or euer ye my Lord and cousin arriued and came hither we were gathered togither in thys place to prouide for the same and now that we fynde you so conformable to our willes I am sure that there is none of vs that thinketh any other thing but that fortune doth call vs to performe it and end it promising vs certen victorie being pensife sory for the fauor that she hath borne thus loÌ„g to king Lisuard the which at this present in no wise doth know himselfe and that it is so what hath he to do to sende my sister against hir will into a straunge countrey hath the king my father giuen hir vnto him to do his pleasure with hir ye knowe that a little after our departing out of Englande I sent to the Quéene for hir but she refused me that sending me word by Gandales that she would sée hir intreated nourished as hir proper person Is this the good intreating that she hath kept for hir at the last to destroy hir hath Mabile no nother place to conuey hir selfe vnto but to the Emperours house Is not the Realme of Scotland rich ynough to nourish and to bring hir vp by God this manner of doing of king Lisuard is so vnfortunable and so farre out of reason that I had rather die a huÌ„dreth fold if it were possible than not to be reuenged and already I haue sent to my father to prouide therefore In the meane while I pray you all my Lords to ayde me and you specially whome this iniurie doth touch in a manner as well as me being done not only to my sister your cousin and nigh parente but to Olinda and other of whome folowing the thing that we haue promised and sworne as my Lorde Amadis hath saide we ought to be the protectors and defenders The Oration of Grasind to those of the enclosed I le praising their enterprise going to succoure Oriane and hir damsels In the .3 booke and .17 Chapter BY my God your enterprise is high and worthy of very greate laude and prayse considering that besides the good that ye do to them that ye go to help and succcoure ye shall ensue and follow the other good knights the whiche are of this countrie or strangers so that from hencefoorth men shal not suffer folowing you that any man should do wrong to any Lady or to any other damsell And therefore ye shal so indet them that both they and these that be and that shal come a hundred yeares and mo hereafter shall thanke you King Lisuards Oration to my Lady Oriane his daughter exhorting hir to allow the mariage to be good that he hathe vndertaken to make of hir with the Emperoure In the 3. booke the .18 Chapter MY welbeloued ye haue alwayes shewed your selfe obedient to my will without any contradiction and will ye not continue still as reason willeth you ye melancoly your selfe as farre foorth as I see for the mariage that I haue found out for you whereof I do greatly maruell Estéeme you that I would once thinke to do any thing that shoulde not turne to your honoure and profite Thinke you that I am of so euill a nature towardes you I sweare vnto you by my faith that the amitie that I beare you is so certein and sure that I haue no lesse heauinesse for your departing from hence than â—e haue But ye know that it should be impossible to prouide for you so well as vnto my selfe Therfore I pray you vsing your accustomable wisedom to make better cheere and to reioice your selfe of the goodnesse that is chanced vnto being the wife of the greatest prince of all the world And if ye do that ye shall besides that ye shall be esteemed receiue and comfort your father the which is as heauy of your anoyance as nothing more The answer of Oriane to king Lisuard hir father declaring vnto him the great wroÌ„g that he doth hir to marrie hir against hir will. In the .3 booke the .17 Chapter MY Lord ye haue theÌ„ as farre foorth as I sée resolued the mariage of me and the Emperoure It may be that ye haue made one of the greatest faults that any Prince can do for first of all I will neuer loue the husband that ye gyue me and I am well assured and certaine as I haue declared vnto you not long since that Rome shall neuer sée me willing rather to fall into the mercie of fishes than to dwell in a place wherevnto I haue no desire or affection Now I cannot thinke what hath induced you or perswaded you to do this but the loue that ye beare to my sister and the desire that ye haue to leaue hir your sole heyre and me the moste miserable damsell of all the world but God that is iust wyll not suffer that your intention so vnreasonable shall come to effect but rather shal send death vnto me if it so please him Amadis Oration to his companions admonishing them to take good courage to succoure in so great neede so many noble damsels In the selfe same Chapter MY companions and friends were it not for the assuraÌ„ce that I haue of the vertue and magnanimitie that is in you all I without doubt would refraine to put in aduenture the battell that we sée is ready if we would take it in hande But yet I knowing you to be such as ye are indéede and also the iust occasion for the which we are entred and haue taken the sea I thinke that we shuld not delay it but to cast away all feare to deliuer froÌ„ captiuitie so many desolate damsels the whiche call vnto vs to succoure and to help them by the only obligation and band that we haue to defend their libertie Therefore I beséech you let vs so liuely set vpon these shippes in such sort y setting these ladies out of danger their coÌ„ductors shal neuer bring newes to their Emperour The complainte of Queene Sardamire for the Prince Salust Quide complayning of the euilles and miseries that were to come In the .4 booke the .1 Chapter ALas fortune doth now shew that she will go not only to the ruine and destruction of vs miserable captiues but of the Emperoure and of al his Empire Ah ah poore prince euill lucke hath méetely well runned vpon thee Alas what losse and what heauinesse shall they haue for euer that loued thée when they shall know thy sodein end I cannot tell how thy master may support it and beare it but I beléeue that he shal not so soone heare the newes but that he shal die throgh great anger hauing a good cause for the losse at once of so many great vessels and good men and specially for you my Lady que she to Oriane whome he desired much more than any thing of this world and for whome from hencefoorth shall be moued so strange warres that néedes it must be for many good knights most cruelly to finish and to ende their dayes
Trebisond Amadis king of France and of England and Calafie the Lord ruler of the Iles of Californie wher gold and very precious stones do grow in greate abundaunce aunswering in lyke manner to the thrée letters that you Armato king of Persiâ— Griâ—ilant Prince of the I le Sauuagine and Pintiquinestra the Lady of the people without heads haue sent vs certifying you that our iourney into these borders of the East hath bin for the defence and increasemeÌ„t of the law of Iesu Christ in whome we beleeue and also to destroy those the whiche are against him Thus after we had receiued your letters we haue bin content to agrée to the combat that ye demaunded with such weapons as ye shall choose for as concerning the campe we meane and purpose that it shall be before thys great Citie trusting that our only God in whose hand are the victories shal giue vs it ouer you to the confusion of your Idolles and greate domage and dishonor of your persons And for asmuch as this damsell hath charge and power by vs to tarrie to rest with you as for the ouerplus we haue remitted it to hir Thuâ— much there is that we sweare vnto you and do promise in the fayth and word of a king that for â—he time of the combat none of our camp shall moue to do you any iniurie or hurt prouiding that ye do the like on your side whereof we will haue assurance and promis by oth as reason doth require Amadis Oration to his men vpon the refusing of the peace demaunded of the Paganes exhorting them to fight strongly In the .6 booke the .26 Chapter SYrs it is certain that this cursed and reproued people are descended into these marches more to offend our religioÌ„ and the fayth of Iesu Christ than the countrey of Greece or the people of Constantinople and for this cause I thinke it best seing that fortune hath borne vs so good a face at the beginning that we should not put hir far from vs but by the aide of God to do so much as to driue those knaues vnto the welles and fountaâ—â—es of Tartarie and furthermore not to graunte them any apointment or truces as â—hey demaund for if ye hearken vnto them ye shal certenly not only giue them leysure to assure themselues but leauing off they shall recouer new force and strength setting as much by vs as by bathed hennes or villanes without shame and full of cowardnesse And this I would greatly allow that we without dissimulation should go and visit them euen at their owne câ—bbans And if ye woulde alleage vnto me that they are a greater number than we be there is an answer that the most parte of them are sicke in anguish and destroied through famine and hunger and moreouer we fight for the fayth of Iesu Christ in whose hands are the victories that which doth assure me that he will be with vs and that we should not doubt The letter of the infant Onoloria to the knight Lisuard taxing him of dissimulation and of fancie In the .6 booke the .30 Chapter SEing that your vnfaithfulnesse the most ingrateful man that is among the liuing is now so manifest as coÌ„cerning me that no excuse be it neuer so well cloaked can couer the fault of your hart I forbid you from hencefoorth vpon the payne of youre life to be in no parte where I may sée you or once to haue any newes of you for why it was not for me the which am of such a house as men know and to whom ye should haue come to vse dissimulation vnder the coloure of seruice the whiche thing doth cause me greatly to maruell that ye were so folish and hardie to tell me the thing that ye told me before ye departed from this towne and to send me word of that that ye charged Alquise last of all to shew me of your parte Proue therefore from hencefoorth to deceiue the simple damsells not extending thus your nettes to abuse great ladies the which resemble me and complayne them of you hauing a good meane and occasion to cause you to be put to death were it not that by the death of so vnfortunate and so miserable a person as ye are your lightnesse might be discouered and my honor had and put in doubt A letter of Sulpicie king of the Sauuagine to Amadis king of England offering him the combat vnder the conditions employed by the foresayd letter In the .6 booke the .51 Chapter SVlpicie king of the Sauuagine by the death of our vncle Grisilant of good memorie whome our Gods do intreate wyth Ambrose and Nectar Garfant and Bostrosse our vâ—ry déere and welbeloued brothers wil thée Amadis king of Englande to witte that we hauing the Gods of forces and meanes to reuenge as well the death of our foresaid vncle as the vsurpation that thou hast made vs for the Castle of Roch wher thou hast left one to gouerne named Sarquilâ—s the whiche since thy departure hathe gathered togither a greate number of Christians that are entred into our countrey wherof haue ensued many and infinit murders and yet may chance hereafter But to resist and to auoyde this we haue thought to presente vnto thée the combat of vs thrée againste thrée of thine vpon this condition that if we be victors thou shalte reuoke Sarquiles restoring our Castle into our hands and al that hath bin since vsurped and if we be ouerthrowen the rest of our countrey shall also remayne vnder thy obeysance and we shall leaue it vnto thée franke and frée neuer more to quarell for it the which thing we woulde not put vnder fortune so variable were it not for the good right that we haue and the wrong that thou dost vnto vs And to the intent thou shouldest not go back from so reasonable things we sweare vnto thée and promis in the word and fayth of a king not to fayle in one poynt and furthermore to giue thée suretie vnto all and against all except vs thrée if thou wilt come or send hitherâ—f no we shall apoint vs to go vnto thée or to some other place that thou shalte deuise prouiding also that thou vse vnto vs like faithfulnesse as we present vnto thée A braue answer of Mirammolin to Brian of Moniastes herauld In the .6 booke the .59 Chapter HErauld returne to thy master tell him that I haue not trauerst the seas so much nor taken in hand the conquest of Spayne to retire and draw my selfe backe with threatnings when I was but a litle one they made me aferd with Woolues but now that I am a king commaunding men I feare not the threatnings of those that I trust to ouercome and shall haue at my discretion and commaundement before it be night A letter from VrgaÌ„d of Cognue to the knight of the burning sword foretelling the thing that shall chance vnto him the which is a certayne affliction scantly able to be borne In the .7 booke and
not bound to giue or demaunde more thaÌ„ is possible for the possibilitie failing the obligation and promise taketh no place Abra required me to marie hir and I was bound already so that it was not in my power As concerning the death of hir brother whereof she is so heavie by God and bicause Zair went aboute and did treason and that that was naughte the whiche he inuented against my Lorde the Emperour the Empresse my ladies their children and other she hath more reason and cause to complaine hir of hys honor than of the chastisement that he as it is to be presumed receiued by the diuine iudgement of god And yet I wyll well confesse that for the loue of hir I desire that he were yet aliue but seing that his daies fighting like a good knight are at an end and that she hath receiued the crowne and Empire of Babilon as a sage a vertuous Princesse as she is I thinke that she shoulde forget hir teares and quarrels and to take reason for payment without desiring thus my head to sacrifice it to the vnrighteousness of hir brother And to the verifying of the same I will take paine sauing my selfe to haue yours at such mercie as ye â—e desire mine And to doe this I accepte the defiance and the fielde by you presented The armes are these accustomed among knightes of honor shield speare the day seuen night for your solace for I suppose that ye are sore trauailed bicause of the long iourney that ye haue made The iust and the right God be the kéeper both of the honor and right of him of vs two vnto whome it pertaineth Zahera the Queene of Cauease doth submit hir selfe to doe hir honour saued the wil of Lisuard after the conditions of the combat in the whiche she as she saithe was ouercome In the .8 booke the .49 Chapter THe truth is nor I will not denie it but that by the comnant that we made on the day that we fought together he that of vs two should léese his armour shoulde remaine as ouercome and be bounde to doe the will of the victor All you my Lordes doe knowe what chaunced And althoughe that fortune hath done so little for me as to take from me that was in hir handes to giue it you yet for all that I will not denie you the rest of that that I doe doe owe you for doing the thing otherwise the stroke at the entry might be attributed to such a fortune that it shuld redounde to my greater disaduantage not fulfilling my promise to him vnto whom I owe it Also the gods will not suffer it but rather send death vnto me For notwithstanding I am but a woman yet I knowe certainely that neither corde nor naile can so constraine or close the thing that they will fasten it vnto to holde it stedfast as faith doth staightly hold a gentle spirit with his line or corde indissoluble And for this cause as I haue learned the olde and auncient painters did paint hir with a white lynnen clothe declaring thereby the purenesse which may not nor oughte not to be defyled with anye spotte or perill be it neuer so straunge and daungerous And this is the reason whereby I submit me wholy to your will purposing to obey you so far yet as my estate and honour shall permit and suffer it Now therfore aduise you what it pleaseth you that I shall doe Lisuard doth answere Zahara that she ouercame hir selfe and dothe set hir agayne in hir libertie and for all recompence hâ— requireth hir amitie In the eyghte booke the .49 Chapter MAdame quoth Lisuard â— I thinke there is no princesse nor no other that hath wel considered our combat that doth not estéeme the victory that ye giue me to procéede of youre owne voluntarie will and not of my force and strength For as I haue oftentimes told you it was you your selfe that ouercame you and not I. And so this glory that ye attribute vnto me doth retourne to you and it is reason that it be associated with your good and entier libertie without any order apointed by me otherwise than it shall please you Ye haue it then and enioy it as before requiring of you no other recompence for the seruice and goodnesse that I desire and wish you but that we may continue friends assuring you madame that of my part I as concerning you as long as I liue shall be no nother what euil or displeasure so euer it be that ye haue purchased and sought for me Esclariana the Empresse of Rome comming to king Amadis doth shew him in few words how that Florestan deliuered hir out of the hands of the Pyrats and in recompence thereof she demaundeth him to hir husband and spouse In the 8. booke the .52 Chapter I Beléeue that few of you most excelleÌ„t princes be ignoraÌ„t of the cruell death of the Emperoure of Rome Arquisill and of his sonne the Prince of Inerpie by the occasion wherof the emperiall crowne by the right of successioÌ„ perteineth to me And yet that notwithstanding fortune not being coÌ„tent with the iniurie inhumanitie committed by those that touch me very nigh assaied after that to giue me yet another charge very euil to disgest That was that the Empresse my déere dolorous mother beléeuing to saue me from the tyrants the vsurpers of my goodes brought me by sea into a place where that not only I and she fell almost into the perill of léesing our liues but of our honor it selfe with the greatest shame that euer chaunced to any poore lady or vnfortunate damsel The which I had neuer auoyded without the good succâ—oure and aide of Florestan here present the whiche hath done so much for me as to haue saued me and brought me agayne vnto your hands my Lord whom I pray you most humbly I may find good agreable if so be I haue chosen him for my Lorde and husband for it is reason séeing that he hath taken the care and payne and with such honest and frendly amitie for me that he haue the enioying of my goods and of that that dependeth thereof Amadis doth answer Esclariane and doth accord to hir demaÌ„d In the .8 booke the .52 Chapter IN good fayth my niece quoth king Amadis Florestan my nephewe is the sonne of a good father and he himselfe a knight of so great merit that ye could not appointe you in no place better And I greatly thanke you that ye loue him and him also that he hath shewed him selfe so curteous and so ready to serue you as he hath done Ye require him of me for your husband I agrée vnto your request pray you both that it may be done euen now without any further delay Amadis of Greece taketh paine to perswade Abra that she shuld take in good part the thing that the Gods do send hir and to hope for better in time to come Afterwardes he prayeth hir to
diuines may be as well taken as I. This Infant whome I pray you receiue as hys highnesse doth merit may shew you by mouth the torment and anoyance that I am in Thus I pray you not to denie me your comfort the which I aske not but with an honest intention the which is of one true and perpetuall alliance of vs two And in thys hope I will pray the Almightie to gyue you his grace presenting my most humble recommendations to yours He that cannot be long without your succour the diuine Anaxartes Letters from prince Anaxartes to the Infant Oriana coÌ„tinuing notwithstanding hir answer the burning affection that he doth beare hir and aduertising hir of the daunger into the which he may fall if she refuse him In the .9 booke the .65 Chapter RIght vertuous Princesse I perceyuing the answer that ye haue made to the Infant Artimire by whome I sente you my letters I know that ye find it nother good nor decent that I haue apointed my selfe to come to you for the reason meÌ„tioned in them that is bicause ye are vnder the power of your father and mother vnto whome ye will obey and do nothing but their pleasure the which thing I agrée with you to be reasonable and honest to all persons be they neuer so high and noble but if ye knew what power this little God of loue hath vpoÌ„ men I wil say also vpon the diuines I am assured ye shuld not haue found my humble request so strange for your highnes would haue coÌ„sidered that he doth so blinde men that who so it pleaseth him to smite with his golden dart he for the most part and most often taketh froÌ„ them all discretion as we haue infinite examples by the histories the which at the present I will not recite fearing to trouble you with â—oo long letters but onely pray you to beléeue that your excellent beautie hath brought me to suche a statâ— that if it please you not shortly to shew me some beningne fauour I â—eare me very sore that ye shall sée me fall into the greatest misfortune that may chaunce to any knighte presenting in this behalfe my righte humble commendation to your good grace of the which I desire to be participant considering the meane how that I may demaunde you of the King your father seing that ye wil promise me nothing vntill ye knowâ— his will. The very same that is more yours than his owne the diuine Anaxartes Letters of the Infant Helen to the King of Apolonia hir father by the which she dothe praye him to excuse hir that she is maried without his leaue seyng that the destination woulde so haue it and that the Prince that she hath taken hath deserued much more In the .9 booke the .70 Chapter SYr your most humble daughter Helen doth pray you or euer ye reade these letters at length to consider what power loue hath evpon men otherwise ye woulde Iudge the fault that I haue committed against your goodnesse greater than it isâ— if ye measure the obligation of obedience that all children ought to haue to fathers and mothers Well syr to the end that I disguise nor hide nothing from you I thinke that ye do it for the best to kéepe me farre off from amorous affections separating me from your court and to set mée in this solitarie place with my Aunte and my cousin Tymbria of Boetia but I ensure you that loue hath so assayled me representing to me in fansâ—e the beautie good grace valiantnesse and magnanimitie of Prince Florisel of Niquea that fortune so fauouring me that I haue séene him and knowen the singular vertues that are in him and the vnspeakable loue that he heareth me I haue bene inforced afterwardes that I had promised him mariage by present words to folow him and hereof is witnesse my cousin Tymbria the which hath kepte me companie fearing that ye would haue giuen hir some euill countenance she presenteth hir humble recommendations vnto your good grace prayeth you I also asmuche as I may possible to excuse hir vnto my Lorde hir father assuring you that she is not the cause of the thing that I haue done but contrariwise resisted it with all hir power but ye know syr that no wisedome nor yet no humaine force nor strength can resiste the fatals destinies Thorefore syr ye ought to beléeue suerly that it was the will of God nor ye can not say that I haue offended my honour nor yet yours taking an husbande not agreable vnto my highnesse for he whome I haue chosen doth merite one of a greater stocke than I am for the goodnesse that he doth possesse aswell of fortune as of the spirite yea a great deale more than the Prince Lucidor vnto whom I pray you to excuse me and to consider that I neuer promised him any thing so that he néede not be greatly gréeued with me nor offended with the thing that I haue done in as muche truely as this hath not béene to disdaine his aliance for I acknowledge that he did me much honour willing to take me for such a one as I am nowe to Dom Florisel of Niquea the which hath conducted me to Constantinople accoÌ„panied with Prince Falanges of Astre a Prince as wise and as valiant as he is vertuous and of good grace praying in this behalfe the soueraine creator of al things to giue you health good fortune and long life Your most humble daughter Helen of Apolinia Prince Lucidor of Vengeances letter to the Infant Alastraxeree giuing hir knowledge of the iust occasion that he hathe to reuenge him of Dom Florisel and praying hir not to let him to do it In the .9 booke the .72 Chapter MAdame were it not that I thinke that ye haue bene misinformed of the great wrong that Prince Florisel of Niquea hathe done mée I estéeme that your diuine excellence would not haue béene in battaile against me to haue lefted the effect of the iust execution of the vengeance that I oughte to take vpon him as well in my owne name as vpon the occasion of the iniurie that Amadis of Greece his father hathe done to my sister Lucelle the which is here with me But to the ende Madam that ye may knowe what hath moued me to assaile him in such order as ye haue séene ye shall vnderstande that he rauished and ledde away Helen the Infant of Apollonia the which hath beene promised me of long time to be my wife and for such I haue accepted hir and will haue hir I pray you then to consider how much that thing should gréeue me and shewe not your selfe to be so great an enimie of your owne highnesse and good renoume as to let so iust a vengeance but rather to shewe fauour and ayde to him that foloweth it thus doyng ye shall obserue and keepe the integritie of your iustice Thus Madame presenting my humble recommendations to your good grace I shall pray the soueraine to gyue
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
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
Therefore my friendes let vs stoutly goe forwardes hauing no regarde of any cruell Gyant and full of bloude the whiche are of theyr companie For a man is not the more estéemed bycause of his rude and greate members but for his good heart and courage You sée that oftentimes the Hare dothe ouerleape the Oxe and a Sparow Hauke or a Merline to to beate and to ouercome a Kyte Our enimies do put their trust in the face of these monsters hauing no regarde of the wrong that they haue and doe vs and we truste that God the which is a doer of right will giue vs force and strength to ouercome them through the dexteritie of our persons and diligence that we shall shewe and doe Therefore my friends let vs stoutly go forwardes thinking that euery one of vs euen of himselfe is sufficient and able to fyght and to destroy the moste braue of all their companie assuring you that if we this day winne the honor of the battell besides our renoume and glory that shall compasse the vniuersall worlde there shall neuer enimie of England lift vp his head with an euill eye to looke vpon vs. King Cildadans Oration to his Host to be corageous to defend their libertie In the second booke the .16 Chapter GEntle Knightes of Irelande if ye perceyue why and wherefore you go to fight there shall not be one of you al that shall not blame his predecessor that hath so long delayd the beginning of so glorious an enterprise The Kinges of England vsurpers tyrants not only against their subiects but vpon their neighbors haue taken in times past without any right vpon our auncestours a tribute the which you knowe very well they haue payde oftentimes and for this cause we are come into this place to defend our libertie the whiche can not be payde nor recompensed with no treasure This is your déede and the right not of you onely but of your children the which vnto this time haue ben holden and reputed by them whome you sée and are purposed to make you bondmen and slaues Will you then liue alwayes in this sorte will you continue the yoke for your successors are you of a lesse and weaker heart and courage than youre neyghboures Ah if we be victorious they will restore that they haue of ours I am fast and sure that fortune doth fauor vs For you see the honest men that are come to ayde and to succour vs Knowing our good right and title let vs thruste in among them gentle Knightes for I sée already that King Lisuard and his companie are in doubt to turne their backes vnto vs they be as they say aâ—customed to winne but we shall learne them to custome themselues to be woonne Of one thing I will aduertise you that is that euery man ayde and helpe his companion keeping your selues as strayght and as close togither as may be possible An exhortation of Mabile to Orian the which was not content In the .2 booke the .7 Chapter MAdame I maruell at you and of your maner of doing for as soone as you are gone and deliuered of one enuy and tribulation a newe doth solicite youâ— and you should as me thinketh take better héede what you speake and say of my cousin not persuading yourself that he hath holden or had this purpose or any other to trouble you considering that you may be assured that he neuer thought to offend you in word thought nor déede And the prowesse and noble actes that he hathe done as well in your presence as in your absence might haue borne you sufficient witnesse But I sée well inough what it is you make me beléeue and to thinke that you being wery of my companie will driue me away vnder the colour that my cousin is to much youres abusing your selfe of the seruice that he dothe and heareth vnto you But yet when you haue lost me it shall be but a small matter prouiding that your Amadis I may well say be not the worsse entreated For you knowe well and I also that the least notice that he shall haue of your trouble shall be sufficient and inough to cause him to die so that I maruel what pleasure you take to torment him so ofteÌ„ doing for you that is possible to be done for any other Lady aliue Consider you not that after that Apolidon would that the proofe of the chaÌ„ber forbidden was common to all the worlde that it shoulde not stande with reason for my cousin kéeping Briolanie to do as other do Truely I beléeue that neyther she nor you are yet â—ayre inough to obtaine and â— in that which all the fayre women that haue bene since a hundred yeare hitherto could haue or obtaine Therefore I may well assure me that this newe ielosie procéedeth not of any fault that he hathe made you the which doth not thinke but to obey you but his misfortune hath alreadie so ruled him that to please you he hath not forgotten himself but setting by none estate but by you hathe entierly disdayned all his linage and hathe estéemed them as strangers not knowing them nor no other but you whom he doth reuerence as a God and yet you will vtterly lose him Ah ah the dangers and euident perils in the which he and his haue bene oftentimes for the loue of you as well against Archelaus as in this last battell are now very yll recognised séeing that in the satisfaction of them you desire the destruction of the head and principall of my parents Is this the goodnesse the recognising of the seruices that I haue done you are these the first â—ruites of the hope that I had in you Certes I am now very farre off from the thing that I hoped and breathed for seing before my eyes the ruine and destruction of him conspyred whome I loue best in this worlde the whiche is more yours than his owne But yet if it please God it shall not be so nor no suche inconuenience shall approch me so nigh Certes to morow I will pray my brother Agreus and my vncle Galuanes to conduct me into Scotland the which will do so much for me as to bring me from your companie that is so vnthankefull Then she disposed hir to wéepe so greatly that it séemed she should melte into teares Alas sayde she I pray God that the cruelnesse you doe and shewe to your Amadis may turne to vengeance vpon you to satisfie al his kindred the which shall not lose so much losing him as you alone and againe that this may be the greatest misfortune that may happen and chaunce vnto vs. Orians answer to the foresayd Mabile excusing hir of the thing that they accused hir of In the .2 booke the .17 Chapter AH ah poore vnfortunate woman among all that be most desolate and heauie who would euer haue thought that this thing might haue fame at any time into your hart that you haue now opened vnto me Alas I opened my selfe
Earle Argamont to King Lisuarde declaring the misfortune that shall chaunce vnto him and to my Lady Oriane if he marrie hir to the Emperour In the .3 booke the .15 Chapter SYr haue you not marked the glorie of these Romains the which vnreuerently haue bene bold before you to do iniurie to the Knights of your Court what may they do in other places thinke you by God séeing that they had so litle discretion I feare greatly that they wil lightly estéeme my Ladiâ— Oriane incontinently after that you haue lost the sight of hir And that notwithstanding you haue alreadie as I haue vnderstanded accorded and agréed vnto them I can not perceiue whereof this your fantasie doth procéede considering that neuer Prince so sage and wise did euer forget himselfe so farre And it seemeth that you haue a certaine enuie and will to iniurie and prouoke fortune against you and to vnbinde misfortune that hath bene so long bound at your gate haue you forgotten the graces that the Lordâ— hathe done for you do you not fear at al his furie is not fortune mutable are you to know to learne that she when she is enuied and wearie to do him good whoÌ„ she hath lifted vp doth not afterwards chasten him with rods but with cruell diuers torments a hundred times worsse than death Pardon me syr for the faith and fidelitie that I beare you doth bolden me to saye thus vnto you for you knowe howe that these worldly things are transitorie and perillous and that the glory renoume that men get by long trauell in this life is ofteÌ„times put out and buried through litle and light occasioÌ„ if fortune do disfauor the person so that if there rest any help in the place of prayse he shal be blamed only that could not entertaine kéepe the good fortune wherein he was before Therfore sir think I pray you vpon the fault that you did not long since putting far from you so many good Knightes as Amadis his brothers parents and friends by the which you wer feared honored and redoubted throughout all the worlde and not being yet out of this euill you will enter into a worsse the which thing maketh me beleue that God hath forgotten you bicause you first forgatte him for if it were otherwise you would take their couÌ„sel that haue a desire to serue you faithfully But seing that I sée I am content to discharge me of my fidelitie and homage that I owe you And returne to my countrie to auoyde the sight if it be possible of the iust complaints and strange teares that my Lady Oriane shal make wheÌ„ you as you haue promised do deliuer hir And to do this you haue already sent to séeke Miresâ—â—ur the which hath constrained me to tel you the thing that you haue heard and vnderstanded alreadie Amadis Oration to the Erle Argamont shewing him that for his loue he will saue the life of a Romaine whomâ— he hath ouercome In the .3 booke the .16 Chapter FOr the honor of the good King and you I will saue for this time the life of this presumptuous Romaine yet if any other of his companions fall in like danger they may be sure that they shal pay the amends for him for I neuer heard speak of so extreme glory as of theirs by the whiche they make a matter a custome to dispraise one Knight to aduance theÌ„selues And furthermore I pray you to say vnto your King that for the goodnesse that I haue perceiued in him I neuer had will to disturbe him nor to doe any thing wherewith he should be displeased but I pray him that he will suffer me if any other present himselfe to fight to followe my victorie that hereafter they be not so prompte to speake and to saye euill folowing the fashion of their Emperor Patins doings thâ— whiche is accustomed dayly to threaten and most commonly to be beaten Oâ—ians complaint to King Lâ—suard hir father assuring him that if he marrie hir to the Emperor she shall sone die In the .3 booke and .17 Chapter ALas my Lorde behold in pitie for the honor of God your daughter so greatly desolate and be no lesse fauorable vnto hir than you haue bene all your life time to the most simple Damsels that asked and desired your helpe Ah ah my Lord when Archalaus led you away as a prisoner that waâ— vnder the title of your great goodnesse to go and to helpe hir that had required you And is it possible now that forgetting thâ—t vertue that hath bene alwayes familiar with you you will doe worsse to me than euer you did to any other liuing I haue learned that you will sende me to the Emperor of Rome to be his wife but if you constraine me to that you shall sinne too greatly for that shal be against my wil and I am determined that death shall soner take me Oriane doth yet complaine of hir fathers cruelnesse to marrie hir to a person whome she knoweth not In the .3 booke the .17 Chapter SYr quoth she or euer you send me farre from you I pray you aduise your selfe of the euil that shal follow for Rome shall neuer see me yea the Sea shall neuer deliuer me from this paine so shall you be the cause of two euilles togither The first of the disobedieÌ„ce that I shal commit against you and the other of the homicide that your daughter shall do on hir owne person And beléeuing by this meanes to make aliance and amitie with the Emperor estéeming me thus destroyed for the dispite of him he shall haue iust occasion to will you euill and not he onely but all they that in time to come shall heare it spoken and so whereas you are renoumed throughout all the worlde to be a Prince benigne mercifull ye shall be called vnpitifull and more cruell than any other may be pardon me sir the heauinesse that presseth me doth constrayne me to say all that I thinke and if ye sée that I speake vnto you to irreuerently take of my indiscretion what vengeance it shall please you for ye cannot gyue me so great payne and torment as that is the whiche I see is prepared for me depriuing me of your presence The Earle of Argamont Oration to king Lisuard intending as before to turne him from the foresaid mariage In the 3. booke the .17 Chapter MY Lord I would hold my selfe but too fortunate if I had not an occasion to tell you that reason dothe binde me knowing you to be a wise and a vertuous Prince easily to discerne the good with the euill neuerthelesse the sorow that my Ladie your daughter hath made vntâ— me not long since hath constrained me to put you in remembrance of the thing that I at other times haue tolde you of hir and I praye you as muche as I may possible or euer she depart far from you to thinke ripely and without affection vpon it For notwithstanding a wise man doth not
he foresayd in the which he declareth that vpon â—ust occasion they enterprised against the Emperoure and that it is needefull in all sweetnesse to aduertise king Lisuard least he shoulde be miscontent In the .4 booke the .3 Chapter MY Lord Amadis it is very certeine that the enterprise that hath bin made vpon the Emperoure was not for any enmitie that we bare him but only to kéepe our fayth as al good knights should to sustayne and defend the wrongfully afflicted and specally all good Ladies of the whiche all we should be protectors And therefore I am thus minded first or euer we begin this warre that we send to king Lisuard and to cause him to vnderstand the occasion that moued vs to assaylâ— and inuade the Romaines and as quietly as may be if he be miscontent to pacifie him declaring vnto him with all graciousnesse the iniurie and wrong that he did to my Lady his daughter disheriting hir vnder the coloure to marrie hir with a strange Prince the which thing is not agreable vnto God nor to none of his subiects and therfore if it be his good pleasure to receiue hir to his grace and fauor and to forget the enuie if he heare hir any offering vnder this condition to restore hir vnto hym and no otherwise And if he refuse it and disdaine the duetie that we put oure selues in that then we declare resolutely vnto him that we doubt him not and that we if he make warre vpon vs be ready to defend vs In the meane while it is necessarie that we fortifie vs with all things thaâ— are requisite â—o a thing of such importance as this is at least way if he purpose to inuade vs that he find vs not vnprouided although he will be as my mind giueth me more ready to peace than to any other thing but yet that should not cause vs tâ— be slacke to make vs ready and to send to our friends and alies to pray them to ayde vs when we shall send them word The Oration of Oriane to Agrayes thanking him for his benefites and praying him to labour for peace betwene king Lisuard and Amadis In the .4 booke the .3 Chapter MY cousin notwithstaÌ„ding I haue great hope in the wisdome of your cousin Amadis in the good will that thesâ— knightes beare me so me thinketh that I haue good reason and cause to haue in you a speciall fidâ—litie as well for the obligation in the whiche I finde my selfe bound to the king your father and also to the Quéene for the good intreating that they made me in Scotlande as for that they deliuered me your sister Mabile to kéepe me company by whome onely next vnto God I do liue for why without the comfort that she oftentimes made and gaue me when my misfortunes were most greeuous I had bene buried long since and depriued of this world And although that at this present I haue not the meane to recognise nother to them nor to you how muche I am bound to you yet I hope with the time by all meanes to endeuer me thereto And in the meane while ye shall not if it please you he miscontent that I familiarly do cause you to perceiue the gréeues that I suffer And to begin I pray you that ye leauing off the wrong that my father hath done you will to your power make meanes to haue peace betwene my cousin and him for I doubt not seing the auncient and old hatred that they haue together the occasion that ye all haue to will him little fauor but that full honestly the things begon shall come to no other end than to a great ruine of the one part and other if it be not through the resistance that ye may do vsing in this thing your wisedome and good counsell Of the which thing I pray you againe as well to auoide such inconuenience as not to make me suspect to straunge nations the whiche may hereafter doubt of my innocencie and bespot my good renoume the which is to me of such consequence as ye may iudge and estéeme Agrayes answer to Oriane excusing him selfe vnto hir and promising hir to satisfye hir mind as much as he may posssible and to fynd peace in tyme oportune In the .4 booke the .3 Chapter MAdame quoth he as touching the good intreating that ye receiued and had in Scotlande the king my father and the Quéene in that did nothing but that it becoÌ„med theÌ„ to do and I am sure that they haue you in such affection and loue that in things whervnto their power may extend they will emplâ—y it and do it for you as for their best parent and â—â—ie And considering that you doe say of my sister and me the effect shall dayly beare witnesse of our good will that we heare you beséeching you to beleeue that you may commauÌ„d vs as those the which desire your wealth and honor asmuch as their owne And as touching that you haue to cause me to forget the iniurie that the King your father hath dnoe to me and not only to me alone but to all my parents and friends he you assured Madame that the wounde is so great that it will bléede as long as I shall liue knowing the ingratitude that he hath vsed towards vs denying my Lord Amadis me and many other good Knights the request that we made vnto him to giue my vncle Galuanes the Isle of Mongase the which had deserued it and better coÌ„sidering also that it was conquered by the vertue and noble actes of him that prayed him but yet for the honor of you I am content to dissâ—Ì„ble that matter and to force my self vntil then to defer for a time the iust occasion that I haue to will him ill specially bycause he so straungely and after he had receiued of vs so many great seruices chased vs from his Courte as though we had bene his mortall enimies And to shewe you that I will wholly prepare me to please you I promise you Madame to assay to do to my power the thing that you desire of me but it were not reasonable that it shoulde be done so promptly for if I should nowe begin in the word and communication the thinges being thus disposed to warre in place to encourage so many good Knightes as be in this Isle I shoulde put the most part of them hearing me speake of peace in feare presuming that I it might be so helde suche a purpose as though I were the first that were afearde Also I should doe two euils togither that which after this might turne to the losse of vs all and to me alone great dishonor But I hauing your fathers answere shall pray my companions to do as ye haue deuised and counselled in the mean while you should as I do thinke be heauie as little as you may and take the time and fortune most paciently as constantly as you may possible Amadis Oration to Grasinda offering hir all pleasure and
to â—e preferred aboue al persons and for whom I haue oftentimes put my body in hazard aud peril of death hauing no other hope of them but to please God and to augment my name in this world the which was the onely cause that last moued me to absent my selfe so from these câ—ntries to go serch among strange nations those that had néede of my helpe where I haue had many perillous aduentures the which thou hast séen and maist report them vnto him Also I comming to this Isle was aduertised how that King Lisuard forgetting the honoâ—r of God the right of men the counsell of his and the instinct of nature that euery good father dothe commonly beare to his childe woulde as it were by a certaine manner of extreme crueltie driue from his countreys my lady Oriane his owne daughter and principal inheritour gyâ—ing hir in mariage against hir will to the Emperour Patin Whereof she made her complainte not onely to those of the Realme of England but required also aide and succor of all knightes that beare armes aswell by letters messages as other wayes praying them with hir handes ioyned together and abundance of teares to haue pitie and compassion of hir miserie And so much she could do with prayers huÌ„ble Orations that the Lorde of all things hath loked mercifully from heauen vpon hir gyuing the addresse and helpe to the knightes that are nowe in this place to assemble them as it were by a miracle where I founde them as thou knowest purposing to aduenture their lyues to set hir and the other that perforce accompanied hir at libertie considering that doing otherwise they in time to come shoulde haue bene blamed giuing occasion to many to presume that cowardise only had turned backe this ayde so greatly recommended and for persons of the qualitie that they be By the meanes wherof the conflicte and battel chaunced vpon the Romanes â—uen suche as thou hast séene it of the which we haue many prisoners and the ladies out of their handes But to make a meanes for their appointment to King Lisuard Quedragant and my cousin Lorian of Moniaste departed lately with an expresse charge and commaundement from vs all to beséeche him take the thing that we haue done in good part and to receiue to his good grace and fauour my lady Oriane and those of hir companie being yet well minded if he will not receiue this offer audaciously boldly by the meanes of the aide of our good friends alies to defend vs against him of y which number Gandalm thou shalt say vnto him that all we together do estéeme him the first chiefest praying him most humbly that he will â—â—ccorâ—s when néede is 〈◊〉 thâ—â— the Quéene my mother also kisse hir hands in my name say 〈…〉 that I pray hir to send hitheâ— my siâ—ter Meâ—â—tiaâ—◠〈…〉 company with these other ladies with whom she may sée â—earne mâ—inie things But or euer thou depart know 〈◊〉 of my cousin Mabile whether it wyll please hir to sende anye thyng thither and therâ—with that thou aâ—ayâ— to speake to Oâ—iane the which will not be so straunge to thée that thou shalt not vnderstande of hir in what estate hir health is and the good will she beareth me Amadis letter to King Tafiner of Boeme praying him to succour him in his great affaires In the .4 booke the .4 Chap. SYr if euer I did you any seruice that any time contented you the honor and the good receyte that I receiued of you and of yours al the time that I soiournd in your Court haue caused me to remaine and as long as I shall liue to be readie not to spare my person to obey and to saue you Therefore I beséech you most humbly not to estéeme that this thing which hath caused me to dispatch this knight and bearer vnto you is to haue any recompence Neuerthelesse I remembring the honest offers that you made me at my departing from Boheme I haue boldned my selfe to send him vnto you to require you effectuously to helpe me in a certaine affayre that is nigh me of the which he shall certifie you beséeching you syr to beléeue him as my selfe and to commaunde his dispatch as sone as it shal be possible to put him out of paine that for you would hazarde his life the whiche is Amadis of Fraunce surnamed in many places the knight of the gréene sworde The deuice of Orian to Gandalin vncouering to him hir heauinesse and that he would finde meanes she might speake with Amadis whome she loueth so well In the .4 booke the .4 Chapter GAndalin my friende what thinkest thouâ— of fortune the which is to me so contrarie that it depriueth me of that person of all the worlde whose frequentationâ— I loue moste being so nigh me and I wholly in his power This notwithstandinge we can not haue the meanes priuily to speake togither without offending my honor and that greatly wherby my heart endureth such paine that if thou knewest it I beléeue certenly thou woldst haue more pitie on me thaÌ„ thou hast the which thing I pray thée shew him to the inâ—eÌ„t that complaying me he may reioyce of the greate affection that dayly increaseth in me to will him well also that he finde some fashion or meane that we may see one another repayring to some part with his companions vnder the collour of thy voyage and of my comfort Gandalins answer to Oriane aduertising hir that she be not deceiued in the singular loue that she beareth to Amadis for his amitie is stedfast as he dayly doth shew in all his actes In the .4 booke the .5 Chapter MAdame que GaÌ„dalin ye haue good cause to beare him such amitie and to remember also the remedie the which he desireth aboue al things for if ye knew the extremitie wherin I haue a hundred times found him ye would not beléeue with what power loue doth rule him I haue séene him dye a thousand timâ—s remembring the fauors that be past the whiche ye haue shewed him and as often times by the remembrance of them to recouer life And I haue séene him among the great dangers of the worlde do seates of armes caling vpoÌ„ you to succoure him so that it is not easy to be beléeued that any knight might haue in hym so great valiantnesse Therefore Madame I pray you to haue pitie on him and to entreat him as he deserueth assuring you that there was neuer a more faithfull knight nor more yours than he is nor there was neuer Lady that had such power vpon a man as ye haue vpon him for in your hands they may entreat of his death or of his life euen as it shall séeme good to you The Oration of king Lisuard to the Queene his wife declaring to hir the wrong that they do vnto him taking the Romanes that conducted his daughter and yet that she dissembled the matter as much as she might so doing he
be told you but for another reason syr the whych was hyd from you and manyfesâ— to mée agaynst the which by the law of God ye cannot say the contrarie That is how that my lady Oriane is already ioyned in mariage to another wherwith our Lorde hath béen wel conteÌ„ted it was his pleasure it should be so Syr this is it why I saide vnto you that the thing whyche was hid from you was manifest to me as I shall euen now declare vnto you for ye cannot knowe it of any other â—ut by me Syr the selfe same day that I by your commaundement was to séeke you in the forest where to giue the longer pleasure of hunting to the Ladies that were there with you ye caused your pauilions and tentes to be spred and set vp I brought vnto you I know not whether ye remember it the yoÌ„g Esplandian the which ye represented to the Lionesse that had giuen him sucke euen from the beginning and on the selfe same day I heard my lady Orians confession wherein she declared vnto me that she had promised Amadis to marie him when he deliuered hir from the handes of Arcalaus the enchaunter vnto whom ye had deliuered hir a little before that the Damsell by whom ye were enchaunted set you your estate in more danger thaÌ„ was possible froÌ„ the which Galaoâ— retired and deliuered you And beléeue syr that it is verye like that our Lorde God hath consented to this mariage for why EsplandiaÌ„ is come forth of whom Vrgande the vnknowâ— hath told so many maruels the which ye know And therfore ye ought not to be displeased séeing that Amadis is a Kingâ— sonne and estemed in al places one of the best and most gracious knightes of the worlde wherefore syr I counsell you shewing your selfe such as ye haue bene alwayes to saue the honor and conscieÌ„ce of my lady your daughter and that making an ende of this warre ye call hir againe and entreate hir from henceforth â—s reason would ye should thus doyngâ— the Lorde will be contented wyth you the which otherwyse may be angrye for the effusion of so muche humaine bloude the which ye hitherto caused to be shed without any occasion The Oration of Nascian the heâ—mit to Amadis wherein he admonisheth him to put al his affaires to God by whose meanes he hath auoyded so many daungers and euident periâ— and that he as much as he might should seeke for peace of King Lisuard In the .4 booke the .19 Chapter MY sonne before ye shall vnderstand perceiue the cause that hathe moued me to come and see you I will set before your eyes the great obligations for the which ye are indâ—tted to our Lord that from hencefoorth ye may be the more inclined to do the things that may be agreable and pleasante vnto him I beléeue ye haue oftentimes heard and assured it that from the first day that ye were borne ye were deliuered to the waters of the Sea and set in a little bote without any other defender or kéeper than God by whose goodnesse ye fell into the hands of such as afterwards haue so eleuated you that ye are come to be the most accomplished knighte that men do know at this present for why the Lord hath giueÌ„ you the power and force to fyght and to ouercome diuers Gyants monsters Tyrantes and very cruell beastes whereby your renoume is extended in all quarters of the earth And seing he hath prouided you of so great grace it is reason that ye should know him as the soueraigne Lord and to take payne to giue him thanks humbling your selfe before his face or else all his fauors that he hath lent you shall turne to your shame and rebuke My sonne ye may sée howe old and how caduke I am so that nature doth almost fayle me and yet I feare not to take vpon me thys long iourney to come to you bycause I being in my hermitage haue perceiued the discord that is betwene you and king Lisuard with whome I haue spoken of late and do find him such as a good Prince should be the seruant and minister of God and prest if there be no let in you to gyue an eare to peace the whych ye should not refuse as well for the quietnesse and rest of your conscience as of your body And to the intent ye should not disguise youre fantasie I maye assure you that I knowe more of your affayres than ye thinke for my Lady Oriane hathe tolde me in confession the secretes of you both Amadis answer to Nascian the hermit wherein he recogniseâ—â— his fault with a promise to amende In the .4 booke the .19 Chapter MY Father if I serued the Lord after the graces that he hathe shewed me I shoulde be the fortunatest knight of the world but I a sinner as I am preferring sometimes my pleasure aboue his glory fall and do amisse as other men do whereof I am displeased and sory and hope knowing my fault to do better from hencefoorth thaÌ„ I haue done in times past praying you most humbly not to feare or to defer to tell me the thing that ye shall sée I ought to do to please him for in as much as I may possible I will obey you Nascian the hermits Oration to king Perion Amadis father solliciting him to procure peace In the .4 booke the .19 Chapter SYr I beséech you to beleue that considering the estate that I of long time am called vnto and the greate age that I am in I would not haue departed from my wood and forest to come among so many men of warre if it had not bin that my long tarying might haue caused an euill whereof the Lord might haue bin angrie not only with and against you and the people that is gathered togither in these two féelds but also against many other that could not do with this discord that is betwene you and king Lisuard with whome I haue spoken already and haue so well conuerted him to peace that he is ready as I haue told your sâ—nne Amadis to receiue it and hath remitted me wholly vnto you Therfore I beseech you sir giuing vp your passions to the profyte and â—ranquilitie of so many people not to disdayne the thing that is offered you and that you your selfe should purchase and labour for King Perions answer to Nascian where he â—heweth the greaâ—e â—ault committed by the king and yet that notwithstanding receyuing Oriane into the court with his fauour he is ready to mâ—ke peace prouiding that he marrie hir not agaynst hir will. In the same Chapter MY father quoth king Perion God â—e my witnesse of the displeasure that I haue had for the things that be past with the losse of so muche good people and how willingly I woulde haue taken another way if king Lisuard would haue perceiued it but he did alwayes at hand shewe him selfe so high that he whatsoeuer we sayd vnto him setting the matter
forwards by our Ambassadors specially for the estate of my Lady Oriane whoâ—e he would haue disherited regarded it not presuming so much of him selfe that by the ayde of the Emperoure of Rome he shoulde drawe vnto him all the world By the meanes whereof he refused not only to put thys that we deferred into iustice but disdayned to heare it spoken of And yet if he will nowe submit himselfe to reason I haue suche a hope in myne that they will follow myne aduise the whiche hath alwayes aspyred to shorten these discords whyche proceede not but by the thynges wherevnto he is bounde to his owne bloud by the right of nature and so that if he will repeale my Lady his daughter to hys good grace and fauoure and not marrie hir to any personage little or nothing agreable not onely to hys people but to all those that dothe knowe hym or that shall heare it spoken of we will render hir to him agayne continuing hys good friendes if he desire it or to suche as he willeth The Oration of king Perion to the principall of his armye wherein he reciteth vnto them the purpose of Nascian and that they should not be so affectionate to warre not to procure peace if it may be obtayned and he giueth them the meanes howe to haue it In the same booke the .19 Chapter MY masters and great friendes euen as we be bound to put our goodes and persons in daunger not only for the defence of our honour but also to mainteine equitie and iustice so are we bound to leaue off all passions and hatred and to reconcile our selues to our enimie when that of him selfe he presenteth the peace For notwithstanding that waâ— at the beginning may be conducted and made without sinne and offending of God yet for all that at the end if by fantasie and little knowledge we remoue farre from reason the thing that at the firste was reasonable dothe conuert it selfe to iustice nor ye shall not thinke that without a cause I hold you with this purpose Nascian the holy man whome the most part of you doth know came to me not long since as ye might haue séene to assay to set and to make peace betwene vs and our enimies wherevnto king Lisuard is ready to harken if there be no fault in vs and yet I would giue him no resolute answer vntill I had firste knowen youre mind and deliberations for it semeth to me very reasonable that as ye haue made your selues partakers of the trauell strife so ye should be also of the rest and tranquilitie therefore I pray you that euery one of you without dissimulation do say that he shall thinke best and afterwards God as touching the rest shall counsell vs And as concerning me following the aduice that Nascian hath giuen me I shall fynde it and thinke it good that we choose two of our knightes vnto whome we shall giue all and full power to determine wyth those other two that king Lisuard shall name all the differences for the which this warre tooke his beginning notwithstanding yet that I alone will not be beléeued in this case but follow the aduise that ye shal finde proper and méet for the wealth of all togither The answer of Angriot of Estrauaux to king Perion the which doth prayse him for his good counsell that following the same it shall be more reasonable to obtayne peaceâ— than to sustayne the daunger of the warre In the selfesame booke the .19 Chapter SYr ye haue bin chosen the head of this enterprise as well for the dignitie of a king whiche is in you as for the estimation and fauoure that euery man beareth you by the meanes whereof ye may resolue the affayres of this warre as ye shall thinke best But yet seing it is your pleasure that I first before all other shall say and shew mine aduise it séemeth to me I speake vnder correction that if the peace be offered vs by our enimies that we should accept it for it cannot come at thys tyme but to your aduantage hauing not onely the ouerhand of him but also my Lady Oriane as yet in youre puissance and power for whose sake we haue brought this host into the féeld And as concerning too name two of our companions to accord as ye say all differences I know none more méete for this businesse than sir Quedragant and sir Brian of Moniâ—st the which at the beginning had in a manner a lyke charge when they were in Englande to excuse vs to king Lisuard for rescuing of his daughter taking hir out of the power of the Romaynes and I beleeue that willingly they will take the payne if they be apoynted to finish this mater Arquisill being asked of king Lisuard of his deliberation and mynde doth answer that he with his men is ready to obey him and that it shall be more expedient to purchace peace than warre In the same booke the .20 Chapter MY Lord if the Emperoure were nowe aliue we that were his vassals should be constrayned to serue hym as well in warre as in peace but being departed and dead â—s he is with the ende of his life the power that he had to commaund vs is ended and yet we will do for you at thys time as for him so that our seruice as touching vs shall in no wise be slaked as long as ye shall thinke it good to vse vs yet if king Perion will draw to peace I beléeue that they which loue your honoure as they ought will continually counsell you to accept it so it be not too hurtfull vnto you Ye may know by the sight of the eye that fortune at this present is not yours and at length peraduenture we shall yet haue worse than we haue had before The king of Suesse his resolution vpon the former purpose hauing for a conclusion that the goodnesse of peace is to be preferred aboue the trauelles of warre In the .4 booke the 20. Chapter MY Lorde quoth the king of Suesse if peace may be intreated with your enimie I counsell you not to refuse it seing that the most part of your men be hurt and sicke yet at the least way make a good long truce and in the meane whyle that it continueth ye may make your selfe strong and afterwardes begin againe if you thinke it good King Lisuards answer to the king of Suesse by the whiche he declareth that he desireth but peace and doth promis to send men to make it In the .4 booke the .20 Chapter IF it be possible for me quoth the king we shall be no more in this payne and trouble â—or king Perion hath chosen on his partie two of his knights to accord our differences and strifes and I will name two other quoth he to king Arban of Norgales that is you and Guillan the pensife that vnderstandeth the thinges and howe they be past ouer and done bicause he was continually and dayly present In the meane while I
that thou hast begonne so vnwisely against the knighte that is entred into my land and countrey vnder the suretie and assuraunce of my faithe Arte thou hytherto ignorant that I for nothing that euer shoulde chaunce vnto me would not do contrarie to my promise but to my power kéepe it estéeming it more than thée or my owne lyfe by the faith that I owe vnto God it letteth very little that I cause thee not to be hanged at the corners of this place to be an ensample to suche naughtie fellowes as thou art enimyes to truth vertue Take take me this villaine and binde his handes and his féete and that afterwards they doe beare him to the knight saying vnto him from me that I send him the traitour that hath offended him and me much more and that I pray him to take the vengeance for vs both that he hath merited and deserued The Oration of Belan to the chiefest of the armie presentyng himselfe in Amadis name knowledging that vniustly he woulde haue warred agaynst him In the fourth booke the 37. Chapter MY Maisters if ye maruel of my coÌ„ming to you so greatly vnprouided I my self haue maruelled of that that I knowe hath chaunced vnto me beyng since the time and ageâ— of my knowledge in continuall deliberation to â—lea and kyll him whom I loue and estéeme thys day as my selfe and thus it is not to be doubted that the executions of mens wils are more in the hand of God than in the power of those that will execute them as I by my selfe haue experimented for there is none of you as I beléeue but knoweth me to be the sonne of the valiant and doutie Giant Madafabul the Lorde of the Isle of the tower Vermeile whom Amadis slewe in King Cildadans warres when he caused himselfe to be named the fayre Tenebreus And for asmuch as naturall reason did incite me to take vengeance the contrarie hath chaunced for he with his owne hande hath ouercome me and destroyed mée The lamentation of Queene Brisene for King Lisuarde which was lost declaring the mobilites of fortune In the .4 booke the .38 Chapter DEceitfull and fearefull fortune the hope of the miserable and cruell enimie of the prosperous haue I nowe occasioÌ„ to praise me of thée for if in time paste thou madest me ladie of many Realmes obeyed and honoured of so many people and aboue all marriedst me to a mightie and a vertuous King in one onely moment thou hast caused me to leese him thou hast taken from me all the ouerplus of my honour and goods seyng that vpon him hung all my ioy and honour anâ— my life And therefore I knowe well that thou reioysest to make me paye the interest of my pleasures the whyche in tyme paste thou hast lent me But why doe I complaine me of thée hauyng of so long tyme perceyued and knowne that this is thy fashion to doe at the furdest deathe shall make an end of al that thou canst inuent to hurt me and hauing this hope I will comfort my selfe and of thy selfe shall haue the victorie The consolation of Grumendan to the Queene Brifane beiâ—â— too much discomforted for the losse of King Lisuard Iâ— the .4 booke the .38 Chapter BY my trothe Madam ye do wrong thus to take the thingâ— to the worste seeyng that I haue hearde you recite a hundred tymes that the â—â—ertue of prudencie and wysedome cannot be knowen in any person except he be solicited and veâ—â—ed with tribulation and affliction so then the counsell that ye were wont to giue to other is nowe more than necessarie for your selfe And is it but nowe or to daye that ye knowe that fortune hath two daughters the one of many is called good and the other euill If the good haue accompanied you vnto this time and that the euill doth visite you in hir plaâ—e arme you as a vertuous princesse with the armour of constancie and wisedome to defende you against hir and ye shal see that she will be annoyed to followe you and shall leaue you or else I foresie as touching you two accidentes and chaunces nighe at hande and irreparable the one of the perdition and losse of your selfe and the other of the king if at his returne he doe finde â—ou deade To saye that he is loste are but wordes for he cannot be so hidden but we should â—ither sée him or haue some newes of him whether he be in this country or in anye other nor his prison or captiuitie can not bee so strong but by the ayde of your subiectes and the fauour of your friendes and aliance he maye be delyâ—â—red and very shortly if it please Godâ— And thus I beséeche you Madam that leauyng of the things that to you are hurtfull ye séeke for newe counsell and comfort to come to that that as concerning this maybe necessarie A leâ—er from Queene Brisane to Amadis praying him to succoure king Lisuard the which was prisoner In the .4 booke the .38 Chapter MY Lord my sonne if in times past the estate of king Lisuard your father hath bin defended and augmented by your meanes it is now a better time and season than euer it was to employ your selfe seing the ruine that is prepared to kéepe and to conserue him in his entire estate for not loÌ„g â—ince some of his enimies as it is very lyke haue conueyed him and imprisoned him so that neuer a one of vs can tell where nor wherfore the which thing causeth me to esteme that without occasion of any greater enterprise they haue not premeditated or forethought this treason And for as much as this thing toucheth you next vnto me more than any other I haue well willed to aduertise you by Brandonias this present bearer the wâ—ich hath séene and vnderstanded all and shall tell you the passion and trouble that I am in betâ—er than I can write it vnto you wherefore I pray you to beléeue him as my selfe and to aduise you of the rest Vrgand doth comfort Oâ—iane much troubled for the losse of hir father king Lisuard the which was taken exhorting hir to pacience and to put all to god In the .4 booke the .38 Chapter MAdame quoth Vrgand I pray you not to discomfort you so knowe ye not that the more that men be called to great roomes the more they be subiects to receiue great tribulatione for notwithstanding we be all of one mould all bound to vices and passions equall to death yet the Lordâ— omnipotent hath made vs diuers in the goodes of the worlde giuing to one authoritie to other subiection to some pouertie and miserie to other abundance and prosperitie and all as it pleaseth him And therfore madame compassing and comparing the goodnesse that ye haue had with â—â—e euils and troubles that ye are in the dolour and heauinesse with the pleasures paâ—times which are past ye shall haue no cause so to complayne you but to thanke the Lord seing it is hys
the King of Crete for he thinking to reuenge the death of Sulpice and his brethren the whiche Lisuarde Pirion and Olorius put to death hath lost his owne And he was the first that this inuincible Quéene destroyed with the stroke of an arrow But he with too little consideration began to reuenge the iniurie that he promised him was done by whome I spake vnto you without finding of any proper occasion after hys owne mind vntil one day among other knowing me to be craftie malicious as I am he declared vnto me what he thought praying me on my part to giue him couÌ„sell The which thing I promised him to do and when I was aduertised of the great assemble and méeting that they made here I purposed my enterprise such as ye shall vnderstande This it was that I couÌ„selled him to sende me towards you with feyned swordes and so forged that they shoulde breake euen at the first stroke that they should be occupied And bicause I would forget nothing I led these two dwarfes with me so wel appoynted that they should assay the speares of the two knightes that which I should deliuer them at the tilte and to leaue them assoone as they should sée them redie to enter in as they could do ful wel The thréed whereof I spake vnto you was the ambush where my king was present with his brother ten other knights that incoÌ„tinent should assaile my pigeons I cal them my pigeons whom I purpose to take and deceyue vnder the shadow of pitie the which I diâ—guised vnto them in your presence so that all the purpose that I spake vnto you of yesterday was false and only inuented and found to take either king Amadis the Emperor Esplandian or some other of their linage as it shuld happely haue come to passe if that fortune or to speak better the soueraine Gods had not willed the contrarie For the king of Crete willing to make sure his enterprise had brought with him aboue a thousand chosen knights the which I cannot tell by what Amazones were hewed in péeces of whoÌ„ they doubted but little Nor they would neuer haue cared for it if it had not béene for the report that was brought them by his spâ—es the which the king had ordinarily in this towne But what is become of them I cannot say but I will say vnto you that if our purpose had taken place the will of the king was such that he woulde haue caused two knightes the which I had brought from hence to haue past ouer the sea to assay proue to haue woonne through their puisance the Castell of Rocke and Lica not long ago vsurped vpon king Muton his brother and then to haue cut off their heades and haue sent them vnto you As touching the rest of the fortune ye knowe it as well as Iâ— therefore I will holde my peace praying you if ye enuie to preferre mercie aboue my faulte to giue mée the shortest and readiest death that ye may possible the whiche shall well content me séeing that my Lorde and Prince is departed and dead Abra complayning hir selfe of the enmities and wrongs of Cupido In the .8 booke the .57 Chapter AH ah sir they that haue not experimented your forces and power do thinke them as I beleeue farre other than they â—e I pray you most humbly either to take from henceforth a name conformable to your workes or the déedes like vnto your name For why as concerning my selfe I haue more cause to name you the God of enmitie and of misknowledge than that that ye apply appropriate to your selfe Also the other Gods haue had as me thinketh great wrong to suffer you to haue some iurisdiction and power to vse it so as ye continue séeing that the propertie of a God is goodnesse iustice mansuetude pitie liberalitie and amitie wherewith he recompenseth his seruantes and ye your ministers cleane contrarie And seing it is so how can ye excuse you or cause any reasonable persoÌ„ to find your vniustice cruelnesse good that ye haue vsed against my brother or with what armes can ye honor and adorne your triumph that a C. times in a day hath giuen me death not to haue power and to be able to die But alas what doe I say to whom doe I speake or why will I thus contestate or enter into reason with him that hath none Cerâ—es neither your eyes nor you were neuer bounde but to excuse your fault vpon the blindnesse that is in you attributing to you vpon this occasion such iustice or to saye better suche pleasure as is agréeable and pleasant vnto you Lucelle doth grieuously complaine of Amadis of Greece that forsaketh hir without offending him in the .8 Booke the 63. Chapter ALas was there euer Damâ—ell more vnfortunate than I am or that hath a greater occasion to complaine hir hauing a feyned louer set in the place of perfite amitie within a while to forsake me and mocke me But alas where is now this promise so oftentymes sworne and those feigned teares that you Amadis to intrappe me hath so oftentymes shed vpon your face in my presence Ah ah ye euill man one day ye reputed me for a Venus that rested as ye assured me in your heart but now the poyson being manifest I sée clearely that she is the Venus that ye auauanâ—ed you of The which thing shall cause me as long as you shall liue to estéeme you slouthfull and vnfortunate to haue taken so great paine and pleasure to deceyue me Therefore all thing truely and well considered ye should as me thinketh haue a respect that I being the daughter as I am of so great a king deserued to be otherwayes entreated of you and not with such mockes as ye haue drest me withall But I vnderstand full well that as yet ye will take a glorie whereof I shall complaine me for euer of you and of the loue which I nowe abhorre more than euer I had it in reuerence For as there is no pleasure that can bée made equall with the perfite amitie of two louers so there is no hatred or impacience that can more trouble the spirit than iust iealousie without whiche all other martyrdome that mingleth it selfe with the swéetenesse of loue is not as mée thinketh but a multiplication of loue and a true inticement wherewith she vtterly destroyeth hir selfe An extréeme brought or thyrst causeth water to be the better accepted and long fasting giueth meate a better taste Also the goodnesse of peace and rest of the minde cannot be sounde nor estéemed of him that hath not experimented the strong cruell and hard warre that suspicion doth make The absence of a friende is sometimes well supported and borne withall for the hope of a newe ioy at his returne And one excuse one disdaine one refuse one euill looke one light miscontentation but after that hypocrisie and falsnesse is knowne to be in the heart that one estéemed faythfull it is
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