And eke the Bull hath with his bow-bent horne
So hardly butted those two twinnes of love,
That they have crusht the Crab, and quight him
Into the great Nemean Lion's grove.
So now all range and do at random rove
Out of their proper places farre away,
And all this world with them amisse doe move, And all his creatures from their course astray; Till they arrive at their last ruinous decay.
Ne is that same great glorious lampe of light,
That doth enlumine all these lesser fyres,
In better case, ne keepes his course more right,
But is miscaried with the other spheres:
For since the terme of fourteen hundred yeres,
That learned Ptolomae his hight did take,
He is declyned from that marke of theirs
Nigh thirtie minutes to the southerne lake;
That makes me feare in time he will us quite for-
[sake.
And if to those Ægyptian wisards old
(Which in star-read were wont have best insight) Faith may be given, it is by them told
That since the time they first tooke the sunnes hight,
Foure times his place he shifted hath in sight,
And twice hath risen where he now doth west,
And wested twise where he ought rise aright.
But most is Mars amisse of all the rest,
And next to him old Saturne, that was wont be best.
For during Saturnes ancient raigne it's sayd
That all the world with goodnesse did abound;
All loved vertue, no man was affrayd
Öf force, ne fraud in wight was to be found;
No warre was knowne, no dreadful trompet's sound;
Peace universal rayn'd mongst men and beasts:
And all things freely grew out of the ground:
Justice sate high ador'd with solemne feasts,
And to all people did divide her dred behests:
Most sacred Vertue she of all the rest,
Resembling God in his imperiall might;
Whose soveraine powre is herein most exprest,
That both to good and bad he dealeth right,
And all his workes with iustice hath bedight.
That powre he also doth to princes lend,
And makes them like himselfe in glorious sight
To sit in his owne seate, his cause to end,
And rule his people right, as he doth recommend.
Dread soverayne Goddesse! that doest highest sit
In seate of iudgment in th' Almighties stead,
And with magnificke might and wondrous wit
Doest to thy people righteous doome aread,
That furthest nations filles with awfull dread,
Pardon the boldnesse of thy basest thrall,
That dare discourse of so divine a read,
As thy great iustice praysed over all;
The instrument whereof, loe here thy Artegall.
Artegall trayn'd in justice lore
Irenaes quest persewed;
He doeth avenge of Sanglier
His ladies bloud embrewed.
THOUGH vertue then were held in highest price,
In those old times of which I doe in reat,
Yet then likewise the wicked seede of vice
Began to spring; which shortly grew full great,
And with their boughes the gentle plants did beat:
But evermore some of the vertuous race
Rose up, inspired with heroicke heat,
That cropt the branches of the sient base,
And with strong hand their fruitfull rancknes did
[deface. Such first was Bacchus, that with furious might All th' East before untam'd, did over-ronne, And wrong repressed, and establisht right, Which lawlesse men had formerly fordonue; There Iustice first her princely rule begonne. Next Hercules his like ensample shewed, Who all the West with equall conquest wonne, And monstrous tyrants with his club subdewed; The club of lustice dread, with kingly powre en
And such was he of whom I have to tell,
The champion of true lustice, Artegall:
Whom (as ye lately mote remember well)
An hard adventure, which did them befall,
Into redoubted perill forth did call ;
That was, to succoure a distressed dame
Whom a strong tyrant did uniustly thrall,
And from the heritage, which she did clame,
Did with strong hand withhold; Grantorto was his
Wherefore the lady, which Irena hight,
Did to the raery Queene her way addresse,
To whom complayning her afflicted plight,
She her besought of gratious redresse:
That soveraine queene, that mightie emperesse,
Whose glorie is to aide all suppliants pore,
And of weake princes to be patronesse,
Chose Artegall to right her to restore;
For that to her he seem'd best skild in righteouslore.
For Artegall in iustice was upbrought
Even from the cradle of his infancie,
And all the depth of rightfull doome was taught
By faire Astræa, with great industrie,
Whilest here on earth she lived mortallie:
For, till the world from his perfection fell
Into all filth and foule iniquitie,
And in the rules of instice them instructed well.
Whiles through the world she walked in this sort,
Upon a day she found this gentle childe
Amongst his peres playing his childish sport;
Whom seeing fit, and with no crime defilde,
She did allure with gifts and speaches milde
To wend with her: so thence him farre she brought
Into a cave from companie exilde,
In which she noursled him, till yeares he raught;
And all the discipline of iustice there him taught.
There she him taught to weigh both right and
In equall ballance with due recompence, [wrong
And equitie to measure out along
According to the line of conscience,
Whenso it needes with rigour to despence:
Of all the which, for want there of mankind,
She caused him to make experience
Upon wyld beasts, which she in woods did find,
With wrongfull powre oppressing others of their
[kind. Thus she him trayned, and thus she him taught, In all the skill of deeming wrong and right, Untill the ripenesse of man's yeares he raught; That even wilde beasts did feare his awfull sight, And men admyr'd his over-ruling might; Ne any liv'd on ground that durst withstand His dreadfull heast, much lesse him match in fight, Or bide the horror of his wreakfull hand, Whenso he list in wrath lift up his steely brand
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