and such as is necessarie for you for the glorie of his holy will. The letter of Abra to Lisuarde by the which she comforâ—eth him for the losse of his wife and of his sonne aduertising him that he ought to search hir amityes with promise to graunt it him In the .8 Booke the .71 Chapter ABra the Empresse of the Babilonians Princesse of the Parthes and commaunding thréescore kings my vassalles gréeteth you Lisuard of Greece Emperor of Trebisond halower of the waters of the Sea with the royal bloud of Zair my very honorable Lord and brother Ye shall vnderstand noble prince that yesterday very lately I knew of the visitation that fortune hath made you by the death of your dere spouse and of your onely sonne Amadis of Greece whereof I promis you I was greatly displeased For notwithstaÌ„ding that the obligatioÌ„ that I haue to the iust vengeance of him of whom I am sole inheriter and to the wrong as ye know that you your selfe did me do greatly constrayne me to hate you to death yet cruell loue that doth dayly vndermind my heauie heart to loue you but too much will not suffer it to consent to the ruine and destruction that I haue prepared for you The whiche truly doth cause me to name you and that of right a louer and a friend of the high Gods the whiche haue founde and thought it good to proue your courage and extreame constancie not onely by the strength of manye a braue man and beastes more cruell the whiche ye haue conquered and tamed but also with the rodde of their might and supreme power they haue punished you with so hard and gréeuous persecutioÌ„ that I being your enimie as I am haue felt it in my soule so that I wept with both my eyes iudging thereby what that dolour and heauinesse might be that ye suffered for the losse of your wife and louer so déere and your only sonne so commeÌ„dable And yet being true as it is true indéede that the consolation of the vnfortunate is to find their like Yet ye haue some occasion to moderate this greate anoyance by that that I beare euen such another or there lacketh very little as yours is Ye haue lost as men say your wife and I could neuer recouer him whome I only merited to haue to my Lord husband that is your selfe that hath made me oftentimes maruell howe it was possible that so great amitie might conceiue in heart so great hatred where such conformitie ought to be represented And yet if ye way all things well the time present doth shew you him whome ye ought to folow in time to come And that it is so ye sée the end wherevnto your great prosperities haue brought you The heauens are not alwayes in one being nor Lisuard also ought not to be continually victorious nor Abra alwayes ouercomde by him What then must I sorrow and be heauy for the mischance that maketh and aduanceth at the sight of the eye a better fortune than I may wish for and that doth promis me a sure recompence of the loue that I haue nourished so long in my soule yea and vntill he put him into my hands that so cruelly and by so many long dayes hath illuminated and inflamed my heart the which I already haue almost distild in the fire of Ielously Truly all things well considered it séemeth Lisuard that the time approcheth in the which I may execute vpoÌ„ you the vengeaÌ„ce that ye haue merited finishing my anguishes and the hatred that I beare you by the augmentation and increacement of loue the Gods giuing you the knowledge of the euill that ye haue done me with the will to aske me pardon and me to graunt it you Therefore I counsel you to preuent the time and sooner to beléeue my aduice than your owne opinatiue will knowing the forces that I haue so nigh vnto you and well minded to do you more harme than I desire ye shoulde haue The answer of Lisuard to Abra giuing hir thanks for hir good will and that he feeleth himselfe very fortunate to be retayned in hir good grace and fauor In the .8 booke the .76 Chapter MAdame I haue presently receyued your letter that it pleased you to write vnto me and by the same ye do certifye me of the trouble and anoyance that ye felt for the vnfortunable chance that happened to my dere companion and spouse to my sonne Amadis and principally to my selfe for the loue of them For the which I cannot sufficiently thanke you assuring you that I estéemed no otherwise of your honestie knowing it to be no lesse accompanied with clemencie swéetenesse and naturall goodnesse thaÌ„ with vertue prudeÌ„cie and kingly nouriture Yet for al this I at the first was astonied how it might be possible that ye shoulde iudge me fortunate to be thus touched as I am with the rodde of God and to haue lost so much if it were not for this that I hope to haue for my pacience a reward in another life And moreouer I do maruell of this that ye mainteine and compare your losses to mine vnto the which vnder your correction there is no similitude at all For I haue lost my Lady and my louer and ye haue yet in me a seruant well affectioned and shall be as touching you all his life the honor and duetie of the estate reserued as it ought to be and in such sorte that notwithstanding the greate enmities that ye haue against him he will assay and inforce himselfe to obey honor and serue you Trusting so much in the goodnesse of God that promptly and within a short season my iustice shall be knowen and youre wrong made manifest reproued and of your owne proper conscience finished Ye furthermore write vnto me that the tyme dothe approch that fortune shall deliuer me into your handes in recompence of the paynes that ye haue suffered in louing me to much I know not why ye should hope so for the thing that ye haue already for I sweare vnto you by the God of heauen and of the earth that there is not a gentleman in all the world that is more yours and more at youre commaundement than I am or that loueth you so muche or more The whiche thyng ye shall knowe where and when it shall please you to commaunde me aduising you for the rest not to trust so much in fortune as ye séeme to doe For althoughe she hathe for a trouth bene now entierly againste me it is not said that she will fauor you in all poyntes iudging in your selfe as ye very well doe counsell me One good thing I haue that the threatning that ye about the latter end of your letter do threaten me withal doth so much assure me that I feare a great deale more the swéete casting of your swéete eyes than the fury of all your souldiers togither kissing for the rest the handes of youre highnesse euen the same that desireth to haue a
pleasure And as touching your father I know long since what should happen vnto him but yet I could not remediâ— it for it was so ordeined by the prescience and for knowledge of God the which shall suffer him with the time to returnâ— to his countrey as well content as euer he was The coÌ„plaint of Matroco vpon the body of Arcalaus his vncle whom Esplandian had slayne In the .5 boke the .5 Chapter ALas Arcalaus my good vnâ—le how hard is the losse of you to me in what place soeuer it should haue chaunced and by a more stronger reason in this my castel wher I thought to make you good chéere and long Alas aftâ—r ye had past the floure of your age and so many daungerous chaunces and infinite perilles should it come and chaunce you vpon the end of your old yeares to receiue such a death in my house the which I estéemed a sure place not only for you and me but for all my parents and friends What vengeance maye I take at any time of this traytor that so greatly hath offended me seing that if I shoulde put him to death a hundred times vpon a day yet it is lesse than nothing in respect of the euill that he hath wrought me At least wayes if it had bin Amadis of Fraunce so renoumed among men or one of hys two brothers or else al thrée togither my dolour might somwhat haue swaged for the euill that I shoulde haue caused them to suffer But what I must néedes eueÌ„ by reason fight with one and seing the force that he continually hath done he should already estéeme himselfe ouercomde What glory should I then obtaine of his victorie Certesse euen suche as if I had beaten or ouercomde a simple woman féeble as â—he is of nature And so he vnworthy of my presence shall if it chance that I make but a countenaÌ„ce only â—o outrage him increase in glory Yet chaunce what chaunce may to my honor or otherwise he must néedes die The Oration of Esplandian to his people being in the mountayne defended fighting agaynste king Armato to encourage them to fyght strongly considering that it is for the glory and libertie of a christian name In the .5 booke the 26. Chapter MY friends we be not at this present entred into the aduentures of England where men fight more for fantasie or vayneglory than vpon any iust occasion but this war that we make against the enimies of our fayth doth call vs not only to do our duetie but to defend the honour and libertie of a christian name And therefore I pray you my companions that euery one of vs do purpose to cast feare behinde and to prefer vertue and manhood aboue all inconueniences that may chance vnto vs assuring you if we so do that before it be day king Armato and his armie shall well féele that we be not so sleepâ—e as they thinke The Oration of king Lisuard to his vassales and friendes shewing the goodnesse and pleasures that he hath receiued of Amadis and for this reason and cause he gyueth vp vnto him his crowne and his Scepter and the right of his realme and that they for this cause should be his faithfull and true vassales In the .5 booke the .28 Chapter MY good vassals and frieÌ„ds first and or euer I make you vnderstande perceiue why wherfore I haue coÌ„manded you to come togither I wil shew you part of the dangers fortunes wherein I haue bin since the death of my brother king Falanges and since it hath pleased the Lord to call me to the gouernemente and rule of you and of this realme in thâ— whiche as I thinke there are yet many liuing that can remember the danger into the whiche â—oth I and my countries as we thought shoulde haue fallen when that by the meanes and subtiltie of Arcalaus the enchanter I was put in the power of those that long before had conspired my death of the which my sonne Amadia hath deliuered me And neuerthelesse awhyle after by euil counsel I made sore war against him the whiche being raysed as euery man dothe know fortune enuying my rest prepared after that suche a banket for me that without him being king Arauignes prisoner I had bin lost for euer And this yet hathe assonyed me more for when I esteemed me certenly out of all suche misfortunes a worse than the other chanced me the whiche I thought well considering the place I was brought vnto to be the consumination of my troubles and of my life togythâ—r But yet the Lord loking with pitie vpon me sent my little sonne Eâ—plandian into my heauy prison from whence as ye all might haue bin aduertised he deliuered me Nowe ye see that I am old and all white being already threscorâ— and ten yeares of age the which thing causeth me to thinke that from henceforth it is time and season to forget worldly things and to retourne to God that hath bound me so greatly vnto him And for this cause I am purposed from henceforth to leaue Amadis my sonne to be your king vnto whome euen now I giue ouer my crowne my Scepter and the right that I haue in thys realme praying you all as much as I may possible that from this time foorth ye be vnto him faithfull and obedient as ye haue bin to me And although he be maried to my daughter if I knew hym vnworthy to rule you beléeue me my friends I would sooner haue chosen one to succeede me that had bin lesse vnto me than he is but theâ— is none of you that knoweth not his merites and the lyne that he descendeth of the which may this day name himselfe one of the most noblest and most fortunate of all the world as descending of the Troyans whose memorie shall neuer peâ—ish he is a kings sonne the inheriter of the kingdome of France and at this present your Priâ—â—â— and Lord I leaue you him with my daughter your Quéene and lawfull princesse retayning to my selfe no other thing but the only castle of Mirefleur where that the Quéene and I by Gods help shal finish our days religiously seruing our God as we be bound The Oration of Cormellie to Esplandian the which was sore astonyed of the thing that Leonorine sent him word of aduising him not to take in euill part the answer that Leonorine had sent his father and that the dissimulation of the loue of Ladies ought not to be takeÌ„ as a refusing in asmuch as it signifieth most often perfyte and entire amitie In the 5. booke the .33 Chapter HOw now my Lorde be ye astonied of so little by my â—oule now I know well that the affections and loue of men do greatly differ from the passions that we simple women indure when we fal into this extremitie and know you wherein ye men do coÌ„monly take pleasure to open the thing that ye loue be it by word or by countenance and oftentimes ye fayne moreouer that there
Damselles the good subtiltie that ye haue vsed to finde â— mâ—â—nes for the deliueraÌ„ce of Doâ— Floâ—isâ—lâ— the which is fallen into the handes of the Princesse Arlande of Thrace a thing that ought to make you immortall for euer seeing the danger that ye put your selfe in to shewe so perfect amitie And to shewe you truly what we doe thinke we fynd the acts that ye haue done and doe so excellente and noble that by good reason all the worlde shoulde wishe for suche a personage as was the Grecian Homere to describe your high and heroicall actes to giue an ensample to the posteritie and to intiâ—e them to ensue the lyke Great Alexander néedeth not to goe before you nor Anniball nor yet the Scipions for if they haue had great victories it hath hene with the multitude of men but you alone haue wonne so muche that yée ought to holde and kéepe the hyghest roome not onely among the wyse and valiant men but also among the women more noble All the hygh acts of armes that the noble Quéen Gradafilea did ought in nothing to be compared to yours for al that she euer did was through the force of loue whiche is inuincible and to conserue hir integritie but ye were only moued by a certaine naturall and natiue vertue to doe him good whom ye in no maner of wise knowe not and not to him onely but to all those vnto whom ye perceyued iniurie and extortion to be doone the glorie and the laude whereof redoundeth vnto you Certainly the faire and chaste Iudith that cut cruell Holofâ—rneâ— head off to obserue and kéepe hir chastitie nor Cleopatra that ouercame hir brother Ptolome nor Quéene Fantasâ—lea with many other ought in no wyse to be compared or made equall wyth you which dothe not onely excell all menne and women in vertue and valiantnesse but also in excellence and perfecte beautie exceptyng none nor thys fayre Syluia the whyche as wée haue vnderstanded ye preserued from cruell death when shée woulde haue slayne hir selfe nyghe vnto the Fountayn of loues of Anasterax â— for the absence of Dom Florisell the whyche is bounde vnto you all hys lyfe long and I also for the goodnesse that ye haue doone for me in sauyng of him Notwithstandyng truely as I thynke hée shoulde not séeing the promise that he made me at his departing from hence to be in Apolonia at the aduenture of the contention of the foure brethren haue strayed nor haue cast himselfe into so many ieopardous aduentures without sending mée newes of him yet I will not wryte vnto him least that presenting my fynger vnto him hée take the whole hands considering that his comming hyther shall certifie vs of his béeing so farre off and of his so grieuous absence so that it please you of your goodnesse to suffer him to returne vnto whome you and I are so much bounde for the goodnesse that we haue receyued of him that it is impossible for vs to satisfie him nor you to giue him condigne thankes But Madame we shall pray the Creator to giue you such and so good peace as we desire for the warre that doth torment vs presenting our most humble recommendations to your good Grace Your great friendes and readie to obey you Helen of Apoloniâ— and Tymbria of Boetia The defence of Raison vpon the difference of honour and loue In the .9 booke the .53 Chapter HOnour and you loue it greatly displeaseth me that yée cannot agrée as touching the health of these two armies yet forasmuche as the poynte and the truth of your rightes cannot be knowne but by the effusion of humaine bloude or by the victorie of one of these two armies the issue wherof â—oth depend of the will of God I can giue you no other counsel but to let your men ioyne to the ende that the vengeance and iudgement of God maye be vmpere and arbiter of your difference and debates A propheticall letter of Anaxenes a Philosopher and a calker to Dom Florisel of Niquea In the .9 booke the .54 Chapter MY Lorde the king Arpilion and the Quéene Galathea his verie deare companion and spouse haue charged me to present with a verie good heart their recommendations vnto your good grace and I of my part do no lesse which am theyr Philosopher and a master of arte Magicke Understand my Lordâ— that the goodnesse and valiantnesse which I know to be in you haue prouoked me to aduertise you oâ— certaine great adueâ—tures that shal chaunce vnto you the which I haue foreséene and knowne by my science learning and by the high secrets of arte Magicke and to the intent ye may auoyde and escape them with your honour I send you the helmet that yâ— lost in the sea when that by tempest ye were separated from Siluia the which shall doe you good seruice in a combat that two braue Lions shall make yea for the price of your bloud and there shall come forth of those that fight a light that now is hidden in déepe darknesse the which shall giue light to all those that thought to haue lost it and so well that your â—ead being deliuered from the perill the whiche ye shall sée before your eyes men shall sée an olde wounde renued in you the which shall put you to extreme paine and yet cannot be eased vntill this soueraine remedie shal be multiplied in you and in all those that shall sustaine your part shal be newe woundes whereout shall come a bloud that shall moyst all the lande of Grece by the meanes whereof your body shall be deliuered by a general effusion vntil the payment be perfit Nor the prince the Author of this warre nor his friendes nor confederates shall haue it no better cheape than you aduertising you that the tyme of moste greatest daunger wherein ye maye hée shall be euen then when that the Lion whiche ingendereth the lawfull and legitimate Lions shall finde him selfe in more perill than you And a little whyle after there shall come euen sodainly a Bastarde the which shall beat downe with his brighte and shining armes the glorie not hoped for Then shall arise the sixe bastards and little Lyons the which shall awake their fathers by a more strange fashion than the Lyons progenitours haue giuen lyfe to their little ones and all that with encreasement of your great honour and the inestimable effusion of bloud on the one syde and other Therfore take good héede at the beginning of this euill whereof ye shall haue cause to laude him continually that is laudable aboue all things by whose permission and sufferance all this shall be doone and ye shall daylye holde his diuine hande in your defence Therefore doubte not at all for all thing shall chaunce as I haue tolde you praying you not to be curious to knowe more vntill the soueraigne iudge shall haue executed his determination and will to shewe you a warre whereof peace shall procéede And in this behalf I shal pray
ignominious death whereoâ— I haue great pitie The Oration of Apolidon to the Emperoure of Constantinople his father rendring vnto him all obedience The second Booke and first Chapter SYr now of late I haue perceiued and vnderstaÌ„ded by many that my brother is not content with the partage and diuision that it pleased you to ordeine and make for vs bicause I knowe what annoyance this is vnto you and seeing the entiere amitie of him and me is ready to be broke I huÌ„bly beseech you to receiue againe all that it hath pleased you to giue me and to bestow it for I would hold and think my selfe happie to do the thing that might quiet your mynd and right well fethered and content to haue the thing that you haue lefte him A Letter of the Princesse Oriane to Amadis accusing him of vnfaithfulnesse The second booke and second Chapter MY passion without measure procéeding of so many causes dothe constraine my féeble hande to declare by this Letter to you Amadis of Fraunce an vnfaithful and too periured a louer the thing that my dolorous heart can hide no longer For séeing that the vnfaythfulnesse and litle stedfastnesse that you haue vnto me the which am vnfortunate and forsaken of al good fortune bycause I loued you aboue all worldly things is nowe manifest and also that with so great iniurie you are gone so farre from hence to drawe neare to hir the which considering hir yong age and small discretion can not haue in hir the thing to fauor you and to entertaine you she hathe purposed also to banishe from me for euer this extreame loue that I beare you seeing that my heauie and poore heart can haue no other vengeance And if I would take in good part the iniurie and wrong that ye doe me it shoulde be but great folly in me to will well vnto the most vnthankefull for whome to loue perfectly I hate all things and my selfe also Alas nowe I perceiue very well but it is to late that I submitted too vnfortunately my libertie to so ingrate a person considering that in satisfaction of my syghings and passions I sée my selfe mocked and vnfortunately deceyued Therefore I forbid you that you neuer come before me nor where I shall be resident and present and be ye sure that the ardent and burning affectioÌ„ that I did beare you is conuerted as you haue demerited into enmitie and cruell furie Now therefore get you hence to some other place to proue with your periured faithe and swéete wordes and to abuse other vnfortunate persons as well as me besides that you shall hereafter proue that none of your excuses as concerning me may haue nor take any place but I not willing to sée you any more shall lament the reste of my heauie lyfe wyth abundancee of teares the whiche shall not cease but by hir ende that shall not sorowe to dye but bicause you are the homicide The complaint that Amadis made when he receiued Orians vigorous Letter declaring the mobilitie of fortune by the which she banished him from hir companie In the .2 boke and .4 Chapter ALas fortune that art to light and without roote by what occasion hast thou preferd and eleuated me among all the best Knightes afterwardes to bring me to ruine so lightly Now I perceiue well that thou mayste doe more euill in an houre than grace in a thousande yeares for if in time past thou hast done gyuen me pleasure or ioy thou hast robbed me of that euen nowe most cruelly leauing me in martyrdome muche worsse than death and seeing it was thy pleasure so to do why hast thou not at least wise made equall the one with the other considering thou knowest that at other times thou haste contented me nor that neyther without mingling of it with sorowes and great troubles So then thou shouldst haue reserued for me some litle hope with this crueltie wherewith at this present thou dost torment me executing in me things incomprehensible in the thoughtes of those that thou dost fauor the which not knowing this euill estéeme the pompes glories and honors that thou dost lende them sure and perdurable Nor they remember not that besides and aboue the torments that their bodies shall suffer to mayntaine them their soules shall fall in hazard of their saluation Therefore if with the eyes of vnderstanding the which the souereine Lord hath giueÌ„ them they might sée thy mobilitie they should desire rather thyne aduersities thaÌ„ thy light prosperities although it be confirmable to their sensualitie for why by thy flattering and wantonnesse thou dost bring them to ruine and at the last they are constrayned to enter into the laberinth of martyrdome hauing no power at any time to come out againe But aduersities are clean contrarie in so muche that if a man paciently resist them auoyding disordinate apetite and ambition he is lifted vp from this lowe place to glory euerlasting And yet I most vnfortunate could not chuse this good parte considering that if all the worlde were mine and taken from me by thée hauing only the good grace and fauor of my Ladie that shoulde be sufficient to maintaine me in all honor and prosperitie but that fayling me it is impossible for me by any maner of meanes to liue and continue Therefore I heséech thée for the fauor and payment of my faithfulnesse that thou giue me not death with anguishe But if thou be licensed to take my life from me that thou make diligent haste taking compassion on him of whose torment that he shall haue if he liue any longer thou art ignorant A cmplaint of the like argument that goeth before the which Amadis sent to his Father O King Perion my Lorde and father you shall haue very little occasion to be heauie for my death and the cause thereof to be hidden from you but séeing that the heauinesse that shoulde be by the knowledge thereof can not reuoke my torment I pray God that my vnluckinesse be neuer opened vnto you but kept close and hidden as long as you shal liue and that not to aduance and hasten the rest of the yeres that you haue yet to liue Amadis complaint sent to the Lorde Galuanes thanking him for his good and gentle deedes O My seconde father Galuanes I am very sorye that my contrarie fortune hathe not permitted nor suffered me to recompence the greate Obligation and band that I am bound in vnto you for if my father haue gyuen me lyfe ye haue saued it deliuering me from the perill danger of the sea wherevnto I was being as yet in the first houre of my notiuitie and by byrth predestinate and since that you hauâ— nourished me so swéetely and tenderly as though I had bene your naâ—urall chylde Florestans exhortation to his companions being sorie for Amadis whome he esteemed to be in payne to the entent to goe to succour him In the second booke the .6 Chap. MY Lordes it is not for vs to wéepe
nor to make suche lamentations whâ—n necessitie dothe commaunde vs to remember howe to succour and to helpe my Lorde Amadis Let vs leaue such maner of doings to womâ—n and let vs deuise togither to prouide for this great inconuenience And as for me I am of this mynde that we without any longer dâ—lay take our horsses and do our diligence to fâ—ade him then shall we know whether there be any meanâ— to finde remedie for him for the time doing as we do nowe passeth awaye his heauinesse and paynes more and he himselfe goeth further from vs The Lord Ysanie as he saith condâ—cted and led him a little on his way he may shewe vs what way he tooke and if we tarie any longer we shall lose him without hope to see him any more Therefore my Lordes let vs giue our diligence to folow him The Hermite speaking to Amadis doth comfort him in his aduersitie The second booke the .6 Chap. O Knight I beléeue that you haue some great affliction in your soule yet if your heauinesse do proceede of repentance for some certaine sinne that you haue committed truly my sonne you are happie And if it be for some temporall losse as I estéem considering your age the estate wherin you haue liued hitherto you should not thus trouble yourself but require and aske pardon of God who would pardon and forgiue you and receiue you for his The Hermit doth yet speaking to Amadis exhort him to take heart of grace and courage and not to abuse himselfe for women I Promise you my friend that ye do not well being a yong knight and well made to enter into such dispaire and mistrust considering that women cannot kâ—epe their loue no not euen in the presence of them that loue them for natuaturally they readily forget and yet beléeue more sooner specially those things that men which fondly giue themselues vnto them do report of them the whiche euen when they thinke to haue ioy and contentation do find themselues in al despite and tâ—ibulation as ye doe experiment and proue it by your selfe Therefore I pray you from henceforth to be more vertuous and coÌ„â—â—ant and for asmuch as it hath pleased God to call you to the title of a kings son to gouerne his people returne to the world for it should be a losse thus to loose you nor I cannot presume nor imagin who she is that hath brought you to such anxietie considering that if one woman aloâ—e had in hir all the perfections that all women haue together yet we should not for hir sake léese suche a man as yeare The heauines of Oriane for Amadis after that she was aduertised by men of his departure In the second booke the .7 Chapter AH vnfortunate person that I am seing that I with so great wrong haue caused him to die whome I most théeâ—ly loued in this world And séeing it is out of my power to reuoke the euill that I caused I beséech you my friende to accept my repentance in satisfaction of the euilâ— that I haue purchased you with the sacrifice that I shal make of my proper life to folow you vnto death and thus the ingratitude that I haue committed against your fidelitie shall be manifest you being reuenged and I punished Guillans oration to the Queene for Amadis his shield or scutchion that he had founde In the second Booke the .8 Chapter MAdame a few dayes ago and past I founde all Amadis harneys with his stutchion layd nigh vnto a fountain the which men call the fountaine of the plaine field wherewith I was displeased the which I the selfe same houre and time bound vnto a trée leauing it in the custodie of two Damsels which were in my company vntill I had bene through out the countrey to séeke and to enquire what was become of him But I was not so fortunate to find him nor yet to haue newes of him Therefore I knowing the merite of so good a knight whiche neuer had other desire but to prepare himself to do you seruice I purposed seing I could not bring him to bring vnto you for a testimonie witnesse of the bond that I owe to you and to him his armure the which ye shall commaund if it so please you to be set in some euident and open place where euery man may sée them as well to haue and to heare some newes of him by the straungers that ordinarily come vnto this Court as to augment the vertue of all those that commoÌ„ly follow the warres taking an example by him whome they folow the which by his high knighthod hath obtained the first place among al those that euer on their backes ware harneys The lamentation of Oriane vnderstanding by Guillan the losse of Amadis In the second Booke and .8 Chapter AH vnfortunate that I am I may now well say that all the felicitie that euer I had is a very fantasie and my torment a pure veritie considering that if I haue any contentation it is only by the dreames that solicit me by night for being awake all austeritie doth afâ—lict and trouble my poore spirit and in such sort that as much as the day is vnto me a gréeuous martirdome the obscuritie and darknesse is to me only pleasure and solace bycause that sléeping I sée my self before my louer but watch that depriueth me of so great ease causeth me very muche to féele your absence Ah my eyes no more eyes but streames of teares and wéepings ye are well abused for as much as being close ye see him alone that contenteth you and being open al the noysomnesse and troubles of the world come to obfuscate and to darken you At the furdest the death that I fâ—ele nigh and at hand shall deliuer me of this anxietie and you my friend shall be auenged of the most vnthankfull that euer was borne The exhortation of Mabile vnto Oriane that would haue cast hirselfe downe headlong by the meane of Amadis aduersitie In the second Booke the .8 Chapter HOw is it Madame where is the constancie of a kings daughter is this the wisedome whereof ye are so greatly renoumed haue ye already forgotten the euill that ye thought would haue chaunced through the false newes that Arcalaus brought the last yeare to the Court And nowe that Guillan hath found my cousins harneys was the saide bicause that he is dead beléeue me that ye shal sée him shortly again and that he will assoone as he shall sée your letters come vnto you Amadis doth comfort himselfe by the newes that he receiued of Oriane his friende and louer In the second Booke the 10. Chapter O Fearefull hart so long time troubled who coulde haue resisted such a tempest notwithstanding the abundance of teares that thou so coÌ„tinually distilledst and shedst to comâ— to the point of death Receiue at this present this medicine the whiche onely is for thy health and come foorth of these obscure darknesses the whiche haue so long obfuscated
thée taking againe the force to serue hir the whiche of hir grace and goodnesse hath reuiued thée Orianes letter to Amadis by the which she excuseth hir selfe vnto him of certaine faultes of loue the which were in hir In the second booke and .10 Chapter IF the greate faultes committed through enmitie afterwards reknowledged to humilâ—at hirselfe be worthy of parâ—on what ought it to be of those that are caused through too great abundance of loue yet my faithfull louer I do not denie you that I deserue not much paine For I should haue considered that when things be most prosperous and ioyful that fortune the which doth spye and considereth them doth come then to bring them heauinesse and miserie Also I should haue remembred your vertue and honestie the which was neuer found in fault and aboue all I should not no not to dye for I haue separated from my vnderstanding the remembrance of the great subiection of my heauy hart the whiche procéeded nor came not but of that wherein youre owne was inclosed being certaine that if any flames haue bene cooled so haue myne also as it is perceyued and in suche sorte that the enuy that he had to find rest vnto hys mortall desires hath bene the cause to augment tâ—em But bicause I haue fayled as they doe that being in the hyghest of their good houre and fortune and very certaine of theyr loue of whome they be loued nor cannot comprehende in them so much goodnesse become iealous and suspitious more by their imagination than by reason dusking this cleare felicitie with the cloude of impacience beléeuing sooner the report of certaine persons it may be that speake euil not very true and vicious than that of their owne conscience and certaine experience Therefore my faithfull friende I pray you effectually to receiue this my damsell as from hir that recogniseth in all humilitie the great fault that she hathe commiited as concerning you the which shall cause you to vnderstande better than my letter the extremitie of my life oâ— whome ye should haue pitie not for any merite but for your reputation the which is not estéemed and iudged cruell nor séeking veÌ„geance there where ye find repentance and subiection when that no penance can come from you more rigorous than that that I my selfe haue appointed and ordeined for my selfe the which I beare and paciently do suffer trusting that ye will remit it and restore vnto me your grace and fauour and lykewise my life that dependeth thereof The lamentation of fayre Tenebreuâ— whiche returned from Mireflâ—ur declaring vnto the Damsell of Denmarke that without cause he had suffered many things touching hir that she was not a faithfull louer In the second Booke the .10 Chapter BY my conscience sayde the fayre Tenebreuâ— I was neuer in more daunger of death and I maruell where she hath forged this fantasie that she had against me seing that I neuer thought to do the thing that shuld displease hir And notwithstaÌ„ding I had forgotten to think on it yet I deserued not so cruel a letter as this is that she wrote vnto me And although I make not the outward shewes and hypocrisies that many caÌ„ do and make yet I leaue not of to measure the goodnesse and graces that I haue receiued of hir nor this thought was not sowen in so euill ground that she shuld not regard the fruite as long as the spirit shal haue meanes to cause the heart to liue seing that the one and the other are wholy dedicate to serue and to obey hir Ah ah my God I remember that when Corissande came into our poore hermitage I beléeued then that it was done for me The good Lady lamented hir selfe of the passion that the suffered for louing my brother Florestan too much and I should die for very displeasure to be so wrongfully chased away by Oriane How great paines what trauels what vnmeasurable torment haue I thus long suffered in the poore Rocke hauing consolation of no creature liuing but of the good Hermit the which solicited me and spake to me of pacience Alas what hard penaÌ„ce for a thing not offended beléeue me my welbeloued Damsel that I was so greatly troubled that from one houre to another I desired deathâ— and oftentimes also I feared to lose my life but thinke vpon the desperation wherein I was then when I shewed the Damsels of Corisâ—ande the song that I made in my great tribulation The Oration of Gandalin vnto fayre Tenebreus brethren to encourage them to searche and to succoure him In the .2 booke the .12 Chapter BY God my Lords all your wéepings cannot cause him to be found whome ye desire if it be not by some other good diligence that ye may newly take vpon you And notwithstanding that ye haue already done what ye can so ye should not he anoyed to séeke him better than euer he waâ— yet sought for seing that ye know welynough what he particularly would haue done for you if fortune had aduanced the occasion Nowe therefore it is youre partes to doe the lyke â—or if ye léese hym thus it shall not be onely the losse of the most gentlest knyghte of all the worlde but of the best pacient that ye haue and furthermore all ye paraduenture may be blamed Therefore my Lordes I praye you for the loue of God to do vnto him the duety of a brother of a friende and of a companion beginning agayne to séeke him without sparing of your bodies or the prolonging of tyme. Defyance made by a straunge knyghte vnto king Lisuard prouoking hym to warre if he wyll not accord to the mariage of Oriane with the prince of Basiganâ— In the .2 booke the .12 Chapter I Defye thée king Lisuard and all thy aliens in the name of the puissant and mightie princes Famongomad Giant of the burning lake Cartadaque his neuew Giant of the defended mountayne Madafabull hys brother in lawe Giant of the redde tower Lord Quedragant brother to Abies that was king of Irelande and of Arcalaus the inchanter the whyche doe sende thée worde by me that they haue sworne the death of thée and thyne And to do thys they wyll ayde king Cildadan to be in the number of the hundreth knightes the whiche shall surely destroy thée Yet neuerthelesse if thou wilt giue Oriane thy inheriter to fayre Madasime the daughter of the most douty Famongomad to serue hir as hir Damsell they will suffer thée to liue in peace and be thy friendes â—or they will marrie hir to thâ— Prince Basiganâ— the which doth well deserue to be Lorde of thy countreys and of thy daughter also Therefore king Lisuard chose of these two coÌ„ditions the best peace as I haue deuised or the most cruel warre that may chance vnto thée hauing to do with so mighty and so doutye princes The answer to the strange knight by king Lisuard shewing the greatnesse of his courage In the .2 booke the .12 Chapter BY God knight they
his owne affection And so thou shalt haue in remembrance as well to hide my thought as I haue had paine first to open it vnto thée The answere of the dwarffe Busaneo to Niquea assuring hir so to be hirs that he woulde not to die for it doe the thing that should offend hir In the .8 booke the .18 Chapter PArdon me Madam for ye doe me wrong beyng in doubte that I am any other than obedient to youre will. Also I would sooner chose to die than for any thing to transgresse it beséeching you moste humbly to beléeue that your Busando hath no more power vpon himselfe than it pleaseth you â—o giue him So then commaund him hardly all that shal please you and with so much faithe that he shall kéepe it so close as though ye had shewed it to no other but to your owne soule estéeming me to be so greatly beloued of vertue that she as touching me shall ouercome all things that I may thinke to be contrarie vnto it The Oration of the knight of the burning sworde to Lucelle the Princesse of Siceli declaring â—nto hir that he is vehemently wounded with hir loue â—umbly beseeching hir to feele in hir selfe this great amitie and to haue pitie of hys payne and dolour In the .8 booke the .21 Chapter WOuld God Madame that loue had as well employed his forces and strength vpon you to my aduantage as he hath willed to do towardes me making me wholly yours and so greatly affectioned to honour you and to serue you that if all things went by reason the flames that burne my heauie hearte shoulde be the meane to giue me suche quiet and rest that you your selfe féeling the thing that causeth me to suffer would blame your selfe to esteeme and thinke your selfe so cruell But séeing that my euill houre dothe consent that I alone should suffer I estéeme the trauel fortunate and luckie if it content you trusting that I knowyng my selfe such as touching you wil haue pitie vpon me if not shortly at least waye in time trusting so in your goodnesse honestie that ye knowing that ye are the cause of my martyrdome will not be so cruell as to suffer suche a knight as I am and onely borne in this worlde to obey you and to â—â—eâ—se you in all that yée shall thinke good to commaunde hym to dye so miserably and wretchedly The answere of Lucelle to the knight of the burning sworde causyng hym to vnderstande that she beareth him as good affection as she maye in true and faythfull amitie and to marrie together if she maye doe it In the .8 boke the .21 Chapter AH ah my friende quod the Princesse howe say you that to me thinke ye that I holde you so farre from reason to thinke in your minde that I would knowledge the seruices that ye haue done for me to be things vnmete for my honor Beléeue me that ye shall not liue béeing deceiued in the loue that ye beare me for I loue estéeme you so muche that if all the Monarchie of the world were set on the one part and you alone on the other and that the one and the other wer at my commaundement I would accept and choose you for my onely lorde and husbande rather than to remayne ladie and empresse of the rest And this is it that causeth me to be very sure that your heart doth not desire nor would not thinke vpon any thing wherof my reputation might haue any â—lur or the least blame that any man might presume Likewyse I will sweare vnto you that no other but you shall at anye time possesse my heart for it is and shall be yours as long as I haue life in my body to will you well The knight of the burning swords letter surnamed Amadis of Grece ansvvering to Niqueas letter aduertising hir that he is redy to come to see hir seing she hath graunted him hir good grace the which shal cause him liue content In the .8 boke the .22 chapter MAdame I haue receyued the letter whiche it hath pleased you to write to me by this bearer and reading it I by by felt my heart inclined to doe you all the seruice that shall please you to haue of it desiring no greater goodnesse than to sée and to enioy your presence being well assured that my eyes receiuing this fortune that your two swéet and pitifull eyes shall haue compassion of the euill that I suffer for the thing that I neuer offended So that I ye giuing me a certaine parte in your good grace shall lyue contente and you obeyed and honoured by him vpon whom you haue entier commaundement the which desireth you to doe so much for him as to suffer and to set an order that he may sée you and kisse your diuine handes recognisyng the grace and fauour that ye haue shewed him sending him worde of youre will by Busande the whiche he shal take payn to accomplish euen as I haue prayed him to shewe you by mouth whome ye may beléeue if it so please you as from your most humble and obedient seruant the knight of the burning sworde The complaint of Onoloria for the absence of Lisuard and and therfore she prayeth him to haue pitie of hir extreame dolour and to come vnto hir In the .8 boke the .36 Chapter ALas my deare friende wherevppon thinke ye nowe to leaue hir thus alone and not fauoured whose esperance and hope is more than halfe dead For as the shadowe doth augmente at the departing and going downe of the Sunne and rendereth terrour obscuritie and darkenesse to fearfull and not well assured heartes in lyke manner feare you beyng absente and out of my syght dothe holde me so assieged that it forâ—aketh me not one houre but dothe what it can or may to cause me to léese you and my lyfe together Therefore nowe O my swéete lyght and my onely sun aduance you come to giue cléerenesse to my spirite whiche is now so obscured and dusked with mortall noysomnesse that the first newes that ye shall heare of me poore woman shal be as I thinke the desperate ende of your Onolorie the whiche doth no lesse serue you and call you to hir helpe and succour than she is easye and ioyfull of your libertie and deliuerance The Oration of a Trumpeter to Queene Liberna from the people of Abernis praying hir to excuse them and to pardon theyr faulte that they haue committed against hir Maiestie In the .8 booke the 31. Chapter MAdam your humble subiects constrained by the violence of Abernis to take armes and to warre against you doe praye you in all humilitie to receiue them from henceforthe vnto your good grace and to forget the faulte that they haue committed against your maiestie vnder this charge and condition that in time to come they shall be faithfull and obedient so much or more vnto you as other subiectes or vassalles the which are in other prouinces and countreys The Queenes
pardon Lisuard seing also that he with his honoure is come foorth from all the combats and perilles that she had prepared for him In the .8 booke the .53 Chapter MAdame I beséech you vsing your wisedome to take in good part such things as are sent you after the will and mind of Iupiter vnto whome we must obey without murmuring And whereas ye may commaund your selfe and folow this counsell fortune being prompt and noisome may chance to turne hir wheele and ye shal come at the last to the thing that ye if ye be gouerned by reason most desire For otherwise neither you nor the Gods shoulde desire it nor it should not be graunted you by our Gods the which are iust and of whome doth hang the selfe iustice And to the end madame that ye should not estéeme me to speake without reason ye know that to ouercome himselfe is a worke that holdeth more of the heauens than of humanitie and yet it is easâ— vnto vs if we wil giue our consent Forgâ—t then I pray you this heauinesse the which caÌ„not but anoy you trouble you and reioycing your selfe in your troubles take the things not at the worst but to the best as much as ye may possible For it is a comely thing to do yea and at al times when one hath occasion to shew the vertue that man hath in himselfe Neuerthelesse I perceiue very well that seing your deliberations are cleane turned it is vnto you a despite and a displeasure that cannot be borne But what ye cannot then coÌ„maund destinies nor stay the course of the least planet of Heauen Seing then that the will of the Gods is such will ye striue against them They haue suffered the death of youre brother they haile conserued and kept my father they wyll frustrate you of your enterprises fauor his will ye breake the ele with your knée For Gods sake madame forget the remembrance of the euill that ye desire wish him and doe so that he may so much remayne yours as ye of your parte are his but little I am sure that with his amitie ye shall get more laude and praise than by the pursute that ye make to anoy him Ye haue séene how he hath despatched him of the combats and strifes ye prepared for him ye haue caused hys forces to be experimented and proued by me and other the issue whereof hath bin such that ye should do your self wroÌ„g if ye giue not place to reason hauing so many ways purchased the vengeance of the death of Zair whereof ye haue had so little fruite that euen that thing alone ought from hencefoorth to mortifye both your payne much more your pursute thinking to haue reason Abra doth answer that notwithstanding the counsell that Amadis of Greece gaue hir be right yet it is impossible for hir although the Gods would it to accomplish it to this ende that she will purchace the death of Lisuard as much as she can or may In the .8 booke the .53 Chapter TRuly Lord Amadis ye are not out of purpose to say that ye haue said vnto me also it is easy for him that is whole to counsel the sick And neuerthelesse euen as many during the grosse feuer do find the tast of water better thaÌ„ the hope of life so will I wel confesse that notwithstanding the thing that ye counsell me be right and according to equitie yet it hath no liuely part in me nor disposeth me not to follow this good aduise And although I should féele some goodnesse yet I promis you I would sooner take payne to roote it out than to kéepe it in my heart being so resolued in the enmitie of Lisuard that if I cannot cause him to leese his life he shall die as I may And forasmuch as all my euill and hope lyeth there I haue by this poynt begon to complayne me and to answer you not by the entraunce of the purpose and communication ye held me But by the end that ye made and yet with the time I shall well satisfye both the one and the other Ye say that it would wel become me and that I shuld and must obey without murmure to the will of the Gods. As touching that I promis you that they may sooner depriue me of my life than they may take that from my vnderstanding that is imprinted better grauen than euer was any writing vpoÌ„ copper or white marble Therfore from hencefoorth iudge my stedfastnes coÌ„staÌ„cie such as I surely paint it vnto you It is true that I am not ignoraÌ„t as ye haue put me in remembrance that I cannot coÌ„mand nother superior things nor fortune hir selfe And yet I know very well that hir wheele being mouable as ye certenly haue told me that she may turne some day to be as gentle to me as she hathe bene contrarye Then I maye play another personage and such a one that the vniust death of my brother may be reuenged my self content no sooner In the meane while I wil not breake the éele with my knée but desire only to employ the forces of my bodie and of my spirite and minde to satisfie my intention Alas at the beginning I sawe and had his acquaintance that hath afterwardes so greatly offended me I would neuer haue estéemed that of so great loue there might haue come forth so great and perfit hatred I loued him more than my self I sought his alliance more than any other mans that liueth or shal liue and now I hate him more than death and I will pursue his ruine more than my proper health praying you Lord Amadis for a resolution séeing that complaints cannot resuscitate and reuiue the dead and that vengeance doth somewhat discharge the heart neuer to speake more to me of him for his name and the remembrance that I haue of him is so odious that I as oft as he presenteth him to my spirite suffer but too much ruine For this cause it is certaine that as long as I shall haue life or meanes his life shall not remaine in safegarde For if it continue long yet shall I cause him either to be slaine or to be destroyed yea and yée your selues should shew your strength to dispatch him The Damsell that deceytfully had brought Lisuarde Amadis of Grece and Gradafilea after that hir embushment was discouered by Queene Zahara and she brought to prison to Trebisonde doth recite the maner and cause of the treason afterwardes she requireth that if they will shew hir no mercie to put hir shortly to death ALas my Lordes men say commonly that the most shortest follies are best and that it is much better to assure one vengeance appoynted with long deliberation meanes than to hast it without consideration of the daungerous issue that might chaunce whereby shame encreaseth to him that thought to quench and to suage it The which thing may now be proued by the misfortune that is chanced to my soueraigne Lorde
vpon the Giantes your cruell tyrants and rulers whose deathe and correction ye shoulde not estéeme to procéede from anye other than from the gods immortall wherof they will gyue you very swifte witnesse seing that two onely persons haue destroyed and brought to ruine suche and so fearefull mâ—nsters notwithstanding the situation of the very strong and inaccessible places the Gigantine forces and all their puissance and might both craftie and subtill Againe my deare and good friendes we counsell and admonishe you that ye giue no place to your affections so that the anger of God fâ—ll not vpon you if ye disobey the children of Mars sent hither to be soueraines and to set peace in your countrey As touching the rest ye shall come vnto vs to vnderstande the â—uerplus of our will. Arlande the Princesse of Thrace letter to Dom Florisel of Niquea praying him to come to see hir to vnderstande and to reuenge the wrong done by Amadis of Greece to Balarte his brother In the .9 booke the .14 Chapter ARlande Princesse of Thrace to the Knight of the shée shéepeheard gréeting The renoume of your excellent beautie and glorious actes of armes that runneth not only throughout all this countrey of Thrace but almoste throughout the world hath drawne me into so great admiration and desyre to know the truth that after I had consulted with our goâ—â— vpon these affaires and matters and that they answered 〈◊〉 after the common brute and rumour I was well willing to sende you this presente and to praye youre Lordshippe to come hither to vnderstande and to perceiue the wrong that the vnfaithfull and traitour Armadis of Greece did to my verie déere and onely brother Balarte Prince of Thrace by whose death the succession of this Realme after the decease of my heauie father shall pertaine to me yet with this charge to pursue and reuenge the death of my foresaide Lorde and brother Therfore if it please you to come hither to execute this reasonable vengeance I haue purposed and doe promise you in recompence of the duetie that ye shall doe to make you Lord and master of my selfe and of all that I possesse in this worlde aduertising you moreouer that the gods haue reuealed vnto me that ye onely are he to whom this great iustice and glorious vengeance is reserued Obeyng then the diuine prescieÌ„ce of the gods leaue off from henceforth to pursue the vengeance of a sort of euill iniuries and quarrels of Damsels of to base qualitie and come to take the possession and enioying of great goods and honors the which are prepared here for you thus doing ye shall content me and make me ioyfull She that desireth to remaine for euer in your good grace and remembrance Arlande The answere of Dom Florisel of Niquea to the letters of Arlande graciously refusing hir demaunde aswell bicause that Balarte was iustly slaine as that Amadis of Greece was his father In the .9 booke and the .14 Chapter DOm Florisel of Niquea the sonne of the right vertuous and stout Prince Amadis of Greece to Arlande the Princesse of Thrace salutatioÌ„s eueÌ„ such as hir excelleÌ„cy deserueth Madam I haue receiued the letters which it hath pleased you to send me by this your Damsell and reading them I knowe the great desire that ye haue to reuenge the deathe of Prince Balart your brother slaine as I haue vnderstanded most valiantly in the campe of the battell by the handes of my right déere father Amadis of Greece for a good and a iust quarrell a thing that should diuert and turne you to make any such suteâ— for the more that the cause of his death shall be published the more dishonor shal fall both vpon him vpon those that shal enforce themselues to reuenge him euerie man euidently knowing his vnrighteousnesse for the mischeuous turne that he purposed to doe vnto him that with all graciousnesse and good intreating receiued him into his house Therfore Madam finde it not strange at al if in this I satisfie not your desire not for the regarde of the honour and reuerence that I ought to haue naturally to him that hath begotten me but for as much as I should greatly offende God and my honour yea I should do against all reason to reuenge so vertuous an acte putting the case that another than my father had done it And I well assure you that who so euer woulde obey you in tâ—at he shall finde himself iustly smitten of God augmenting the shame and dishonour of him that deserueth to be buried in the darkenesse of obliuiousnesse As concerning the goods that ye promise me that is to make me possessour and to enioye your excellent beautie and all your possessions ye may vnderstande by these present letters that I vnder the condition that ye damaund haue a iust occasion to refuse theÌ„ neuerthelesse I thanke you as much as I caÌ„ possible for your good wil and affection that ye beare me in recompence wherof I promise you to employ me to be your seruaunt and to serue you in all that honour and vertue shall commaund me Thus much Madam praying the creator of al things vnto whom vengeance ought to be reserued to giue you his holy grace and after that I may be affectuously recommended â—o yours He that desireth you all goodnesse and encrease of honour the knight of the she shepherde A letter from Dom Florisell of Niquea to fair Helen princessâ— of Apolonia excusiâ—g himselfe of the boldnesse that he taketh to write vnto hir and to present hir his heart In thâ—â—â— booke the .33 Chapter MAdame if ye wil measure your highnesse and aduise you vpon the kingdome that ye possesse in respect of me that am but a wandring knighte and yet vnknowen vnto you I thinke well that ye would maruell of my temeritie and foolish boldnesse that durst write vnto you at this present but if ye would consider how great the force of loue is I am wel assured that your benignitie and sweetenesse shal excuse me and accuse this diuine beautie and good grace the which yesterday did so rauish me of my libertie that I had not the power nor the will neuer to loue or to serue any other but you For this cause I tooke boldnesse to pray you as humbly as I may possible to receiue my faithfull heart the whiche hathe left me to be wholly yours and doth suffer me to keepe and to name me your knight and very affectionate â—eruant the which shall little estéeme all his misfortunes that are past if ye would do him so great honor as that he might one of these dayes tell you by mouth that he feareth to write vnto you bicause of the little aquaintance that ye haue of him praying the creator and maker of all things the which hath mâ—ued you with so great beautie to giue you the increase of honor and felicitie You re most humble and obediente the knight of the she shepherde The princesâ—e of Apolonia doth
onely fountaine of my wealth I pray you not to do me so much harme as to frustrate me of the consolation that I receyue nowe declaring my miserie vnto you Yet if I in this thing commit any offence it shall please you to consider that the feare the which I haue of your chaste honestie cannot resist my desire nor the fire wherwith I burne will not suffer me to disguise and hide my anguishes any longer from you But if your highnesse will wholly denie me the conuenient remedie of my sicknesse at leastwise ye shall not forbid me at all or let me to open the euill that I suffer for your beautie for if ye may knowe it I haue the contentation of this glorie without looking for any other helpe I then onely requyre for this day that I maye name me your knight and that vnder so great an houre and good fortune I maye finde my selfe assured agaynst all daungers praying and beséeching you Madame not to refuse me this gifte considering that hauing set all my power in you there remayneth in me no force but that the which it shall please your good Grace to giue me The answere of Princesse Leonida to Prince Rogel In the 12. booke the .1 Chapter MY Lorde content your selfe with the fauour that the hardinesse of your thoughtes hath graunted you vpon me and knowe that I a Damsell as I am I haue no lesse néede of my chastitie for the conseruation of my honour than you as ye say of my good grace to come to the heade of your enterprise Therefore to proue vs both at auenture wherevnto wise men shall now conduct vs my presence shall suffise you if ye should as ye doe say receyue so great good fortune for as touching my selfe I will content me with yours and with the armes of my chastitie A pitifull complaint of Diana for the absence of Agesilan hir Louer In the .12 booke the .6 Chapter AGesilan ye shoulde content you with the name of Daraide and with the amitie that one Damsell doth beare to another without the increasing thus of my amorous passions by the chaunging of your name that I in your absence shoulde suffer the feare of a hundred daungers in the whiche peraduenture ye are not But what say I For if ye loued me with the like loue that I loue you ye shoulde endure and suffer for mée the selfe same trauell that I nowe suffer for you Alas my deare friende I thinke that loue woulde that I shoulde pay by the anoyance that I receyue by your absence the dolour that yée shoulde nowe suffer for béeing so farre from mée O that it pleased GOD I mighte holde my heart in my hande to the entente I might as well contemplate with the eyes of my heart my Agesilan the whiche is there so liuely printed as I haue him both nighte and day represented before the eyes of my thought Alas loue wherefore is it thy will that my sufferance farre passeth his that loueâ—h me constrayning me to kéepe that secrete the whiche thou doest suffer him to open For why giuing me a lyke aduauntage I am sure that the publication of my dolours might prepare me some quietnesse in steade of hyding them I féele that dayly theyr fiercenesse dothe growe within my courage after the fashion and maner of fire straytely kept within the fornace continually doubling his force strength O fountaynes of my teares succour and helpe my lyfe in this daunger of the burning flames in the which ye sée that my heart doth consume and burne and ye heauie sighes faythfull witnesses of my heauinesses giue mée a little ayre to my embrused breast that I die not and that dying I cause not him to dye likewyse for whome onely I enforce me to liue Alas Daraide yée haue brought mée out of this trumperie by the whiche yée shoulde haue enioyed my loue without opening of your thoughtes to mée to torment mine the more with this cruell flame the whiche béeing discouered coulde gyue you no lesse alleageaunce than it giueth mee nowe discomfort assaying mée to holde and to keepe my wyll and mynde couert Alas Agesilan howe shoulde you holde and thinke your paynes well recompensed if I were suffered or euer I die to cause you to knowe that the feare of léesing my lyfe coulde not wynne so muche vpon mée that I woulde wryte vnto you the extréeme passion that I suffer for your loue Comforte your selfe my Lorde and friende by the consolation that I receyue hearing you named onely althoughe I kéepe this ioye secretâ— to my selfe Alas Duchesse Lardenia why haue yée discouered that Daraide commaunded you to kéepe secrete O that the reuerence and the respect that shée had to my honestye had greatlye ouerpassed youre obeysaunce séeyng that wyth these cruell martyrdomes shée durste not discouer to mée the thing that yée wythoute anye payne that mooued you were bolde to open vnto mée O howe muche shoulde I hate the pleasure wherewith ye haue made Agesilan so greatly in your debt and me to trauell so greatly through dolour and paine O howe much Daraide are ye bounde to hir I vâ—rie little to you O the grieuous heauinesse for why I will holde my peace but so doing I pay for my silence that I owe vnto my dolour séeing that I endure it without hope of any other rewarde and I will endure and suffer it in time to come with the reason that I haue to endure it and yet searching al meanes and wayes by the which I may come to the rest that other Louers desire and of their Louers do looke for The complaint of Daraide wishing for death bicause he durst not bee knowne to his Ladie In the .12 booke the .7 Chapter ALas I sée nowe that my death onely shall cause my Ladie to knowe me séeing that I dare not discouer and open who I am fearing to léese vtterly the fauours that I haue receyued of hir Alas my Ladie Lardenia if ye cannot succour me by some remedie at leastwise ye shall succour me by the pitie that I pray you to take of my misfortune If ye can giue me no hope giue me some consolation that I in this trauell in the which ye sée me do not vtterly dispayre O that my destinies are miserable for why the thing that I séeke for my comfort that is the sight of my Ladie whiche doth encrease my martyrdome more and more Alas my deare Lardenia what good counsell can ye giue me séeing that my dolor doth not suffer it What consolation séeing that the meane from whence I shoulde receyue it that is the presence of my Ladie causeth me to double my anoyance and trouble What remedie séeing there is no hope what life séeing that I am in a continuall death Alas my Ladie Duchesse I know that ye cannot giue me the thing that I demaunde of you nor I aske it not of you for any other intention but to take the pitie on me that doth wholly lacke
fortunate seeing that the power whiche I had to suffer my euil hath continually supplied the fault that was in me to cause you to vnderstande it Neuerthelesse madame I beleue that ye may easily know the extremitie of the pain that I can not expresse vnto you if at least wise ye would haue a respect vnto the great beautie and good graces wherwith ye farre ouerpasse all other ladies of our tyme and of whom I should be vnworthie if my courage dedicated to your perpetual seruice the force of my dolor paine had not giuen me some maner of occasion to merite them and the boldnesse to discouer vnto you my passions to praye you to heale them with the remedie that yée maye knowe to be necessarye for suche an euill This madame shall be a thyng verye well syttyng and conuenient for your accustomed graciousnesse that as ye are the occasion of my infirmitie so likewise to be in time to come the occasion of my health And thereforâ— Madame I pray you to take some compassion of the euill that ye cause me to suffer vniustly and to assigne me a place where I may haue a meane to open vnto you with my mouth and to testifie vnto you by my teares the thing that I suffer in your seruice For why after your answer I may afterwards continue my life in a newe ioy or to finishe it with my auncient olde dolors that by my miserable death I may leaue vnto you and to all the worlde a sure testimonie of your inhumaine crueltie and of my mortall anguishes I therefore pray you madame that after I haue a thousand times kyssed and rekissed your faire handes to giue me the remedie that entierly doth depende vpon your pitie if ye loue not rather cruelly to cause me to die He that hath no desire to liue but to deserue your good grace A letter from Filisell to Marfira by the which he complaineth him of the rigour that she vseth in his behalfe And he prayeth hir to haue pitie vpon him In the 2. booke the .14 Chapter TO the cruell and rigorous Marfira the vnfortunate and miserable Filisell sendeth thée salutation from the whiche he himselfe is abandoned put of through your ingratitude Alas Madame with how much glorie and pleasure haue ye exalted me to the moste highest degrée of my contentation Uerely I thoughte that your highnesse woulde neuer abased your selfe so lowe to shewe me so great fauour as ye haue showed me if it had not bene for the great loue wherewith ye loued me But what haue I done now against you to be thus rigorously intreated what offence might I haue done against my Ladie Marfira seyng that I neuer thought to offende hir what good right might you haue had Madame to doe me nowe â—o great wrong Sée I pray you sée the outrages that ye doe me in place of fauours of the whiche ye are indewed so me for the good will that I beare you Alas why doe yée recompence my extreame loue with so extréeme batred beholde Madame that as long as I receyued your fauour I was bound to liue in perpetuall languour because I was so holde to take vpon me to winne the good grace of your soueraine beautie the whiche then I deserued not But since that it hath pleased you to shewe me your fauour and by that meanes haue caused me to haue a vertue in mée the whiche dothe make me worthy of an higher and a more glorious enterpryse than a man may say yée shoulde beléeue Madame that nowe yée are bounde to entertayne me in this pleasant glory that you your selfe haue caused and made me to merite I pray you then to giue vnto my euill the remedie that yée doe owe it and that yée so oftentimes haue promised or to deliuer me out of this trâ—mperie and deceyte in the whiche I sée my selfe through the anoyance that I suffer whereof I cannot comprehende nor thinke any other occasion but that it pleaseth you by so great and so rigorous an hatred to kéepe we from stable and faythfull loue the whiche I will beare you as long as I liue Thus I shall continue and remayne in this mortall warre vntill it please you to sende mée peace who tariyng and looking for it dothe kisse and rekisse a thousande times your fayre and white handes Marfira dothe wryte agayne to Dom Filisel of Montespin that he shoulde not complayne of hir seyng that shee taketh all the payne that she can to keepe hyr promisse with him afterwardes shâ— fayneth not to vnderstande the trumperie that he wrote vnto hyr of in the foresayde letter In the .12 booke the 14. Chapter DOm Filisell ye haue no occasion to complayne of me as ye complayne for if yée loued me ye cannot denie but that I loue you in like maner And if I haue taried a certaine dayes to doe the thing that yée woulde well I shoulde haue done it was not for lacke of good will as ye say in your letter but for lacke of time and opportunitie the whiche dothe abounde in you and dothe fayle and lacke in mée Also ye send mée worde to deliuer you of the trumperie where in yée are through the anoyance that yée suffer for my loue I answere you that it holdeth not of me that I doe it not but in the defaute and lacke of power and I assure you that if yée coulde doe it your selfe it shoulde be one of the greatest pleasures that mighte chaunce vnto me and woulde God it were his pleasure that yée might so doe for by this meane ye should deliuer me of the paine and trauell that I am in to giue you the remedie that ye aske and demaunde Yet seing that I haue promised you I will fulfill my promisse if it be possible for me and sooner peradueuture than ye doe thinke A letter from Filisel to Marfira excusing him of the trumperie whereof hee wrote vnto hyr In the twelfth booke the .14 Chapter DOm Filisel of Montespin dothe sende to the fayre and gracious Marfira salute the whiche the confusion where your letter hath sette it dothe denie him If I haue decayued my selfe in the letter that I haue sente you yée are not lesse deceyued in yours in the whiche ye beleue that praying you to deliuer me of the trumperie I woulde haue spoken of that wherein there coulde be none as in déede there is none that is to say of the stable and faithfull loue that I beare you as touchyng the whichâ— I in your behalfe coulde not bée deceyued as yée were neuer in mine consideryng that wée loue one another our loue hathe bene well bestowed on the one parte and on the other I onely demaunded of you in asmuche as I coulde not thinke on the occasion why ye had so long a while put me so farre from you that it would please you to deliuer me from the trumperie in respect and consideration of the loue that ye bare me or to say better that
ye should beare me For it séemed to me if ye had loued me so much as I loued you ye would not haue deferred the healing of my sickenesse so long as ye haue done Alas Madame howe farre are ye deceiued if ye thinke that I at any time haue the power to repent or to go farre from the great loue that I haue borne you and shall beare you as long as the spirite shall breath within my body for truely there is nothing in the world that was more impossible for me Think not at all Madame louing you as I doe loue you that euerâ— I coulde fall into any repentance of your loue considering the glorie and pleasure that I finde in louing of you I pray you then to giue me life through your fauour to my great ioye or shortly to send me death through your disfauour to make an ende of my anoyance and of the dolour in the which I shall continually remaine vntil ye giue me rest and the tranquillitie that your letter dothe promise mée and looking for so great and good and houre I kisse a thousand times your fayre and delicate handes A letter from Filisell of Montespin to Marfira complayning of the long terme and time that she hath set him to haue the ioyfull pastime whereof he had alreadie tasted and he prayeth hir to alleage it In the twelfe booke the .14 Chapter DOm Filisell of Montespin doth sende to the faire and gracious Marfira health the which he hathe losâ—e by the moste gréeuous sickenesse that he as yet hath proued Alas Madam if euer I loued you with good affection nowe I die wholly for your loue and if euer I had any hope to reioâ—ce of your diuine beauties now I am at the last in desparation bicause the long time that I must tarie without hauing any more the ioy of the goodnesse and pleasure whereof through your good grace I haue tasted and sauored the tranquilitie and gracious swéetenesse If before this I haue had any desyre I haue desired it after such a fashion that I knew not the thing that I desired But now being learned by experience I know that I desire the most pleasure and goodnesse that is possible to desire sauing one other that I knowe but ye maye not know it although the pleasure that I desire be extréeme Hitherto Madame I haue tormented my selfe to sée and to beholde the apparant graces of your beautie by the whiche yé◠maye make subiect to your seruice the fierce heartes of men more than barbarous but nowe I torment me to reioyce and play with your graces secretes of the which I among all other haue merited the pleasure Alas Madame cause I beséech you that so great goodnesse as ye haue shewed me turne me not to greater euill and denie me not the remedie which kissing your fayre and white handes I pray you to graunt me as soone as the dolorous passion in the whiche I am doth requyre it Filisels letter to Marfira reioysing himselfe and giuing hir thankes for the good houre that shee caused him to haue praying hir to continue vnto him hir grace and fauour In the .12 booke the .15 Chapter DOn Filisel of Montespin doth sende to the fayre and gracious Marfira the salute whereof he enioyeth to his great contentation The glorie wherein I am is so great that I can not tell with what wordes I ought to prayse it so that the prayse may be compared to his greatnesse O I the most happiest of all knightes of the worlde séeing it hath pleased you Madame to make me worthie through your fauours of the thing that I by my selfe could in no wise decerne This letter is onely to cause you to vnderstand my great ioy by the which ye are now indetted to me for the thing that hath caused me to merit it that is that I returne very shortly vnto you to take and to haue the selfe same pleasure of your beautie that it pleased you the last night to graunt me so that by this newe ioy I may rewarde the anoyance that I endure in the time that I cannot finde the oportunitie of so great a pleasure Wherefore Madame I pray you continually to intertaine me in such a good houre that if ye haue béene the cause that I am nowe exalted to so high a degrée that hereafter ye be not the cause of my miserable fall and ruine But to the entent ye shall not reprehend me of too great importunitie I will make an ende of my letter kissing a thousande tymes your white and delicate hands in remembrance of the peace that folowed the warre that is past I recommend me to my deare Caria praying hir shortly to purchase me the tyme so greatly desyred in the whiche I maye renue the fortunate occasion of my glorie The complaint of Queene Sidonis In the .12 booke the .21 Chapter O Graue honour of my high and royall lynage howe hast thou conducted me to an euill fortune whereof I may receyne a iust rewarde of my folly O loue howe doest thou cause to appeare in me thy deceytfull force and strength causing mée to vse hatred and crueltie vnto him that I loued much more than my selfe O Fortune with what inconstancie and lightnesse art thou chaunged putting me then in such desperation when I beganne to haue hope shortly to accomplish the thing that I desired most in this worlde O Gods immortall with howe much rigour haue ye willed to recompence the flerce pride and the prowde presumption of the Quéene Sidonia O my deare daughter and yet the daughter of him that robbed the holy rites of my chastitie Alas howe woulde ye haue payed me for the thing that ye denyed anâ— for the loue that ye bare continually to your father in recompence of the outrages and iniuries that I dayly sought for him O my daughter the first of the worlde and none like in beautie to the ende to make and to render like vnlike the delour that I endure nowe for thy death O cruell death howe doest thou leaue me in so miserable a life O cruell life howe doest thou leaue me in so miserable a death O Gods immortall wherefore doe ye suffer so great an iniurie as is that which I receyue by my life séeing my daughter Diana is dead But what do I say It is iust that ye as ye are iust doe shewe me to rigorous iustice to cause me to take vengeance vpon my selfe confounding me in a certaine dolour and heauinesse the which I haue procured to my selfe Alas Daraide howe doest thou giue to me and my daughter the dutie whereof thou wast indetted vnto vs to me giuing me with thy ende the ende of the folly of my vengeance in killing againe by thy death the hope and confidence that I had in thy life to my daughter recompencing hir death by thine the which is the last payment whereof thou wast bounde to the loue that thou didst beare hir and to that that she did
cause Sidonia to die for Dom Florisel but she shall wel defende hir self frō the feare of death for to defend hir faithfulnes that she ought him for the stable and burning loue that she hath cōtinually borne hym at this present dothe beare him Consider then king Balthasar that thinking to winne me thou doest léese mée and thinking to offende me thou shalte offende in nothing for a sworde shall not fayle me at all to resiste thy offence but thou mayste well offende me with thy armes the lawes of the Gods immortall whiche gouerne the sworde of iustice haue muche more force than thine thou shalte likewise offende the Prince of Greece whose righte of mariage thou wouldest violate for although he hath playde by trumperie and deceyte yet it is so that for his honour he will not let passe the iniuries without reuengyng of them that thou shalt doe me And seyng that for the reuerence that he beareth me he in my fauour hath saued their liues that sought to haue his heade as the kings of Gaza and of the Massagenes other of thy cōpanie giuing sure witnesse thou mayst well thinke that nowe he shal be as readie to cause them to léese theyr heades to please me withall as he hath at other times bene prest and readie for my loue to saue them Wherefore kyng Balthasar enterpryse not a warre whereby through hatred thou doest hope to winne hir that hateth and maketh warre agaynst hir selfe the greate loue that enflameth hir cōstrayning nor suffering hir honour to be destroyde nor shal féele hir selfe Demaund neyther loue nor peace of hir that hath neyther loue nor peace with hir selfe and with thée So then I am minded to defende my will and to resist thine and continually sauing my accustomed chastitie I will sustayne my déere countrey and realme calling the Gods to my iustice and men to my defense And purchasing this peace of me I am ready to sustayne suche warre as thou haste denounced vnto me The Oration of Queene Sidonia to the Citizens of Guinday incityng hyr Vassalles valiantly to defend◠hyr and sooner to suffer death than to let theyr renoume be defiled and of hyr parte she had rather die than to fall into the power of hyr enimies In the .12 booke the .43 Chapter IF the duetie whereof we are indetted to vertue my déere fréendes and faythfull Citizens commaunded vs not rather to sacrifice our liues for the conseruation of oure honour than to suffer it in any thing to bée corrupted in asmuche as honour beyng loste we during this mortall life can haue nothing that is good they may complayne them of the vncertaine issue of thinges that with good right and to sustayne their auncient renoume doe giue themselues with a franke courage to the inconstancie of fortune But séeyng that wée be bounde to defende our honour euen to deathe the multitude of enimies nor the doubtfull chaunce of one battell shoulde not put vs in feare for nothing We should onely feare least that the faulte and fayntnesse of heart cause vs to incurre any infamie and that the vniustnesse of our enimie make vs not more afearde than our good right dothe make vs constant for by such slouthfulnesse men might doubte of the experience of fortune the whiche gaue long since to sixe thousande souldiars of Greece the victorie of one million of Perses of the whiche there were slayne two hundred thousande in the playne fielde The selfe fortune graunted to Lucul the Romane hauing but tenne thousande souldiars in his tentes to ouercome by his vertue and good righte the kyng Tygrane and his infinite thousandes of fighting menne among the whiche were fiftie thousande horse menne This greate armie was ouerthrowen and broken in battell araye and the ensigne displayde and in open fielde by those whiche were very fewe in number but many in magnanimitie of courage for by the reason of theyr good righte they supplied the defaulte of theyr number and by the strength of their armes they resisted the feare of fortune as knowyng that the multitude of armed menne maketh the victorie neuer the surer and beyng fewer in number than the enimies menne shoulde not léese the assurance and lesse the hope to winne the glory of the combatte and fielde There is not he that may flée deathe when shée is appoynted him by the destinie of the highe Gods nor also there is not hée the whiche dying is not bounde to saue his good renoume that the shame and infamie of his deathe doe not desile the auncient honour of his lyfe Yée doe knowe the good right that I haue in this warre ye may remember the obedience that hitherto yée haue shewed me as to your Quéene And if I be not disceyued yée do yet remember the rewarde that ye haue receyued for your faithfulnesse I thinke that yée abhorre all tyrannie and I thinke that eche of you is readie to chase it from him as prepared and bounde to receyue deathe for the entertaynement of libertie in the which I haue alwayes enterteyned you and haue hither to defended you We shall haue to our ayde the Gods immortall as those which are the certaine reuengers of outragiousnesse and the sure defenders of innocencie If then reason good right and the ayde of Gods fayle vs not at all in this quarell let vs so doe that good courage fayle vs not and when fortune would enuie our good houre let vs rather choose an honourable death than a shamefull lyfe with a miserable seruitude and bondage Consider also of your part that I refusing the alliances of these barbarous kings that ye shall not onely defende my priuate quarell but also your publike with your goodes your libertie your wiues your children marking the calamities that in time to come ye if ye haue suche tyrants to your Lordes shall indure and suffer Therefore my friendes take a good heart vnto you and nowe shewe the valiantnesse and vertue that ye haue the which is néedfull that ye nowe shewe to defende your selues from those that haue enterprysed your ruine and destruction Do so then that men may sée their spoyles hanging within our Temples for an immortall tryumph of your victorie and ye shall beléeue that the king of Russia shall neuer triumph of the faythfulnesse that Sidonia doth owe vnto him that she first hath receyued for hir husbande but contrariwise for the Barbarian sworde shall not so soone appeare within our walles but that mine shall incontinent appeare within the breast of my daughter and me that by this franke death I shall deliuer my life from subiection leauing my dead bodie vpon the colde earth without spot and satisfying him by the immortalitie of this sacrifice the which as I trust in your vertue and fortitude ye would haue made of your selues before I should sée my self in such extremitie But I am so assured of the iustice of the Gods and of the force and strength of your right handes that I doe yet