.19 Chapter VRgand of Cognue gréeteth thée knighte of the burning sword know thou that to retire to another place out of prison thou or euer it belong shalt enter into a more and a greater captiuitie where neuer slaue was put and thy soule and body shal be so afflicted that this same sword the whych hath oftentimes saued the place that thou art issued of shall thorough pierce thy body and within a while it shall bée pluct out by his hands that thinking to saue himselfe shall restore thée a life worsse than a thousand deathes togyther thys martirdome shal endure vnto the time that thy fathers house being at a point to fall downe be holpen and saued by his first possessioner and beléeue me for it shall so come to passe as I haue foretold thee And to the intent thou mayest credit it vnderstand that to saue thée froÌ„ one misâ—ortune into the which thou shouldest fall this day fighting with the knight of Quay I gaue thée a white shâ—eld and did aske thée the gifte that afterwardes thou didst graunt me and didst kéepe it whereof thou shouldest thanke me bycause that without my prouidence thou shouldest haue falne into a repentance as long as thou hadst liued as by the time thou shalt know better and rather trauell not thy selfe to thinke to knowe nothing for that should be but lost payne and labour as wel as to search it of me let it suffise thée that I know thée better than thou knowest thy selfe and for the hope of a help and succoure that I trust once to haue of thée I did beare and shew thée such fauor Go on with the residue of thy enterprise without delay of any occasion that should present it self perceiuing that it is the will of him whose man thou shalt be in time to come Zirfee being praysed by the knight of the burning sword doth answer that he did but his dutie seing that the propertie of noble men is to do noble actes In the .7 booke the .30 Chapter IN good fayth sir knight ye giue me great prayses for the thing that hath not deserued it and the which I coulde not but do without leauing off thrée principall points the which all required of mine estate whereof the first is to knowe in time of aduersitie the pleasure that we haue receyued of our enimie causing euery man to know that he whome a man may graciously recompeÌ„ce in season hath also a meane and a way to reuenge iniuries suffered during his misfortune The second doth shew it selfe in all ciuill season and of pitie after as the case doth offer it selfe And for the thirde not to trouble the minde at no time for the noyances and troubles that chance but that reason and discretion may continually haue dominion and rule And these three poynts are notoriously necessary to all noble men continually to maynteine â—irmâ—ly and vnmouably their high and great estate for vertue that dothe not perishe causeth a man to be muche more noble and exalted than all the corruptible goodes of fortune and subiect to hir passions and mobilitie seing also that often times and too much they are giuen to suche as neuer deserue them But it goeth farre otherwise with vertue for he alone doth obtaine it that doth a déede worthie to haue it Also men by vertue onely ought to be estéemed and honored yea and reputed more ritcher thaÌ„ if they had all the ritches of the world bicause that the true ritches which perishe not are the renoume of the good and the noble actes of a vertues man. The Oration of Maudan to the King requiring his pardon for the treason that he had committed promisyng so doyng to obey him more than euer he dyd In the seuenth booke the 46. Chapter SYr ye may sée in me how that fortune doth play with such euill men as I am nor it was neuer séene but that one sinne draweth vnto him another and the second many moe in so much that at the last they blind men so well that thinking to goe the great way they fall into the dytch that they made whereout afterwards they cannot draw themselues The which doth nowe manifest it selfe in me that enuying the honour that ye dyd to the knight of the burning sworde found and inuented the thing that I tolde you of him and the Queene to driue him from your court to haue and to obtaine his place Well I was cause of that great euill and I know that I merite an excéeding great torment yet Syr I beséech you preferring pitie mercie aboue the rigour of your iustice that it wil please you to pardon me causing euery man therby to know that my sinne and fault is gréeuous and your clemencie and goodnesse very extreme and great the which shal turne to your great laude and praise I and mine remaining for euer bound to serue you more than any other of your subiectes in as much as ye shall pardon and forgyue me more than all other The Oration of Queene Baruca to the King of Saba hir husband praying him to receiue hir into his good grace and not to be no more so light to beleeue without hearing of bothe partes In the .7 booke the .46 Chapter MY Lord seyng this my innocencie is open and knowen I beseeche you to receiue me into your good grace as I was before and to remember another time not to beléeue so lightly without vsing your power vpon the accused or euer ye heare his iustificatioÌ„s considering how ye haue procéeded rigorously not onely against my chastitie but against my honor and the honor of the house that I come of The Oration of Magadan King of Saba to the knight Amadis of Fraunce excusing himselfe that he receiued him not as he deserued praying him not to take it in euill part In the 7. booke the .46 Chapter MY great friende if I had knowen you aswell yesterday as I do at this present I would haue borne and shewed you more honor but the griefe that I had of the euil words that were tolde me oâ— the Quéene caused me to forget all curtesie yea and my owne nature the which is to receiue all straungers that come to my court graciously So I pray you not to take this faulte in yll part but to excuse it and wyth this charge that from henceforth I will take payne and labour to amend it The Oration of the Duke of Buillon to those of his linage prouoking them to take vengeance for the death of his sonne and to recouer their honour so abused In the .7 booke the 48. Chapter MY masters my good friends and alies ye haue séene and knowen the dishonor that the Emperour our Prince hath purchased not only to me but to you all aswell in particular as in generall and in such a sort that hauing no regard to vs which are so great and mightie he as euery man doth know hath onely caused him most villaine to be taken that next vnto
answere to hir people declaring that wyth good hearte shee dothe pardon them of theyr offence vpon the hope of theyr amendment In the .8 booke the .31 Chapter MY friendes séeing ye haue taken this iourney ye shall finde me a gracious Princesse and as affable as Albernis was vnto you greuous and vneasie I know wel ynough that many of you were seduced and forced to make warre that manye a one also forgat themselues more than they shoulde haue done Yet that notwithstanding vpon the promise that ye haue made me and in the hope that I haue of your amendment I am readie to make you a generall pardon and to intreate you from henceforth as a good and a vertuous Quéene and Princesse ought to intreate and gouerne hir good and faithfull subiectes The Oration of Queene Liberna to the knight without rest causing him to vnderstande that she is so taken with hys loue that he hath all power vpon hir In the .8 booke the 31. Chapter I Promis you knight without rest that coÌ„sidering the great valiantnesse that is in you and the goodes that I haue recouered by your meanes and occasion only I am purposed to cause you to léese the name that ye beare and to giue you such might and power vpon me as a Lord and spouse may take vpon his wife and louer For I confesse that there was neuer princesse nor no other so taken with loue as I am towards you although that in a manner ye are vnknowen vnto me Abra the princesse of Babilons letter to Lisuard reproching hys great cowardnesse that he killed hir brother Zair whereby he hath shewed that he hath cleane forgotten the loue that she did beare him and that she therefore will sacrifice hir selfe to death for to celebrate the remembrance of hir foresaid brother In the .8 booke the .34 Chapter ABra princesse of Babilon seruant of the souerayne Goddes and enimie to those that are against them to thée ConstaÌ„tine and Prince Lisuart murtherer and rauisher of the spouse of the diuine lande of Babilon leauing and forsaking it by the death of the most noble Zair Orpheline of his royall cheualrie and made bare and spoyled of hir hope to recouer any more such another lord Tell me ingrate is this the reciproke loue wherewith thou wast bound to me giuing thée knowledge of the goodnesse that I desired and wished thée Is this the recognising of the election and choise that I made of thy person to be my Lord spouse Is this the fruite of my esperance and hope that thou didst then put me in wheÌ„ that in the presence of so many princes I required thée to voutsafe to take me to thy wife and perpetuall louer hauing thée so well printed in my heart that thou shouldst not depart from thence as loÌ„g as life shuld rest but shouldst be resident there to norish my desire the better that I haue to reueÌ„ge the death of my wel beloued brother But alas who would euer haue thought that the fearefull sea shuld haue bin consecrate with his body and sepulture Certesse I beléeue that the sea is ignoraÌ„t that she hath him drowned in the depnesse of hir waters For if she had knowen it it is very like that the waters would already haue triumphed yea in communication with the soueraigne heauens holding themselues honored to enioy his bloud and diuine body And if the sea be not yet aduised nor the earth as yet hath not perceiued it it woulde not haue delayed hir complaintes and dolours so long from the soueraigne Gods to haue and to recouer hir spouse and hir iust possessor agayne that hath bin vsurped from hir domination and put into so contrary an element whereof peraduenture may chance in time to come continuall warre betwene hir roundnesse the depenesse of the abismes each of them pretending the reioycing and gard of his prince and magnificent dominator and ruler But if these two do complayne the fire and his element will not holde their peace but shall complayne them for euer through the regard and consideratioÌ„ of the sacrifices that the gods hoped for if he had dyed and deceased vpon the earth The ayre then is alone that doth enioy the thing that thâ—u dost possesse that is the assurance of the death of Zair Also he was present and occupied in the conflict betwene the infernall furies the whiche during the battell vomited out brimston and filthy stinches by the mouth of an infinite sort of canons and other artillerie But alas alas what vengeance shall be done for him for whome the ayre the â—arth and the fire shal at somtimes féele his absence and the déepe waters glory for the possession of his body yea and other truly than it at thy death at the end I say of my life seing me thus depriued of my Lord brother At the end I say of my life bycause that cruell loue will not suffer the vengeance vpon thée but that I must sacrifice my selfe to adorne thy death that shall make myne very happy and fortunate So shall thy funeralles be entirely celebrated by the death of Zair and of me to the end that fortune make them egall at the victorie the which she would haue graunted thée not only in thy life against knights and beasts most cruell but in the death that she shall procure thée that as long as she shall liue defieth thée the which shall be no longer than thou shalte be resident in the worlde that by such and so straunge crueltie the desire of my vengeaunce may be executed A letter of Zahara Queene of the mount Caucasus to Lisuard contayning that she is come to Babilon to marrie Zair but finding that Lisuard had slayne him she defyeth him In the .8 booke the .35 Chapter ZAhara Quéene of the mount Caucasus Lady of all Hiberia victor else of great prouinces of the Saâ—â—ates Corces Hircanie and Massagetes to thée Lisuard the Infant of two soueraine Empyres of Greece and Trebisond gréeting Know thou that the renoume of the stoute Soudan Zair hath caused me to come from my countrey that is farre hence into this greate Citie of Babilon trusting to haue giuen him the possession of my selfe and of my kingdomes togither my immortall glory continuing vpon his name But after that I knew that fortune whiche sometimes was his friend had suffered hys bloud to be shed leauing me by this meanes and for euer without a husbande that there shoulde remayne no other that myghte come vnto the merite of my highnesse béeing suche a princesse as I am and indued with the beautie that the Goddes haue gyuen me by whose aduise the mariage of vs twayne had bene consummated if misfortune as it hathe done hadde not sayde agaynste vs but whatsoeuer impediment or let that vnkind fortune hath done to my destinie yet it cannot hide nor quench the glory of Zair his death being reuenged by thine And to come thervnto I defye thée as touching thy person
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
my truth this name of a shee shepherd is not vnconuenient nor vnâ—eete for you and I beleue that this was a certen foreknowledge that ye should one day conduct and leade this vertuous â—â—ocke that is to say all this people which are so obedient vnto you whose loue ye haue acquired and gotten not by the greatnesse of your linage but by your vertue onely of the which I thinke that there is noman that can beare more certen or truer witnesse thaÌ„ I bicause I haue accompanied you into the places where it was néede to shewe it whereof ye merite and deserue great honour but I will not rest nor tary vpon this for neither my spirite nor my hande are able to exalt nor to giue it the place that it deserueth Therfore leauing this charge to perfect Orators and true Chroniclers I wil at this time make an end nor I shall not sende you at this time other newes of auentures that haue chaunced me since that we were separated by the sea bicause I estéeme that your Darinell whiche went to séeke you assoone as I had deliuered him your letters may shew you them for he hath continually kepte me companie and as I hope I will be there shortly after I be hâ—aled of certain woundes which I tooke in a combat vpon my iourney of Apolonia wherof this your Gentleman the bearer of this may tell you the occasion and against whome In the meane season my Lady my Aunt I recommende me moste humbly to your good grace and to all your noble coÌ„panie specially to my Lady Princesse Alastraxeree whome I greatly desire to sée praying the eternall God to maintayne you in his grace and fauour Written in the kingdome of Apolonia by your moste humble and obedient seruant and Neuew Florisel of Niquea Astibel of Sciences letters to Arlande the Princesse of Thrâ—â—â— by the which shee sheweth hir the maner how to reuenge the death of hir brother and to enioy hir loue In the .9 Booke the .50 Chapter MAdame I haue bene very ioyfull to vnderstand the imprisonment that ye haue caused of the infant Alastraxeree and of the Prince Dom Florisel of Niquea trusting that your excellencie shall receyue by this meanes the â—ontentation of your spirite and minde and the vengeance of the death of my Lord Prince your brother but forasmuch as I haue founde by my arte Magike that king Amadis of France the Emperours of Constantinople and Tâ—ebisonde and other Princes and Princesses their fréedes alies are bewitched in the towre of Vniuerse and ought to be deliuered within this yéere for this cause I was well willing to aduertise you to prouide for all inconueniences that may chaunce and how â—ée might by this one meanes take vengeance of Dom Florisel of Niquea your prisoner of his Father and Mother and generally of all his nexte kinsefolkes that is to sende incontinently the infant Alastraxeree to the towre of Vniuerse to take héede that no person doe enter to sée the auenture and to finishe and make an ende of the inchantement and witchcraft knowing that it shall come well to passe seing the great valiantnesse force and magnanimitie that doth associate hir aboue all other of the earth And if shée kéepe the peace I that during assure you that then for all the rest of their liues shall continue bewitched nor Dom Florisel shall not departe from your prison if it be not your pleasure Thus yée shall not onely reuenge your selfe of those that yée desire but furthermore yee shall haue a meane and a commoditie to come to the possession of twoo Empires by the aliance that ye may make with him whome yée loue the whiche he shall willingly accept to be at libertie and out of your prisons Therefore Madame it shall please you spéedely to aduise you in asmuch as ye loue the repose and quietnesse of your minde the which shal be the way for me to pray him that is to mayntaine you in his fauour and grace recommending me most humbly to yours By your humble Astibel of Sciences Letters of the infant Alastraxeree to the Princesses Helen of Apolonia and Timbrie of Boetia declaring vnto them the cauteles wherewith she and Dom Florisel of Niquea abused Arlande the Princesse of Thrace In the .9 booke the 50. Chapter RIâ—ht excellent Princesses knowing in you the zele of perfect amitie the whiche yée beare to Dom Florisel of Niquea as euery one of you declared to me with hir owne mouth when ye tooke me for him nigh vnto the hermitage of Almond trées I woulde not â—ayle seyng the commoditie to certifie you of these newes Therefore my Ladies yée shall know vnderstand that he is well as coÌ„cerning the dispositioÌ„ of his body but I thinke that his spirit is somwhat troubled bicause he is fallen arested prisoner in the handes of Arlande princesse of Thrace the whiche was purposed to reuenge hir vpon him for the death of hir brother Balarte slaine in the close campe by Amadis of Greece his father and I beléeue that shée would haue put him by and by to death after he was are sâ—eâ— in the Castell of the Glasse of loue if he had not auised him to vsurpe my name say that he was Alastraxeree bicause that he and I are very like as ye know and so lyke that the knightes which toke him and beleuing his saying to be true brought him into the citie of Thrace where the King and the Princesse Arlande receyued him very humaynely for me and he hath playde his personage vnto this day so well in a womans garment wherewith the Princesse presented him that it is impossible to doe it better whereof I greaâ—ly thanke him Now it chaunced that I goyng to the Castell of the Blasse of loues was auertised by a straunge auenture of his good subtiltie whereof my Damselles will certifie you and afterwarde I as fortune would was arested euen as Dom Florisel was whose name I vsurped bicause he should not be discouered and for suche a one I was caried to Arlande into a house of pleasure where shée helde me fast and close dayly solicited me to loue hir vsing to mewards gestures and amorous countenances nother lesse nor more than if she had spoken to Florisell but I can so well entertayne hir and content hir with woordes that as I hope shée beyng more priny with me will set him shortly at libertie and when he shal be so I trust that he wil finde the meanes to set me likewise at libertie Thus my Ladies I shall present my recommendations to your good graces praying the great God to mayntayne you in his protection Your cousin good freende the diuine Alastraxeree the daughter of Mars Letters from Helen of Apolonia and from Timbre of Bâ—etia to the infant Alastraxeree with the whiche they laude and exalte hyr greatly bringyng to this purpose diuers olde examples In the .9 Booke the .53 Chapter MOst excellent Lady we haue perceyued by your
in my Ladie O howe often doe I desire death how often in the selfe same houre doe I feare it to the ende that I lese not the occasion euermore of continue in my mortal anguishes and paines O how much more fortunate should I be if I wholy had lost my vnderstandinge and yet I wil not léese it fearing to lese with it the remembrance of the reason whiche proceedeth from my sense and perseueraÌ„ce for the great pride of my thoughts Alas it shal be best to holde my peace that I doe my selfe no wrong seing that I knowe not and knowing that I may not speake through the straunge dolours for the which the desyre to die and the will to liue doe torment me An amorous complainte of Daraide to the Princesse Diana In the .12 booke the .8 Chapter O Madame by what meanes maye I at any tyme recognyse the great fauor that hath pleased you now to shew me O happie wordes of the heart séeing they are so greate a cause of so great quiet and reste to the great wounds of the soule O celestiall handes the which by your diuine beautie may make and cause two springs of teares to flowe oute of my eyes to remedie the cruell flames wherwith I féele me to be burned Alas by what meane shall I rewarde you â—or the good succor that ye presently giue mée to my mortal heauinesse And I pray you madame séeing that wordes doe fayle mée in this dolour nor that I can not tell the thing I do endure that it woulde please you to supplye this faulte and to comprehende through this diuine spirite that the Gods haue infuded and put in you the euâ—ll that I suffer thus cruelly and that this little whiche I declare vnto you maye bee equall in his extremite in the perfections wherewyth the Heauens haue made you noble aboue all the Princes of the worlde Alas madame it semeth to me that I doe iniurye and wrong to my selfe to lyue so longâ— hauing so iuste an occasion to dye I féele that my lyfe doâ—th euen nowe complaine it selfe and lament within me bicause that my wordes woulde shewe you the dolours and paynes that I suffer for your loue althoughe they can no other wayes be discouered but by my death Alas I die and I sée well that I die and yet I cannot cause the nyest ende of my lyfe to be knowne I am wholy brought to Ashes and yet the fyre doth not ceasse to martyr mée Alas Madame pardon me if I knowe not what purpose or communication I holde or haue wyth you For it is not to be maruelled at if I know not what I ought to doe when I knowe not what I ought to saye Séeing then that I lacke the greatest good thing that I coulde haue in this worlde whiche is to cause you to knowe my euill and paine I beséeche you to consider it by my silence and the little power that I haue to declare it or of your selfe to bestowe the soueraigne graces that the Gods haue gyuen you to thinke vppon the default of my purposes for why by this meanes I am fast and sure that ye shall knowe the thing that I sâ—â—fer althoughe I can not expresse it The complaynt of Daraida In the .12 booke the .9 Chapter ALas fayre Diana howe greatly doth the clearenesse of thy beames negligently spread in this medowe encrease my anguishes and heauie thoughtes For by thy light as cleare as Siluer thou renuest my memorie of hir that doth shine with much greater beautie vpon my heart than thou doest nowe vpon the earth the whiche with lesse care than thou dothe burne by day through hir sight by night by hir remeÌ„brance hir continuall clearnesse vpon me O Madame Diana the too cruell Gods haue willed that ye in the night should reioyce you in the portraiture of youre Daraide whome you haue in your companie and that Daraida separated from you had onely the meane to contemplate hir that doth shine throughout all the world with the same name that ye haue but not with such a beautie The complaynte of Daraide In the .12 Booke the .9 Chapter SEing it iâ— my Ladie Diana that the Gods haue giuen to your highnesse a beautie sufficient to embrace all creatures that may comprehende it neuer so little howe can you accuse the flames with the whiche I burne through youre meanes séeing that they discouer themselues in the presence of hir that of hir selfe did kindle them Alas Madame beholde howe your knight is well nighe brought to Ashes and howe all the teares that roll from his two eyes yea rather from hys two Ryuers all along hys heauie face coulde not suffise to temper the fyres of your vniust and obstinate cruelnesse O me miserable what shall I doe more than to make you knowe my euill I vndoe my selfe and those that doe make mée slacke to tell you and so muche the more I slacke the hope of my remedie O loue I pray thée from henceforth to giue some rest to my dolours and paynes eyther by a more fortunate lyfe or by a nighe and a shorte death Alas I die and yée Madame whiche is the occasâ—on haue no pitie of him that pyneth awaye in a desperate martyrdome and torment for youre loue Consider that if for a tyme yée shoulde forgette youre great and soueraigne perfâ—ctions yée woulde soone remember the greatnesse of my merites and of that wherein the extreamitie of my passion dothe bynde you to mée wardes Alas Madame howe muche the better shoulde yée knowe my tormentes my martyrdome my dolours my sighes my trauelles and the burning flames of my loue if yée woulde regarde them hauing no respecte to that diuine beauâ—ye the whiche dothe lette that no man canne bée worthye to haue you if it bée not one of the highe and soueraigne Gods immortall But alas my extréeme euill fortune willeth that I after the fashion of a Pecocke should deface the fayre wheele conceyued by the hope of my thoughte beholding the sylthinesse or foulenesse of the feete whiche is the least and fewest merites that I knowe in my self Thus madame the knowledge of your highnesse doeth let you to estâ—â—me my smalnesse The letter of Filisell of Montespin to Marfira praying hir to take pitie of the torment that he suffred for hir loue and to giue him a meane to speake with hir In the .12 booke the 13. Chapter DOm Filisell of Montespin doeth send to the fayre and gracious laâ—â—e Marfira health and good fortune the which he himselfe hath lost by the violence of hir diuine beautie I knowe not madame whereof I shoulde moste complayne mée eyther of the payne that I suffer for your loue or of the thing that I may not cause you to knowe to be suche as I féle it for by this meane my payne is so greately tormented willing to expresse it by my wordes as I am my self tormented that I haue not the power to expresse it But O I well
fortunate seeing that the power whiche I had to suffer my euil hath continually supplied the fault that was in me to cause you to vnderstande it Neuerthelesse madame I beleue that ye may easily know the extremitie of the pain that I can not expresse vnto you if at least wise ye would haue a respect vnto the great beautie and good graces wherwith ye farre ouerpasse all other ladies of our tyme and of whom I should be vnworthie if my courage dedicated to your perpetual seruice the force of my dolor paine had not giuen me some maner of occasion to merite them and the boldnesse to discouer vnto you my passions to praye you to heale them with the remedie that yée maye knowe to be necessarye for suche an euill This madame shall be a thyng verye well syttyng and conuenient for your accustomed graciousnesse that as ye are the occasion of my infirmitie so likewise to be in time to come the occasion of my health And thereforâ— Madame I pray you to take some compassion of the euill that ye cause me to suffer vniustly and to assigne me a place where I may haue a meane to open vnto you with my mouth and to testifie vnto you by my teares the thing that I suffer in your seruice For why after your answer I may afterwards continue my life in a newe ioy or to finishe it with my auncient olde dolors that by my miserable death I may leaue vnto you and to all the worlde a sure testimonie of your inhumaine crueltie and of my mortall anguishes I therefore pray you madame that after I haue a thousand times kyssed and rekissed your faire handes to giue me the remedie that entierly doth depende vpon your pitie if ye loue not rather cruelly to cause me to die He that hath no desire to liue but to deserue your good grace A letter from Filisell to Marfira by the which he complaineth him of the rigour that she vseth in his behalfe And he prayeth hir to haue pitie vpon him In the 2. booke the .14 Chapter TO the cruell and rigorous Marfira the vnfortunate and miserable Filisell sendeth thée salutation from the whiche he himselfe is abandoned put of through your ingratitude Alas Madame with how much glorie and pleasure haue ye exalted me to the moste highest degrée of my contentation Uerely I thoughte that your highnesse woulde neuer abased your selfe so lowe to shewe me so great fauour as ye haue showed me if it had not bene for the great loue wherewith ye loued me But what haue I done now against you to be thus rigorously intreated what offence might I haue done against my Ladie Marfira seyng that I neuer thought to offende hir what good right might you haue had Madame to doe me nowe â—o great wrong Sée I pray you sée the outrages that ye doe me in place of fauours of the whiche ye are indewed so me for the good will that I beare you Alas why doe yée recompence my extreame loue with so extréeme batred beholde Madame that as long as I receyued your fauour I was bound to liue in perpetuall languour because I was so holde to take vpon me to winne the good grace of your soueraine beautie the whiche then I deserued not But since that it hath pleased you to shewe me your fauour and by that meanes haue caused me to haue a vertue in mée the whiche dothe make me worthy of an higher and a more glorious enterpryse than a man may say yée shoulde beléeue Madame that nowe yée are bounde to entertayne me in this pleasant glory that you your selfe haue caused and made me to merite I pray you then to giue vnto my euill the remedie that yée doe owe it and that yée so oftentimes haue promised or to deliuer me out of this trâ—mperie and deceyte in the whiche I sée my selfe through the anoyance that I suffer whereof I cannot comprehende nor thinke any other occasion but that it pleaseth you by so great and so rigorous an hatred to kéepe we from stable and faythfull loue the whiche I will beare you as long as I liue Thus I shall continue and remayne in this mortall warre vntill it please you to sende mée peace who tariyng and looking for it dothe kisse and rekisse a thousande times your fayre and white handes Marfira dothe wryte agayne to Dom Filisel of Montespin that he shoulde not complayne of hir seyng that shee taketh all the payne that she can to keepe hyr promisse with him afterwardes shâ— fayneth not to vnderstande the trumperie that he wrote vnto hyr of in the foresayde letter In the .12 booke the 14. Chapter DOm Filisell ye haue no occasion to complayne of me as ye complayne for if yée loued me ye cannot denie but that I loue you in like maner And if I haue taried a certaine dayes to doe the thing that yée woulde well I shoulde haue done it was not for lacke of good will as ye say in your letter but for lacke of time and opportunitie the whiche dothe abounde in you and dothe fayle and lacke in mée Also ye send mée worde to deliuer you of the trumperie where in yée are through the anoyance that yée suffer for my loue I answere you that it holdeth not of me that I doe it not but in the defaute and lacke of power and I assure you that if yée coulde doe it your selfe it shoulde be one of the greatest pleasures that mighte chaunce vnto me and woulde God it were his pleasure that yée might so doe for by this meane ye should deliuer me of the paine and trauell that I am in to giue you the remedie that ye aske and demaunde Yet seing that I haue promised you I will fulfill my promisse if it be possible for me and sooner peradueuture than ye doe thinke A letter from Filisel to Marfira excusing him of the trumperie whereof hee wrote vnto hyr In the twelfth booke the .14 Chapter DOm Filisel of Montespin dothe sende to the fayre and gracious Marfira salute the whiche the confusion where your letter hath sette it dothe denie him If I haue decayued my selfe in the letter that I haue sente you yée are not lesse deceyued in yours in the whiche ye beleue that praying you to deliuer me of the trumperie I woulde haue spoken of that wherein there coulde be none as in déede there is none that is to say of the stable and faithfull loue that I beare you as touchyng the whichâ— I in your behalfe coulde not bée deceyued as yée were neuer in mine consideryng that wée loue one another our loue hathe bene well bestowed on the one parte and on the other I onely demaunded of you in asmuche as I coulde not thinke on the occasion why ye had so long a while put me so farre from you that it would please you to deliuer me from the trumperie in respect and consideration of the loue that ye bare me or to say better that