Classic Poem

I

Nought is on earth more sacred or divine,
That gods and men doe equally adore,
Then this same vertue that doth right define:
For th' hevens themselves, whence mortal men implore
Right in their wrongs, are rul'd by righteous lore
Of highest Jove, who doth true justice deale
To his inferiour gods, and evermore
Therewith containes his heavenly common-weale:
The skill whereof to princes hearts he doth reveale.
II

Well therefore did the antique world invent,
That Justice was a god of soveraine grace,
And altars unto him, and temples lent,
And heavenly honours in the highest place;
Calling him great Osyris, of the race
Of th' old Ægyptian kings, that whylome were;
With fayned colours shading a true case:
For that Osyris, whilest he lived here,
The justest man alive and truest did appeare.
III

His wife was Isis, whom they likewise made
A goddesse of great powre and soverainty,
And in her person cunningly did shade.
That part of justice which is equity,
Whereof I have to treat here presently.
Unto whose temple when as Britomart
Arrived, shee with great humility.
Did enter in, ne would that night depart;
But Talus mote not be admitted to her part.
IV

There she received was in goodly wize
Of many priests, which duely did attend
Uppon the rites and daily sacrifize,
All clad in linnen robes with silver hemd;
And on their heads, with long locks comely kemd,
They wore rich mitres shaped like the moone,
To shew that Isis doth the moone portend;
Like as Osyris signifies the sunne:
For that they both like race in equall justice runne.
V

The championesse them greeting, as she could,
Was thence by them into the temple led;
Whose goodly building when she did behould,
Borne uppon stately pillours, all dispred
With shining gold, and arched over hed,
She wondred at the workemans passing skill,
Whose like before she never saw nor red;
And thereuppon long while stood gazing still,
But thought that she thereon could never gaze her fill.
VI

Thence forth unto the idoll they her brought,
The which was framed all of silver fine,
So well as could with cunning hand be wrought,
And clothed all in garments made of line,
Hemd all about with fringe of silver twine.
Uppon her head she wore a crowne of gold,
To shew that she had powre in things divine;
And at her feete a crocodile was rold,
That with his wreathed taile her middle did enfold.
VII

One foote was set uppon the crocodile,
And on the ground the other fast did stand,
So meaning to suppresse both forged guile.
And open force: and in her other hand.
She stretched forth a long white sclender wand.
Such was the goddesse; whom when Britomart
Had long beheld, her selfe uppon the land
She did prostrate, and with right humble hart,
Unto her selfe her silent prayers did impart.
VIII

To which the idoll as it were inclining,
Her wand did move with amiable looke,
By outward shew her inward sence desining.
Who well perceiving how her wand she shooke,
It as a token of good fortune tooke.
By this the day with dampe was overcast,
And joyous light the house of Jove forsooke:
Which when she saw, her helmet she unlaste,
And by the altars side her selfe to slumber plaste.
IX

For other beds the priests there used none,
But on their mother Earths deare lap did lie,
And bake their sides uppon the cold hard stone,
T' enure them selves to sufferaunce thereby
And proud rebellious flesh to mortify.
For, by the vow of their religion,
They tied were to stedfast chastity,
And continence of life, that, all forgon,
They mote the better tend to their devotion
X

Therefore they mote not taste of fleshly food,
Ne feed on ought the which doth bloud containe,
Ne drinke of wine, for wine they say is blood,
Even the bloud of gyants, which were slaine
By thundring Jove in the Phlegrean plaine:
For which the Earth (as they the story tell)
Wroth with the gods, which to perpetuall paine
Had damn'd her sonnes, which gainst them did rebell,
With inward griefe and malice did against them swell.
XI

And of their vitall bloud, the which was shed
Into her pregnant bosome, forth she brought
The fruitfull vine, whose liquor blouddy red,
Having the mindes of men with fury fraught,
Mote in them stirre up old rebellious thought,
To make new warre against the gods againe:
Such is the powre of that same fruit, that nought
The fell contagion may thereof restraine,
Ne within reasons rule her madding mood containe.
XII

There did the warlike maide her selfe repose,
Under the wings of Isis all that night,
And with sweete rest her heavy eyes did close,
After that long daies toile and weary plight.
Where whilest her earthly parts with soft delight
Of sencelesse sleepe did deeply drowned lie,
There did appeare unto her heavenly spright
A wondrous vision, which did close implie
The course of all her fortune and posteritie.
XIII

Her seem'd, as she was doing sacrifize
To Isis, deckt with mitre on her hed
And linnen stole, after those priestes guize,
All sodainely she saw transfigured
Her linnen stole to robe of scarlet red,
And moone-like mitre to a crowne of gold,
That even she her selfe much wondered
At such a chaunge, and joyed to behold
Her selfe adorn'd with gems and jewels manifold.
XIV

And in the midst of her felicity,
An hideous tempest seemed from below
To rise through all the temple sodainely,
That from the altar all about did blow
The holy fire, and all the embers strow
Uppon the ground, which, kindled privily,
Into outragious flames unwares did grow,
That all the temple put in jeopardy
Of flaming, and her selfe in great perplexity.
XV

With that the crocodile, which sleeping lay
Under the idols feete in fearelesse bowre,
Seem'd to awake in horrible dismay,
As being troubled with that stormy stowre;
And gaping greedy wide, did streight devoure
Both flames and tempest: with which growen great,
And swolne with pride of his owne peerelesse powre,
He gan to threaten her likewise to eat;
But that the goddesse with her rod him backe did beat.
XVI

Tho turning all his pride to humblesse meeke,
Him selfe before her feete he lowly threw,
And gan for grace and love of her to seeke:
Which she accepting, he so neare her drew,
That of his game she soone enwombed grew,
And forth did bring a lion of great might;
That shortly did all other beasts subdew.
With that she waked, full of fearefull fright,
And doubtfully dismayd through that so uncouth sight.
XVII

So thereuppon long while she musing lay,
With thousand thoughts feeding her fantasie,
Untill she spide the lampe of lightsome day,
Up-lifted in the porch of heaven hie.
Then up she rose fraught with melancholy,
And forth into the lower parts did pas;
Whereas the priestes she found full busily
About their holy things for morrow mas:
Whom she saluting faire, faire resaluted was.
XVIII

But, by the change of her unchearefull looke,
They might perceive she was not well in plight;
Or that some pensivenesse to heart she tooke.
Therefore thus one of them, who seem'd in sight.
To be the greatest and the gravest wight,
To her bespake: ‘Sir knight, it seemes to me,
That, thorough evill rest of this last night,
Or ill apayd or much dismayd ye be,
That by your change of cheare is easie for to see.’
XIX

‘Certes,’ sayd she, ‘sith ye so well have spide
The troublous passion of my pensive mind,
I will not seeke the same from you to hide,
But will my cares unfolde, in hope to find
Your aide, to guide me out of errour blind.’
‘Say on,’ quoth he, ‘the secret of your hart:
For by the holy vow which me doth bind
I am adjur'd, best counsell to impart
To all that shall require my comfort in their smart.’
XX

Then gan she to declare the whole discourse
Of all that vision which to her appeard,
As well as to her minde it had recourse.
All which when he unto the end had heard,
Like to a weake faint-hearted man he fared,
Through great astonishment of that strange sight;
And with long locks up-standing, stifly stared
Like one adawed with some dreadfull spright.
So fild with heavenly fury, thus he her behight:
XXI

‘Magnificke virgin, that in queint disguise
Of British armes doest maske thy royall blood,
So to pursue a perillous emprize,
How couldst thou weene, through that disguized hood,
To hide thy state from being understood?
Can from th' immortall gods ought hidden bee?
They doe thy linage, and thy lordly brood,
They doe thy sire, lamenting sore for thee,
They doe thy love, forlorne in women thraldome, see.
XXII

‘The end whereof, and all the long event,
They doe to thee in this same dreame discover.
For that same crocodile doth represent
The righteous knight that is thy faithfull lover,
Like to Osyris in all just endever
For that same crocodile Osyris is,
That under Isis feete doth sleepe for ever
To shew that clemence oft, in things amis,
Restraines those sterne behests and cruell doomes of his.
XXIII

‘That knight shall all the troublous stormes asswage,
And raging flames, that many foes shall reare,
To hinder thee from the just heritage
Of thy sires crowne, and from thy countrey deare.
Then shalt thou take him to thy loved fere,
And joyne in equall portion of thy realme:
And afterwards a sonne to him shalt beare,
That lion-like shall shew his powre extreame.
So blesse thee God, and give thee joyance of thy dreame.’
XXIV

All which when she unto the end had heard,
She much was eased in her troublous thought,
And on those priests bestowed rich reward:
And royall gifts of gold and silver wrought
She for a present to their goddesse brought,
Then taking leave of them, she forward went,
To seeke her love, where he was to be sought;
Ne rested till she came without relent
Unto the land of Amazons, as she was bent.