§ 42. Defamation.

HIM in a narrow place he overtook,

And fierce affailing forc't him turn againe; Sternly he turn'd again, when he him ftrooke With his fharp fteele, and ran at him amaine With open mouth, that feemed to containe

A full good peck within the utmost brim, All fet with iron teeth with ranges twaine,

That terrified his foes, and armed him, Appearing like the mouth of Orcus, grifly grim. And therein were a thousand tongues empight, Of fundry kindes, and fundry quality;

Some were of dogs, that barked day and night, And fome of cats, that wrawling ftill did cry: And fome of bars, that groynd continually;

And fome of tygers that did feem to gren And fnar at all that ever paffed by:

But most of them were tongues of mortal men, That fpake reproachfully, not caring where nor when.

And then amongst were mingled here and there

The tongues of ferpents, with three forked ftings,
That fpat out poifor, and bore bloudy gere
At all that came within his ravenings,
And fpake licentious words, and hateful things,
Of good and bad alike, of low and hie;
Ne Celars fpare. he a whit, nor kings,

But either blotted them with infamy,
Or bit them with his baneful teeth of injury.

$43. Defive.

AND him befide marcht amorous Defire, Who feem'd of riper years than th' other fwaine;

Yet was that other fwaine the elder fyre, And gave him being, common to them twaine : His garment was difquifed veryý væsne,

And his embroidered bonet fare awry;

For whatsoever good by any said,

Or done, the heard, the would ftrait-waies invent How to deprave, or flanderously upbraid,

Or to mifconftrue of a man's intent,

And turne to ill the thing that well was ment. Therefore the ufed often to refort

To common haunts, and companys frequent,

To hark what any one did good report, To.blot the fame with blame, or wreft in wicked fort.

And if that any ill fhe heard of any, She would it eke, and make it worfe by telling, That every matter worfe was for her melling: And take great joy to publifh it to many, Her name was hight Detraction, and her dwelling Was near to Envy, even her neighbour next; A wicked hagg, and Envy's felf excelling

In mifchiefe: for, her felf the only vext: But this fame, both herfelf and others eke perplext.

Her face was ugly, and her mouth diffort,
Foaming with poyton round about her gills,
In which her curfed tengue (full sharp and
short)

Or cruelly does wound whom-fo the wills:
Appear'd like afpis fting, that clofely kills,

A.diftaffe in her other hand fhe had,
Upon the which the little spinnes, but spils,
And faines to weave falfe tales and leafings bad,
To throw among the good, when others had
difprad.

§ 45. Dijcord. FIREBRAND of hell, first tin'd in Phlegeton, By thousand furies, and from thence outthrown,

Into this world, to work confusion, And fett it all on fire (by force unknown), Is wicked Difcord, whofe fmall parkes once blowne,

None but a god, or godlike man, can flake: Such as was Orpheus, that when ftrife was grown Among thofe famous impes of Greece, did take

ftrain,

make.

HAR

§ 46. Difcord's House.

ARD by the gates of hell her dwelling is,
There whereas all plagues and harmes abound,
Which punish wicked men, that walk amils:
It is a dark fome delve farre under ground,
With thornes and barren brakes environd round,
That none the fame way may out-win;
Yet many ways to enter may be found,

But none to iffue forth when one is in;
For difcord harder is to end than to begin.
And all within the riven walles were hung
With ragged monuments of times fore-past,

Of which, the fad effects of difcord fung: There were rent robes, and broken feepters plac't; Altars defil'd, and holy things defac't,

Difhevered fpears, and fhields ytorne in twaine, Great cittys ranfackt, and strong caftles ras't,

Nations captived, and huge armies flaine: Of all which ruines there fome reliques did re

maine.

There was the figne of antique Babylon,
Of fatal Thebes, of Rome that raigned long,
Of facred Salem, and fad Ilion,

For memory of which, on high there hong
The golden apple (cause of all their wrong)

For which the three faire goddefes did ftrive:
There alfo was the name of Nimrod strong,
Of Alexander, and his princes five,
Which hard to them the fpoiles which he had
got alive.

And there the reliques of the drunken fray, The which amongst the Lapithees befell,

And of the bloody feaft, which fent away So many centaurs drunken fouls to hell, That under great Alcides' furie fell:

And of the dreadful difcord, which did dive The noble Argonauts to out-rage fell,

That each of life fought other to deprive, All mindlefs of the golden-fleece which made them ftrive.

And eke of private perfons many moe,
That were too long a worke to count them all;
Some of fworne friends, that did their faith
forgoe;

Some of borne brethren, prov'd unnatural;
Some of deare lovers, foes perpetual;

Witness their broken bands there to be feen, Their girlonds rent, their bowres difpoiled all; The monuments whereof there byding been, As plaine as at the first, when they were fresh and green.

Such was the house within; but all without

The barren ground was full of wicked weeds,
Which the herfelf had fowen all about,
Now growen great, at firft of little feedes,
The fecdes of evil words, and factious deedes;
Which when to ripenefs due they growen are,
Bring forth an infinite increase, that breedes

Tumultuous trouble, and contentious jarre, The which most often end in blood-fhed and in warre.

And thofe fame curfed feeds do alfo ferve To her for bread, and yield a living food :

For life it is to her, when others fterve Through mifchievous debate, and deadly feood, That the may fuck their life, and drink their blood,

With which the from her childhood had beenfed, For the at firft was born of hellith brood,

And by infernal furies nourished, That by her monstrous fhape might easily be read. Her-face moft foule and filthy was to fee, With fquinted eyes contrary ways extended,

And loathly mouth, unmeet a mouth to be; That nought but gall and venim comprehended, And wicked words that God and man offended: Her lying tongue was in two parts divided, And both the parts did fpeak, and both contended; And as her tongue, fo was her heart decided, That never thought one thing, but doubly still was guided.

Als as the double speake, fo heard she double, With matchlefs eares deformed and diftort,

Fil'd with falfe rumours, and feditious trouble, Bred in affemblies of the vulgar fort, That ftill are led with every light report.

And as her eares, fo eke her feet were odde, And much unlike; th' one long, the other fhort, And both misplac't; that when th' one forward

gode,

The other back retired, and contrary trode.

Likewife unequal were her handes twaine; That one did reach, the other pusht away:

The one did make, the other mar'd againe, And fought to bring all things unto decay; Whereby great riches, gathered many a day,

She in thort space did often bring to nought, And their poffeffours often did difmay.

For all her study was, and all her thought, How the might overthrowe the thing that concord wrought.

So much her malice did her might furpafs,
That even th' Almighty felf the did maligne,
Because to man to merciful he was,

And unto all his creatures fo benigne,
Sith the her felf was of his grace indigne:

For all this world's faire workmanship she tride, Unto his laft confufion to bring,

And that great golden chain quite to divide, With which it bleffed concord hath together tide.

Or that fame dainty lad, that was fo deare

To great Alcides, that when as he did hide, He wailed woman-like with many a teare, And every wood and every valley wide He fill'd with Hylas' name, the nymphes cke Hylas cride.

His garment neither was of filk nor fay, But painted plumes, in goodly order dight, Like as the fun-burnt Indians do array Their tawny bodies in their proudest plight: As thofe fame plumes, fo feem'd he vain and light, That by his gate might easily appeare: For ftill he far'd as dancing in delight,

And in his hand a windy fan did beare, That in the idle aire he mov'd still here and there.;

§ 58. Fear.

NEXT him was Feare, all arm'd from top to toe, Yet thought himfelf not fafe enough thereby, But fear'd each fhadow moving to and fro; And his own armes when glitt'ring he did spy, Or clafhing heard, he faft away did fly,

As afhes pale of hue, and wingy-heel'd; And evermore on danger fixt his eye,

'Gainft whom he always bent a brazen shield, Which his right hand unarmed fearfully did wield.

§ 59. Ship.

AS when a fhip that flies fair under faile,

And hidden rock efcaped hath unawares, That lay in wait her wrack for to bewaile, The mariner yet half amazed stares At peril paft, and yet it doubt ne dares To joy at his fool-happy over fight. Another.

As a tall fhip toffed in troublous feas, Whome raging winds, threating to make the prey Of the rough rocks, do diverfly difcafe, Meets two contrary billows by the way, That her on either fide do fore afsay,

And boaft to fwallow her in greedy grave; She, fcorning both their fpights, does make wide

$61. Fire.

LIKE as a fire, the which in hollow cave
Hath long been underkept and down supprest,
And grudge in fo ftreight prifon to be preft,
With murmurous difdain doth inly rave,

At laft breakes forth with furious unreft,

And ftrives to mount unto his native feat; All that carft it hinder and moleft,

It now devours with flames and scorching heat, And carries into fmoake with rage and horror great.

& 62. Firf Age.

THE antique world, in his first flowing youth,
Found no defect in his Creator's grace;
But with glad thanks, and unreproved truth,
The gifts of foveraigne bounty did embrace:
Like angels life was then man's happy cafe;

But later ages pride (like corn-fed steed)
Abus'd her plenty, and fat-fwoln encrease,
To all licentious luft, and gan exceed
The measure of her meane, and natural first need.
Then gan a curfed hand the quiet wombe
Of his great grandmother with steele to wound,
And the hid treatures in her facred tombe
With facrilege to dig. Therein he found
Fountaines of gold and filver to abound,

Of which the matter of his huge defire, And pompous pride eftfoones he did compound, Then avarice gan through his veines to infpire His greedy flames, and kendle life-devouring fire.