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Before the threshold dreadfull Cerberus
His three deformed heads did lay along,
Curled with thousand adders venemous,
And lilled forth his bloudie flaming tong:
At them he gan to reare his bristles strong,
And felly gnarre, vntill dayes enemy
Did him appease; then downe his taile he hong
And suffered them to passen quietly:

There was Ixion turned on a wheele,
For daring tempt the Queene of heauen to sin;
And Sisyphus an huge round stone did reele
Against an hill, ne might from labour lin;
There thirstie Tantalus hong by the chin;
And Tityus fed a vulture on his maw;
Typhœus ioynts were stretched on a gin,
Theseus condemned to endlesse slouth by law,
And fifty sisters water in leake vessels draw.

36

They all beholding worldly wights in place, Leaue off their worke, vnmindfull of their smart, To gaze on them; who forth by them doe pace, Till they be come vnto the furthest part: Where was a Caue ywrought by wondrous art, Deepe, darke, vneasie, dolefull, comfortlesse, In which sad Æsculapius farre a part Emprisond was in chaines remedilesse,

For that Hippolytus rent corse he did redresse.

37

Hippolytus a iolly huntsman was,
That wont in charet chace the foming Bore;
He all his Peeres in beautie did surpas,
But Ladies loue as losse of time forbore:
His wanton stepdame loued him the more,
But when she saw her offred sweets refused
Her loue she turnd to hate, and him before
His father fierce of treason false accused,
And with her gealous termes his open eares
abused.

38

Who all in rage his Sea-god syre besought,
Some cursed vengeance on his sonne to cast:
From surging gulf two monsters straight were
brought,

With dread whereof his chasing steedes aghast,
Both charet swift and huntsman ouercast.
His goodly corps on ragged cliffs yrent,
Was quite dismembred, and his members
chast

Scattered on euery mountaine, as he went, That of Hippolytus was left no moniment.

39

His cruell stepdame seeing what was donne,
Her wicked dayes with wretched knife did end,
In death auowing th'innocence of her sonne.
Which hearing his rash Syre, began to rend
His haire, and hastie tongue, that did offend :
Tho gathering vp the relicks of his smart
By Dianes meanes, who was Hippolyts frend,
Them brought to Æsculape, that by his art

For she in hell and heauen had power equally. | Did heale themall againe, and ioyned euery part. Great paines, and greater praise, both neuer to Till scornd of God and man a shamefull death The dreadfull spectacle of that sad house of With fawning wordes he courted her a while, Pride.

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In medicine, that else hath to thee wonne

And them long time before, great Nimrod was,
That first the world with sword and fire warrayd;
And after him old Ninus farre did pas
In princely pompe, of all the world obayd;
There also was that mightie Monarch layd
Low vnder all, yet aboue all in pride,
That name of natiue syre did fowle vpbrayd,
And would as Ammons sonne be magnifide,

be donne.

44

Her words preuaild: And then the learned leach His cunning hand gan to his wounds to lay, And all things else, the which his art did teach: Which hauing seene, from thence arose away The mother of dread darknesse, and let stay Aueugles sonne there in the leaches cure, And backe returning tooke her wonted way, To runne her timely race, whilst Phœbus pure In westerne waues his wearie wagon did recure.

he dide.

49

All these together in one heape were throwne,
Like carkases of beasts in butchers stall.
And in another corner wide were strowne
The antique ruines of the Romaines fall :
Great Romulus the Grandsyre of them all,
Proud Tarquin, and too lordly Lentulus,
Stout Scipio, and stubborne Hanniball,
Ambitious Sylla, and sterne Marius,

High Cæsar, great Pompey, and fierce Antonius.

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Scarse could he footing find in that fowle way,
For many corses, like a great Lay-stall
Of murdred men which therein strowed lay,
Without remorse, or decent funerall :
Which all through that great Princesse pride
did fall

And came to shamefull end. And them beside
Forth ryding vnderneath the castell wall,
A donghill of dead carkases he spide,

Cant. VI.

From lawlesse lust by wondrous grace fayre Vna is releast :

Whom saluage nation does adore, and learnes her wise beheast.

I

As when a ship, that flyes faire vnder saile,
An hidden rocke escaped hath vnwares,
That lay in waite her wrack for to bewaile,
The Marriner yet halfe amazed stares
At perill past, and yet in doubt ne dares
To ioy at his foole-happie ouersight :
So doubly is distrest twixt ioy and cares
The dreadlesse courage of this Elfin knight,
Hauing escapt so sad ensamples in his sight.

2

Yet sad he was that his too hastie speed
The faire Duess' had forst him leaue behind;
And yet more sad, that Vna his deare dreed
Her truth had staind with treason so vnkind;
Yet crime in her could neuer creature find,
But for his loue, and for her owne selfe sake,
She wandred had from one to other Ynd,
Him for to seeke, ne euer would forsake,
Till her vnwaresthe fierce Sansloy did ouertake.

3

Who after Archimagoes fowle defeat,
Led her away into a forrest wilde,
And turning wrathfull fire to lustfull heat,
With beastly sin thought her to haue defilde,
And made the vassall of his pleasures vilde.
Yet first he cast by treatie, and by traynes,
Her to perswade, that stubborne fort to yilde:
For greater conquest of hard loue he gaynes,
That workes it to his will, then he that it con-
straines.

4

And looking louely, and oft sighing sore,
Her constant hart did tempt with diuerseguile:
But wordes, and lookes, and sighes she did

abhore,

As rocke of Diamond stedfast euermore.

Yet for to feed his fyrie lustfull eye,

He snatcht the vele, that hong her face before; Then gan her beautie shine, as brightest skye, And burnt his beastly hart t'efforce her chastitye.

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