CONTAYNING THE LEGEND OF ARTEGALL OR OF JUSTICE.
So oft as I with state of present time
The image of the antique world compare,
When as mans age was in his freshest prime,
And the first blossome of faire vertue bare;
Such oddes I finde twixt those, and these
For that which all men then did vertue call, Is now cald vice; and that which vice was hight,
Is now hight vertue, and so us'd of all:
Right now is wrong, and wrong that was is
right;
As that, through long continuance of his course, As all things else in time are chaunged quight:
Me seemes the world is runne quite out of square Ne wonder; for the heavens revolution
From the first point of his appointed sourse; Is wandred farre from where it first was
And being once amisse growes daily wourse
And so doe make contrarie constitution
Of all this lower world, toward his dissolu-
tion.
For who so list into the heavens looke,
And search the courses of the rowling spheres,
Shall find that from the point where they first
tooke
Their setting forth, in these few thousand yeares
They all are wandred much; that plaine ap-
peares :
For that same golden fleecy Ram, which bore
Phrixus and Helle from their stepdames
Hath row forgot where he was plast of yore, And shouldred hath the Bull which fayre Europa bore:
And eke the Bull hath with his bow-bent
So hardly butted those two twinnes of Jove,
That they have crusht the Crab, and quite
him borne
Into the great Nemæan lions grove.
So now all range, and doe at randon rove
Out of their proper places farre away, [move
And all this world with them amisse doe
And all his creatures from their course astray,
Till they arrive at their last ruinous decay.
All loved vertue, no man was affrayd
Of force, ne fraud in wight was to be found:
No warre was knowne, no dreadfull trompets
sound;
Ne is that same great glorious lampe of Peace universall rayn'd mongst men and beasts,
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 learned Ptolomae his 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 us quite
forsake.
And if to those Egyptian wisards old,
And all things freely grew out of the ground:
Justice sate high ador'd with solemne feasts,
And to all people did divide her dred be-
heasts:
Most sacred vertue she of all the rest,
Resembling God in his.imperiall might;
Whose soveraine powre is herein most ex-
prest,
And all his workes with Justice hath bedight.
That both to good and bad he dealeth right,
That powre he also doth to Princes lend,
And makes them like himselfe in glorious
sight
Which in Star-read were wont have best in- To sit in his own seate, his cause to end,
Faith may be given, 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 is Mars amisse of all the rest,
And next to him old Saturne, that was wont
be best.
For during Saturnes ancient raigne it's sayd That all the world with goodnes se did abound:
Artegall trayn'd in Justice lore
Irenaes quest pursewed;
He doth avenge on Sanglier
His Ladies bloud embrewed.
THOUGH vertue then were held in highest
price,
In those old times of which I doe entreat,
Yet then likewise the wicked seede of vice
Began to spring; which shortly grew full
great,
[beat
And with their boughes the gentle plants did
But evermore some of the vertuous race
Rose up, inspired with heroicke heat,
That cropt the branches of the sient base,
Such first was Bacchus, that with furious
might
All th' East, before untam'd, did over-ronne,
And wrong repressed, and establisht right,
Which lawlesse men had formerly fordonne:
There Justice first her princely rule begonne.
Next Hercules his like ensample shewed,
Who all the West with equall conquest wonne,
And monstrous tyrants with his club sub-
dewed:
And with strong hand their fruitful rancknes The club of Justice dread with kingly powre
Ana such was he of whom I have to tell, The Champion of true Justice, Artegall : Whom (as ye lately mote remember well) An hard adventure, which did then befall, Into redoubted perill forth did call; That was to succour a distressed Dame Whom a strong tyrant did unjustly thrall, And from the heritage, which she did clame, Did with strong hand withhold; Grantorto was his name.
Wherefore the Lady, which Irena hight,
Did to the Faery Queene her way addresse,
To whom complayning her afflicted plight,
She her besought of gratious redresse.
That soveraine Queene, that mightie Em-
peresse,
Whose glorie is to aide all suppliants pore,
And of weake Princes to be Patronesse,
Chose Artegall to right her to restore;
For that to her he seem'd best skild in right-
eous lore.
For Artegall in justice was upbrought Even from the cradle of his infancie,
Upon wyld beasts, which she in woods did find With wrongfull powre oppressing others of their kind.
Thus she him trayned, and thus she him taught
In all the skill of deeming wrong and right,
Untill the ripenesse of mans yeares he raught;
That even wilde beasts did feare his awfull sight,
And men admyr'd his over-ruling might;
Ne any liv'd on ground that durst withstand
His dreadfull heast, much lesse him match in
fight,
Or bide the horror of his wreakfull hand, When so he list in wrath lift up his steely brand,
Which steely brand, to make him dreaded more,
She gave unto him, gotten by her slight
And earnest search, where it was kept in store
In Joves eternall house, unwist of wight,
Since he himselfe it us'd in that great fight
Against the Titans, that whylome rebelled
Gainst highest heaven: Chryasor it was hight;
Chrysaor, that all other swords excelled,
And all the depth of rightfull doome was Well prov'd in that same day when Jove those
But to him leaping lent him such a knocke, That on the ground he layd him like a sencelesse blocke.
But, ere he could him selfe recure againe,
Him in his iron paw he seized had;
That when he wak't out of his warelesse paine,
He found him selfe unwist so ill bestad,
That lim he could not wag: Thence he him
lad,
Bound like a beast appointed to the stall:
The sight whereof the Lady sore adrad,
And fain'd to fly for feare of being thrall;
But he her quickly stayd, and forst to wend
withall.
When to the place they came, where Artegall
By that same carefull Squire did then abide,
He gently gan him to demaund of all
That did betwixt him and that Squire betide
Who with sterne countenance and indignant
pride
Did auns were, that of all he guiltlesse stood,
And his accuser thereuppon defide;
For neither he did shed that Ladies bloud,
Nor tooke away his love, but his owne proper
good.
Whom when so willing Artegall perceaved;
Not so, thou Squire,' (he sayd) 'but thine I
deeme
The living Lady, which from thee he reaved,
For worthy thou of her doest rightly seeme.
And you, Sir Knight, that love so light es-
teeme,
Well did the Squire perceive him selfe too Take here your owne, that doth you best be-
As that ye would for little leave the same,
To auns were his defiaunce in the field,
And rather chose his challenge off to breake,,
Then to approve his right with speare and
shield,
And rather guilty chose himselfe to yield:
But Artegall by signes perceiving plaine
That he it was not which that Lady kild,
But that strange Knight, the fairer love to
gaine,
Didst cast about by sleight the truth thereout
to straine;
Your owne dead Ladies head, to tell abrode
And with it beare the burden of defame,
your shame.'
But Sangliere disdained much his doome,
And sternly gan repine at his beheast;
Ne would for ought obay, as did become,
To beare that Ladies head before his breast,
Until that Talus had his pride represt,
And forced him, maulgre, it up to reare.
Who when he saw it bootelesse to resist,
He tooke it up, and thence with him did beare,
As rated Spaniell takes his burden up for feare.
Much did that Squire Sir Artegall adore
For his great justice, held in high regard,
And as his Squire him offred evermore
To serve, for want of other meete reward,
And wend with him on his adventure hard;
But he thereto would by no meanes consent,
But leaving him forth on his journey far'd:
Ne wight with him but onely Talus went;
They two enough t' encounter an whole Regi-
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