On whom he rode by the worlde so farre To me she saied she marueyled muche why That her greyhoundes shewed me that fauoure What was my name she asked me truely To whom I saied it was la graunde Amoure Besechyng you to be to me succoure To the tower of doctrine and also me tell Your proper name and where you do dwell My name quod she in all the world is knowen Iclipped Fame in euery region For I my horne in sundrye wise haue blowen After the deathe of many a champion And with my tongues haue made aye mencion Of their great actes agayne to reuiue In flamyng tongues for to abide on liue It was the custome of olde antiquitye When the golden world had domination And nature highe in her aucthoritie More stronger had her operation Then she hath nowe in her digression The people then did all their busye payne After their death in Fame to liue agayue Recorde of Saturne the first kyng of Crete Whiche in his youth throughe his diligence Founde first plowing of the landes swete And after this by his great sapience For the commen profite and beneuolence Of all metalles he made diuision One from an other by good prouision And then also as some Poetes fayne He founde shotyng and drawyng of the bowe Yet as of that I am nothynge certaine But for his cunnynge of hye degre and lowe He was well beloued as I do well knowe Throughe whose laboure and aye busy cure His fame shall liue and shall right long endure In whose time raigned also in Thessayle A parte of Grece the kyng Melizyus That was right strong and fierce in battaile By whose laboure as the storye she weth vs He brake first horses wilde and rigorious Teachyng his men on them right wel to ryde And he him selfe did first the horse bestryde Also Mynerue the right hardy Goddesse In the same time of so hyghe renowne Vainquished Pallas by her great worthines And first made harneys to laye his pride adowne Whose geeat defence in euery realme and towne Was spredde about for her hye chyualtye Whiche by her harneys wanne the victorye Dothe not remayne yet in remembraunce The famous actes of the noble Hercules That so many monsters put to vtteraunce By his great wisdome and hye prowes As the recule of Troye beareth good witnes That in his time he would no battayle take But for the wealthe of the commens sake Thus the whole mindes were euer fixt and set Of noble men in olde time to deuise Suche thinges as were to the cōmen profite For in that time suche was their goodly guise That after death their fame shoulde arise For to endure and abide in mynde As yet in bokes we maye them written fynde O ye estates surmouutyng in noblenes Remembre well the noble paynyms all Nowe by their labour they wanne the highnes Of worthy fame to raygne memoriall And them applyed euer in speciall Thinges to practise whiche should profite be To the comen wealth and their heires in fee. Of the swete report of Fame of the faire Lady la bel Pucel in the tower of musike Chap. ii AND after this Fame gan to expresse Of ieopardous waye to the tower perillous And of the beautye and the semelinesse Of la bel Pucell so gaye and glorious That dwelled in the tower so marueylous Unto which might come no maner of creature But by great laboure and hard aduenture For by the waye there lye in waite Gyantes great diffigured of nature That all deuoureth by their euil conceite Against whose strēgth there may no man endure They are so huge and strong out of measure With many serpentes foule and odious In sundry likenesse blacke and tedious But beyonde them a great sea there is Beyonde whiche sea there is a goodly land Most full of fruite replete with ioye and blisse Of right fine golde appeareth all the sande In this faire realme where the tower doth stand Made all of golde enameled aboute With noble stories whiche do appeare without In whiche dwelleth by great aucthoritye Of la bel Pucell whiche is so fayre and bryght To whom in beautye no peare I can see For lyke as Phebus aboue all starres in lyght When that he is in his spere aryght Dothe excede with his beames cleare So dothe her beauty aboue other appeare She is bothe good aye wise and vertuous And also discended of a noble lyne Ryche comely ryght meke andboūteous All maner vertues in her clearely shine No uyce of her maye ryght longe domyne And I dame Fame in euery Nacion Of her do make the same relation Her swete report so my hart set on fyre With brennyng loue most hote and feruent That her to see I had great desyre Saiynge to Fame O Ladye excellent I haue determined in my iudgement For la bel Pucell the most fayre ladye To passe the waye of so great ieopardye You shall quod Fame attayne the victory If you wyll do as I shal to you say And all my lesson retayne in memory To the tower of doctrine ye shall take your waye You are now wythin a dayes iourney Both these greyhoundes shal kepe you company Loke that you cherishe them full gentely And countenaunce the goodly portres Shall let you in full well and nobly And also she we you of the perfectnes Ofall the seuen sciences ryght notably There in your mynde you may ententifely Unto dame doctrine geue perfite audience Whiche shall enfourme you in euery science Fare well she sayed I may not nowe abide Walke on your way with all your whole delite To the tower of doctrine at this morowe tide Ye shall to morowe of it haue a syght Kepe on your waye nowe before you ryght For I must hence to specifye the dedes Of their worthines accordyng to their medes And with that she did from me departe Upon her stede swifter then the wynde When she was gone full wofull was my hart With inward trouble oppressed was my mynde Yet were the greyhoundes left with me behind Whiche did me comforte in my great vyage To the tower of doctrine with their fawning courage So forthe I went tossynge on my brayne Greatly musynge ouer hyll and vale The way was troublous ey nothing playne Tyll at the lalte I came to a dale Beholdyng Phebus declinyng lowe and pale With my greyhoundes in the fayre twy light I sate me downe for to rest me all nyght Slouthe vpon me so fast began to crepe That of fyne force I downe me layed Upon an hyll with my greyhoundes to slepe When I was downe I thought me well apayed And to my selfe these wordes then I sayed Who will attame sone to his iourneys ende To nourishe slouthe he may not condiscende ¶ Howe Fame departed from graunde Amoure and left wyth hym gouernaunce and Grace and howe he went to the tower of doctrine Ca. iii. THus thē I slept til that Auroras bemes Gan for to spreade about the firmament And the clere sūne w t his
perceueraunce Nor of the beginnyng can haue audience Then must narration begyn the sentence And if it be a little probable From any maner stedfast argument We order it for to be right stable And then we neuer begyn our sentment Recityng letters not conuenient But this commutation shoulde be rufused Without cause or thing make it be vsed This that I write is harde and couert To them that haue nothing intelligence Up so downe they make it oft transuert Or that they can knowe the experience Of this craft and facundious science By disposition the rethoricyan To make lawes ordinately began Without disposicion none order gan be For the disposition ordreth euery matter And geueth the place after the degree Without order without reason we clatter Where is no reason it vayleth not to chatter Disposition ordreth a tale dyrectlye In a perfect reason to conclude truely The fatall problemes of olde antiquitye Cloked with mist and with clowdes darke Ordered with reason and hye aucthoritye The trouth did shewe of all their couert warke Thus haue they made manye a noble clarke To disnul mischefe and inconuenience They made our lawes with great diligence Before the lawe in a tomblyng barge The people sayled without perfectnes Throughe the worlde all about at large They had no order nor no stedfastnes Tyil rethoricians founde iustice doubtles Ordeynyng kynges of right high dignitie Of all commens to haue the soueraintie The barge to stere with lawe and iustice Ouer the waues of this life transitorye To direct wronges and also preiudyce And tho that wil resist a contrarye Against their kyng by iustice openly For their rebellion and euill treason Shall suffer death by right and reason O what laude glory and great honoure Unto these poetes shalbe notified The whiche distilled aromatike lycoure Clensyng our syght with order purified Whose famous draughtes so exemplified Set vs in order grace and gouernaunce To lyue dyrectlye without encombraunce But many one the whiche is rude and dull Will despise their worke for lacke of cunnyng All in vayne they do so hale and pull When they therof lacke vnderstandyng They grope ouer where is no felyng So dull they are that they can not fynde This royall art for to perceyue in mynde Capitu. xi ANd then the thyrde parte is elocution When inuention hath the purpose wrought And set it in order by disposicion Without this thyrd part it vayleth ryght nought Thoughe it be founde and in order brought Yet Elocution wyth the helpe of Mercury The matter exorneth ryght well facundiously In fewe wordes swete and sentencious Depaynted wyth golde harde in construction To the artike eares swete and delicious The golden Rethoryke is good refection And to the reader ryght consolation As we do golde from copper purifye So that Elocution dothe right well clarifye The dulcet speache from the language rude Tellyng the tale in termes eloquent The barbary tongue it dothe farre exclude Electyng wordes whiche are expedient In latyn or in englyshe after the entent Encensyng out the aromatyke fume Our language rude to exile and consume But what auayleth euermore to sowe The precious stones among gruntyng hogges Draffe vnto them is more meter I trowe Let an hare and swyne be amonge curre dogges Thoughe to the hares were tyed great clogges The gentle beast they will regarde nothyng But to the swyne take course of runnyng TO cloke the sentence under misty fygures By many colours as I make relacion As the olde poetes couered their scriptures Of whiche the first is distribution That to the euyl for theyr abusion Dothe gyue payne and to the worthye Laude and prayse them for to magnifye Of beast or byrde they take a similitude In the condicion lyke to the partye Feble fayre or yet of fortitude And vnder coloure of this beast priuely The morall sence they cloke full subtillye In prayse or disprayse as it is reasonable Of whose faynyng fyrste rose the fable Concludyng reason greatly profitable Who that their fables can well moralyse The frutefull sentences are delectable Thoughe that the ficcion they do so deuise Under the coloure the trouthe dothe arise Concludyng reason riches and cunnyng Pleasure example and also learnyng They fayned no fable without reason For reasonable is all their moralitie And vpon reason was their conclusion That the commen witte by possibilitie May well adiudge the perfite veritye Of their sentence for reason openly To the commen witte it dothe so notifye Ryches Their frutefull sentence was great riches The whiche right surely they myght well domine For lordeship wealthe and also noblesse The chaunce of fortune can sone determine But what for this she can not decline The noble science whiche after pouertie May bryng a man agayne to dignitye Scyence Their sentence is cunnyng as appeareth well For by cunnyug their arte dothe engender And w tout cunnyng we knowe neuer a dele Of their sentence but may sone surrender A true tale that myght to vs render Great pleasure if we were intelligible Of their cunnyng nothyng impossible Pleasure O what pleasure to the intelligent It is to knowe and haue perseueraunce Of their cunnyng so muche expedient And therof to haue good vtteraunce Readyng newe thinges of so great pleasaunce Feadyng the minde with fode insaciate The tales newe they are so delicate Example In an example with a misty cloude Of couert likenes the poetes do write And vnderneth the trouthe dothe so shroude Bothe good and yll as they lyst acquite With similitude they did so well endite As I hereafter shall the trouthe soue shewe Of all their misty and their fatall dewe The poetes fayne how that kyng Athias Heauen shoulde beare vpon his shoulders hye Because in cunnyng he did all other passe Especially in the highe astronomye Of the sixe planets he knewe so perfectly The operations howe they were domified For whiche poetes him so exemplified And in likewise vnto the sagittary They feyne the centaures to be of likenes As halfe man and halfe horse truely Because Mylizyus with his worthines Did first attaine and breake the wildenes Of the royall stedes and ryght swiftly His men and he rode on them surely And also Pluto sometyme kyng of hell A citye of Grece standyng in the ssayle Betwene greate rockes as the boke dothe tell Wherin were people without any fayle Huge fierce and strong in battaile Tyrauntes theues replete with treason Wherfore poetes by true comparison Unto the deuils blacke and tedious Did them resemble in terrible fygure For their misliuyng so foule and vycious As to this daye it dothe appeare in vre Of Cerberus the defloured picture The porter of hell wyth thre heades vgly Lyke an horrible gyant fierce and wonderly Because alway his customed tyranny Was eleuate in harte by hygh presumption Thinkyng him selfe most strong and mighty And secondly he was destruction Of many Ladyes by euill compulcion And thirdly his desire insaciable Was to get riches ful innumerable Thus for these thre vyces abhōminable They made him wyth
heauen Went retrogarde marueylously to neuen With diuers quartyls and the mone combust In the dragons tayle to let a louers lust These cursed witches disdayne and straungenes Made the monster of a subtile kynde To let my purpose and all my gladnes But that dame Pallas of her gentle minde Of marueylous herbes a remedy did finde And anone a boxe of marueylous oyntment She toke to me to withstande the serpent Thus all esmarueyled we did then awake And in my hand I had the oyntment Closed in a boxe of whiche I shoulde take To anoynt my harneys for the serpent Whiche shall deuoyde his fire so feruent And my swerde also to cause to depart Astrothe the fende so set with Magikes arte THen whē the sunne with his beames mery Began to rise in the fayre morowe gray All about lightyng our emispery Exilyng mistes and darke clowdes away And when we sawe that it was bright daye Nere by the ryuage at the last we spied A goodly shippe whiche vnto vs fast hyed And right anone by the riuage syde She cast an anker and did vs than hayle With a peale of gunnes at the morowe tyde Her bonet she vailed and gan to strike sayle She was right large of thre toppes without faile Her boate she made out and sent to the lande What that we were to knowe and vnderstande That so did walke by the riuer coast And with two ladyes we sodaynely mette So when that they were come to vs almost From their shippe boate curiously counterfaite Hayle knyght they saied nowe from a lady great Called dame Pacience we are hither sent To knowe your name and all the whole entent What you make here and the ladyes all Truely quod I ouer this stormy flowde We woulde haue passage nowe in speciall Tary she sayde it were to you not good There is a serpent euill right fierce and woode On the other side whiche will you deuoure Nay then quod I my name is graunde amoure I haue discomfited the gyauntes terrible For la bell Pucell the most fayre ladye And for her sake shalbe inuincible Of this great monster to haue the victory You haue quod they demeaned you nobly And we anone to our lady Pacience Will geue of you perfite intelligence Thus they departed and to their boate they went And the royall shippe yclipped perfitenes They did aborde and then incontinent Unto dame Pacience they gan to expresse My name mine actes and all my prowes Ha ha quod she howe glad may I nowe be Whiche in this place may him bothe heare and se And in great haste she made them rowe agayne Towarde the lande with all due reuerence For to receyue me and the ladyes certayne And so we then with all our diligence Entred the boate without resistence And did aborde then perfitenes so sure Whiche the great waues might right well endure And Pacience with great solemnitie Did me receiue and the ladyes also Welcome she sayed by hye aucthoritye I am ryght gladde that it hath happened so That la bell Pucell must redresse your wo And on your selfe with your worthy dedes Of Fame and her hath wonne right hie medes And then their anker they weyed in haste And hoyst their sayle when many a clarion Began to blowe the mornyng was past But Afrycus auster made surrection Blowyng his belowes by great occasion So forthe we sayled right playne southwest On the other syde where the Serpent did rest ¶ Howe graunde Amoure discomfited the wonderfull monster of the seuen metalles made by enchauntment Capit. xxxvii ANd at the lande we ariued than With all the ladyes in my company Whiche to praye for me sodaynely began To the God Mars lodestarre of chiualrye I toke my leaue of them full gentilly And right anone to finde out my fo This mortall dragon I went to and fro Tyll at the last beside a craggy roche I sawe the dragon whiche did me espye And nere and nere as I gan to approche I behelde his heade with his great body Whiche was mishaped full right wondersly Of golde so shyne was bothe his heade face Full like a mayde it is a marueylous case His necke siluer and thicke like a bull His brest stele and like an Olyphant His forelegges laten and of feders full Right like a Gripe was euery tallaunt And as of strength he nothing did want His backe afore like bristles of a swyne Of the fyne copper did moste clearely shine His hynder legges was like to a catte All of tynne and like a Scorpion He had a tayle with a heade therat All of leade of pliaunt fashion His hart stele without menission Towarde me he came roaryng like the thunder Spittyng out fyre for to se great wonder In his forheade with letters all of grewe Was written my name is malyce priuy That olde debate can full sone renue Betwene true louers wyth coloure crafty Agaynst graunde amoure I shall so fortifye My euill subtill power and cursed courage To let him truely of his hye passage I toke my boxe as Pallas commaunded And my swerde and shelde with all my armure In euery place I ryght well anoynted To hardines I toke my hart in cure Makyng me ready and when I thought me sure I toke my swerde and with an hardy harte Towarde the dragon I began to starte And as I gan my great stroke to charge He blewe out so muche fyre innumerable That on the grounde I did my might discharge The smoke was darke full greatly domageable And the hote fire was so intollerable About me fliyng that vnneth I myght Throughe my vysure cast abroade my sight But the swete oyntment had suche a vertue That the wilde fire myght nothing endomage Me throughe heate for it did extue The Magikes art with great aduauntage Causyng the fyre right well to asswage And with my swerde as nothing agast Upon the serpent I did strike full fast His body was great as any tunne The deuill about did his bodye beare He was as egre as Grype or Lyon So with his tallantes he did my harneyes teare That oft they put me in a mortall feare Tyll at the last I did his body perce With my good swerde he might it not reuerce Right ther withall the dragon to brast And out there flewe right blacke and tedious A foule Ethiope whiche suche smoke did cast That all the ylande was full tenebrous It thundred loude with clappes tempestious Then all the ladyes were full fore adreade They thought none other but that I was deade The spirite vanished the ayre waxed cleare Then did I loke and beholde about Where was the tower of my lady so deare Tyll at the laste I had espied it out Set on a rocke ryght hye without doubt And all the ladyes with perceueraunce To me did come with ioye and pleasaunce Forsothe quod they you are muche fortunate So to subdue the serpent venemous Whiche by sorcery was surely ordinate You for to slea with fire so vycious Blessed be