The Faerie Queene (26 page)

29
Both roofe, and floore, and wals were all of gold,

But ouergrowne with dust and old decay,

And hid in darkenesse, that none could behold

The hew thereof: for vew of chearefull day

Did neuer in that house it selfe display,

But a faint shadow of vncertain light;

Such as a lamp, whose life does fade away:

Or as the Moone cloathed with clowdy night,

Does shew to him, that walkes in feare and sad affright.

30
In all that rowme was nothing to be seene,

But huge great yron chests and coffers strong,

All bard with double bends, that none could weene

Them to efforce by violence or wrong;

On euery side they placed were along.

But all the ground with sculs was scattered,

And dead mens bones, which round about were flong,

Whose liues, it seemed, whilome there were shed,

And their vile carcases now left vnburied.

31
They forward passe, ne
Guyon
yet spoke word,

Till that they came vnto an yron dore,

Which to them opened of his owne accord,

And shewd of richesse such exceeding store,

As eye of man did neuer see before;

Ne euer could within one place be found,

Though all the wealth, which is, or was of yore,

Could gathered be through all the world around,

And that aboue were added to that vnder ground.

32
The charge thereof vnto a couetous Spright

Commaunded was, who thereby did attend,

And warily awaited day and night,

From other couetous feends it to defend,

Who it to rob and ransacke did intend.

Then
Mammon
turning to that warriour, said;

Loe here the worldes blis, loe here the end,

To which all men do ayme, rich to be made:

Such grace now to be happy, is before thee laid.

33
Certes (said he) I n'ill thine offred grace,

Ne to be made so happy do intend:

Another blis before mine eyes I place,

Another happinesse, another end.

To them, that list, these base regardes I lend:

But I in armes, and in atchieuements braue,

Do rather choose my flitting houres to spend,

And to be Lord of those, that riches haue,

Then them to haue my selfe, and be their seruile sclaue.

34
Thereat the feend his gnashing teeth did grate,

And grieu'd, so long to lacke his greedy pray;

For well he weened, that so glorious bayte

Would tempt his guest, to take thereof assay:

Had he so doen, he had him snatcht away,

More light then Culuer in the Faulcons fist.

Eternall God thee saue from such decay.

But whenas
Mammon
saw his purpose mist,

Him to entrap vnwares another way he wist.

35
Thence forward he him led, and shortly brought

Vnto another rowme, whose dore forthright,

To him did open, as it had beene taught:

Therein an hundred raunges weren pight,

And hundred fornaces all burning bright;

By euery fornace many feends did bide,

Deformed creatures, horrible in sight,

And euery feend his busie paines applide,

To melt the golden metall, ready to be tride.

36
One with great bellowes gathered filling aire,

And with forst wind the fewell did inflame;

Another did the dying bronds repaire

With yron toungs, and sprinckled oft the same

With liquid waues, fiers
Vulcans
rage to tame,

Who maistring them, renewd his former heat;

Some scumd the drosse, that from the metall came;

Some stird the molten owre with ladles great;

And euery one did swincke, and euery one did sweat.

37
But when as earthly wight they present saw,

Glistring in armes and battailous aray,

From their whot worke they did themselues withdraw

To wonder at the sight: for till that day,

They neuer creature saw, that came that way.

Their staring eyes sparckling with feruent fire,

And vgly shapes did nigh the man dismay,

That were it not for shame, he would retire,

Till that him thus bespake their soueraigne Lord & sire.

38
Behold, thou Faeries sonne, with mortall eye,

That liuing eye before did neuer see:

The thing, that thou didst craue so earnestly,

To weet, whence all the wealth late shewd by mee,

Proceeded, lo now is reueald to thee.

Here is the fountaine of the worldes good:

Now therefore, if thou wilt enriched bee,

Auise thee well, and chaunge thy wilfull mood,

Least thou perhaps hereafter wish, and be withstood.

39
Suffise it then, thou Money God (quoth hee)

That all thine idle offers I refuse.

All that I need I haue; what needeth mee

To couet more, then I haue cause to vse?

With such vaine shewes thy worldlings vile abuse:

But giue me leaue to follow mine emprise.

Mammon
was much displeasd, yet no'te he chuse,

But beare the rigour of his bold mesprise,

And thence him forward led, him further to entise.

40
He brought him through a darksome narrow strait,

To a broad gate, all built of beaten gold:

The gate was open, but therein did, wait

A sturdy villein, striding stiffe and bold,

As if that highest God defie he would;

In his right hand an yron club he held,

But he himselfe was all of golden mould,

Yet had both life and sence, and well could weld

That cursed weapon, when his cruell foes he queld.

41
Disdayne
he called was, and did disdaine

To be so cald, and who so did him call:

Sterne was his looke, and full of stomacke vaine,

His portaunce terrible, and stature tall,

Far passing th'hight of men terrestriall;

Like an huge Gyant of the
Titans
race,

That made him scorne all creatures great and small,

And with his pride all others powre deface:

More fit amongst blacke fiendes, then men to haue his place.

42
Soone as those glitterand armes he did espye,

That with their brightnesse made that darknesse light,

His harmefull club he gan to hurtle hye,

And threaten batteill to the Faery knight;

Who likewise gan himselfe to batteill dight,

Till
Mammon
did his hasty hand withhold,

And counseld him abstaine from perilous fight:

For nothing might abash the villein bold,

Ne mortall steele emperce his miscreated mould.

43
So hauing him with reason pacifide,

And the fiers Carle commaunding to forbeare,

He brought him in. The rowme was large and wide,

As it some Gyeld or solemne Temple weare:

Many great golden pillours did vpbeare

The massy roofe, and riches huge sustayne,

And euery pillour decked was full deare

With crownes and Diademes, & titles vaine,

Which mortall Princes wore, whiles they on earth did rayne.

44
A route of people there assembled were,

Of euery sort and nation vnder skye,

Which with great vprore preaced to draw nere

To th'vpper part, where was aduaunced hye

A stately siege of soueraigne maiestye;

And thereon sat a woman gorgeous gay,

And richly clad in robes of royaltye,

That neuer earthly Prince in such aray

His glory did enhaunce, and pompous pride display.

45
Her face right wondrous faire did seeme to bee,

That her broad beauties beam great brightnes threw

Through the dim shade, that all men might it see:

Yet was not that same her owne natiue hew,

But wrought by art and counterfetted shew,

Thereby more louers vnto her to call;

Nath'lesse most heauenly faire in deed and vew

She by creation was, till she did fall;

Thenceforth she sought for helps, to cloke her crime withall

46
There, as in glistring glory she did sit,

She held a great gold chaine ylincked well,

Whose vpper end to highest heauen was knit,

And lower part did reach to lowest Hell;

And all that preace did round about her swell,

To catchen hold of that long chaine, thereby

To clime aloft, and others to excell:

That was
Ambition,
rash desire to sty,

And euery lincke thereof a step of dignity.

47
Some thought to raise themselues to high degree,

By riches and vnrighteous reward,

Some by close shouldring, some by flatteree;

Others through friends, others for base regard;

And all by wrong wayes for themselues prepard.

Those that were vp themselues, kept others low,

Those that were low themselues, held others hard,

Ne suffred them to rise or greater grow,

But euery one did striue his fellow downe to throw.

48
Which when as
Guyon
saw, he gan inquire,

What meant that preace about that Ladies throne,

And what she was that did so high aspire.

Him
Mammon
answered; That goodly one,

Whom all that folke with such contention,

Do flocke about, my deare, my daughter is;

Honour and dignitie from her alone,

Deriued are, and all this worldes blis

For which ye men do striue: few get, but many mis.

49
And faire
Philotime
she rightly hight,

The fairest wight that wonneth vnder skye,

But that this darksome neather world her light

Doth dim with horrour and deformitie,

Worthy of heauen and hye felicitie,

From whence the gods haue her for enuy thrust:

But sith thou hast found fauour in mine eye,

Thy spouse I will her make, if that thou lust,

That she may thee aduance for workes and merites iust.

50
Gramercy
Mammon
(said the gentle knight)

For so great grace and offred high estate;

But I, that am fraile flesh and earthly wight;

Vnworthy match for such immortall mate

My selfe well wote, and mine vnequall fate;

And were I not, yet is my trouth yplight,

And loue auowd to other Lady late,

That to remoue the same I haue no might:

To chaunge loue causelesse is reproch to warlike knight.

51
Mammon
emmoued was with inward wrath;

Yet forcing it to faine, him forth thence led

Through griesly shadowes by a beaten path,

Into a gardin goodly garnished

With hearbs and fruits, whose kinds mote not be red:

Not such, as earth out of her fruitfull woomb

Throwes forth to men, sweet and well sauoured,

But direfull deadly blacke both leafe and bloom,

Fit to adorne the dead, and decke the drery toombe.

52
There moumfull
Cypresse
grew in greatest store,

And trees of bitter
Gall,
and
Heben
sad,

Dead sleeping
Poppy,
and blacke
Hellebore,

Cold
Coloquintida,
and
Tetra
mad,

Mortall
Samnitis,
and
Cicuta
bad,

Which with th' vniust
Atheniens
made to dy

Wise
Socrates,
who thereof quaffing glad

Pourd out his life, and last Philosophy

To the faire
Critias
his dearest Belamy.

53
The
Gardin
of
Proserpina
this hight;

And in the midst thereof a siluer seat,

With a thicke Arber goodly ouer dight,

In which she often vsd from open heat

Her selfe to shroud, and pleasures to entreat.

Next thereunto did grow a goodly tree,

With braunches broad dispred and body great,

Clothed with leaues, that none the wood mote see

And loaden all with fruit as thicke as it might bee.

54
Their fruit were golden apples glistring bright,

That goodly was their glory to behold,

On earth like neuer grew, ne liuing wight

Like euer saw, but they from hence were sold;

For those, which
Hercules
with conquest bold

Got from great
Atlas
daughters, hence began,

And planted there, did bring forth fruit of gold:

And those with which th'
Eubœan
young man wan

Swift
Atalanta,
when through craft he her out ran.

55
Here also sprong that goodly golden fruit,

With which
Acontius
got his louer trew,

Whom he had long time sought with fruitlesse suit:

Here eke that famous golden Apple grew,

The which emongst the gods false
Ate
threw;

For which th'
Idœan
Ladies disagreed,

Till partiall
Paris
dempt it
Venus
dew,

And had of her, faire
Helen
for his meed,

That many noble
Greekes
and
Troians
made to bleed.

56
The warlike Elfe, much wondred at this tree,

So faire and great, that shadowed all the ground,

And his broad braunches, laden with rich fee,

Did stretch themselues without the vtmost bound

Of this great gardin, compast with a mound,

Which ouer-hanging, they themselues did steepe,

In a blacke flood which flow'd about it round;