares,Hath now forgot, where he was plast of yore,And shouldred hath the Bull, which fayreEuropabore.And eke the Bull hath with his bow-bent horneviSo hardly butted those two twinnes ofIoue,That they haue crusht the Crab, and quite him borneInto the greatNemæanlions groue.So now all range, and doe at randon roueOut of their proper places farre away,And all this world with them amisse doe moue,And all his creatures from their course astray,Till they arriue at their last ruinous decay.Ne is that same great glorious lampe of light,viiThat doth enlumine all these lesser fyres,In better case, ne keepes his course more right,But is miscaried with the other Spheres.For since the terme of fourteene hundred yeres,That learnedPtolomæehis hight did take,He is declyned from that marke of theirs,Nigh thirtie minutes to the Southerne lake;That makes me feare in time he will vs quite forsake.And if to those Ægyptian wisards old,viiiWhich in Star-read were wont haue best insight,Faith may be giuen, it is by them told,That since the time they first tooke the Sunnes hight,Foure times his place he shifted hath in sight,And twice hath risen, where he now doth West,And wested twice, where he ought rise aright.But most isMarsamisse of all the rest,And next to him oldSaturne, that was wont be best.For duringSaturnesancient raigne it’s sayd,ixThat all the world with goodnesse did abound:All loued vertue, no man was affraydOf force, ne fraud in wight was to be found:No warre was knowne, no dreadfull trompets sound,Peace vniuersall rayn’d mongst men and beasts,And all things freely grew out of the ground:Iustice sate high ador’d with solemne feasts,And to all people did diuide her dred beheasts.Most sacred vertue she of all the rest,xResembling God in his imperiall might;Whose soueraine powre is herein most exprest,That both to good and bad he dealeth right,And all his workes with Iustice hath bedight.That powre he also doth to Princes lend,And makes them like himselfe in glorious sight,To sit in his owne seate, his cause to end,And rule his people right, as he doth recommend.Dread Souerayne Goddesse, that doest highest sitxiIn seate of iudgement, in th’Almighties stead[243],And with magnificke might and wondrous witDoest to thy people righteous doome aread,That furthest Nations filles with awfull dread,Pardon the boldnesse of thy basest thrall,That dare discourse of so diuine a read,As thy great iustice praysed ouer all:The instrument whereof loe here thyArtegall[244].

So oft as I with state of present time,i

The image of the antique world compare,

When as mans age was in his freshest prime,[238]

And the first blossome of faire vertue bare,

Such oddes I finde twixt those, and these which are,

As that, through long continuance of his course,

Me seemes the world is runne quite out of square,

From the first point of his appointed sourse,

And being once amisse growes daily wourse and wourse[239].

For from the golden age, that first was named,iiIt’s now at earst[240]become a stonie one;And men themselues, the which at first were framedOf earthly mould, and form’d of flesh and bone,Are now transformed into hardest stone:Such as behind their backs (so backward bred)Were throwne byPyrrhaandDeucalione:And if then those may any worse be red,They into that ere long will be degendered.

For from the golden age, that first was named,ii

It’s now at earst[240]become a stonie one;

And men themselues, 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 (so backward bred)

Were throwne byPyrrhaandDeucalione:

And if then those may any worse be red,

They into that ere long will be degendered.

Let none then blame me, if in disciplineiiiOf vertue and of ciuill vses lore,I doe not forme them to the common lineOf present dayes, which are corrupted sore,But to the antique vse, which was of yore,When good was onely for it selfe desyred,And all men sought their owne, and none no more;When Iustice was not for most meed outhyred,But simple Truth did rayne, and was of all admyred.

Let none then blame me, if in disciplineiii

Of vertue and of ciuill vses lore,

I doe not forme them to the common line

Of present dayes, which are corrupted sore,

But to the antique vse, which was of yore,

When good was onely for it selfe desyred,

And all men sought their owne, and none no more;

When Iustice was not for most meed outhyred,

But simple Truth did rayne, and was of all admyred.

For that which all men then did vertue call,ivIs now cald vice; and that which vice was hight,Is now hight vertue, and so vs’d of all:Right now is wrong, and wrong that was is right,As all things else in time are chaunged quight.Ne wonder; for the heauens reuolutionIs wandred farre from[241]where it first was pight,And so doe make contrarie constitutionOf all this lower world, toward his dissolution.

For that which all men then did vertue call,iv

Is now cald vice; and that which vice was hight,

Is now hight vertue, and so vs’d of all:

Right now is wrong, and wrong that was is right,

As all things else in time are chaunged quight.

Ne wonder; for the heauens reuolution

Is wandred farre from[241]where it first was pight,

And so doe make contrarie constitution

Of all this lower world, toward his dissolution.

For who so list into the heauens looke,vAnd search the courses of the rowling spheares,Shall find that from the point, where they first tookeTheir setting forth[242], in these few thousand yearesThey all are wandred much; that plaine appeares.For that same golden fleecy Ram, which borePhrixusandHellefrom their stepdames feares,Hath now forgot, where he was plast of yore,And shouldred hath the Bull, which fayreEuropabore.

For who so list into the heauens looke,v

And search the courses of the rowling spheares,

Shall find that from the point, where they first tooke

Their setting forth[242], in these few thousand yeares

They all are wandred much; that plaine appeares.

For that same golden fleecy Ram, which bore

PhrixusandHellefrom their stepdames feares,

Hath now forgot, where he was plast of yore,

And shouldred hath the Bull, which fayreEuropabore.

And eke the Bull hath with his bow-bent horneviSo hardly butted those two twinnes ofIoue,That they haue crusht the Crab, and quite him borneInto the greatNemæanlions groue.So now all range, and doe at randon roueOut of their proper places farre away,And all this world with them amisse doe moue,And all his creatures from their course astray,Till they arriue at their last ruinous decay.

And eke the Bull hath with his bow-bent hornevi

So hardly butted those two twinnes ofIoue,

That they haue crusht the Crab, and quite him borne

Into the greatNemæanlions groue.

So now all range, and doe at randon roue

Out of their proper places farre away,

And all this world with them amisse doe moue,

And all his creatures from their course astray,

Till they arriue at their last ruinous decay.

Ne is that same great glorious lampe of light,viiThat doth enlumine all these lesser fyres,In better case, ne keepes his course more right,But is miscaried with the other Spheres.For since the terme of fourteene hundred yeres,That learnedPtolomæehis hight did take,He is declyned from that marke of theirs,Nigh thirtie minutes to the Southerne lake;That makes me feare in time he will vs quite forsake.

Ne is that same great glorious lampe of light,vii

That doth enlumine all these lesser fyres,

In better case, ne keepes his course more right,

But is miscaried with the other Spheres.

For since the terme of fourteene hundred yeres,

That learnedPtolomæehis hight did take,

He is declyned from that marke of theirs,

Nigh thirtie minutes to the Southerne lake;

That makes me feare in time he will vs quite forsake.

And if to those Ægyptian wisards old,viiiWhich in Star-read were wont haue best insight,Faith may be giuen, it is by them told,That since the time they first tooke the Sunnes hight,Foure times his place he shifted hath in sight,And twice hath risen, where he now doth West,And wested twice, where he ought rise aright.But most isMarsamisse of all the rest,And next to him oldSaturne, that was wont be best.

And if to those Ægyptian wisards old,viii

Which in Star-read were wont haue best insight,

Faith may be giuen, it is by them told,

That since the time they first tooke the Sunnes hight,

Foure times his place he shifted hath in sight,

And twice hath risen, where he now doth West,

And wested twice, where he ought rise aright.

But most isMarsamisse of all the rest,

And next to him oldSaturne, that was wont be best.

For duringSaturnesancient raigne it’s sayd,ixThat all the world with goodnesse did abound:All loued vertue, no man was affraydOf force, ne fraud in wight was to be found:No warre was knowne, no dreadfull trompets sound,Peace vniuersall rayn’d mongst men and beasts,And all things freely grew out of the ground:Iustice sate high ador’d with solemne feasts,And to all people did diuide her dred beheasts.

For duringSaturnesancient raigne it’s sayd,ix

That all the world with goodnesse did abound:

All loued vertue, no man was affrayd

Of force, ne fraud in wight was to be found:

No warre was knowne, no dreadfull trompets sound,

Peace vniuersall rayn’d mongst men and beasts,

And all things freely grew out of the ground:

Iustice sate high ador’d with solemne feasts,

And to all people did diuide her dred beheasts.

Most sacred vertue she of all the rest,xResembling God in his imperiall might;Whose soueraine powre is herein most exprest,That both to good and bad he dealeth right,And all his workes with Iustice hath bedight.That powre he also doth to Princes lend,And makes them like himselfe in glorious sight,To sit in his owne seate, his cause to end,And rule his people right, as he doth recommend.

Most sacred vertue she of all the rest,x

Resembling God in his imperiall might;

Whose soueraine powre is herein most exprest,

That both to good and bad he dealeth right,

And all his workes with Iustice hath bedight.

That powre he also doth to Princes lend,

And makes them like himselfe in glorious sight,

To sit in his owne seate, his cause to end,

And rule his people right, as he doth recommend.

Dread Souerayne Goddesse, that doest highest sitxiIn seate of iudgement, in th’Almighties stead[243],And with magnificke might and wondrous witDoest to thy people righteous doome aread,That furthest Nations filles with awfull dread,Pardon the boldnesse of thy basest thrall,That dare discourse of so diuine a read,As thy great iustice praysed ouer all:The instrument whereof loe here thyArtegall[244].

Dread Souerayne Goddesse, that doest highest sitxi

In seate of iudgement, in th’Almighties stead[243],

And with magnificke might and wondrous wit

Doest to thy people righteous doome aread,

That furthest Nations filles with awfull dread,

Pardon the boldnesse of thy basest thrall,

That dare discourse of so diuine a read,

As thy great iustice praysed ouer all:

The instrument whereof loe here thyArtegall[244].

FOOTNOTES:[238]Proem i 3 prime.1596[239]9 worse and worse1609[240]ii 2 at earst] as earst1611[241]iv 7 from,1596,1609[242]v 4 foorth1609[243]xi 2 stead] place1596[244]9Arthegall1609 passim

[238]Proem i 3 prime.1596

[239]9 worse and worse1609

[240]ii 2 at earst] as earst1611

[241]iv 7 from,1596,1609

[242]v 4 foorth1609

[243]xi 2 stead] place1596

[244]9Arthegall1609 passim

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