and Fortune fauoureth them that are bold that the Gods themselues séeing my perplexed passions would of pittie defend me from those perillous daungers For if Theseus by Diuine power were ayded against the force of the monstrous Minotaure or if Iason who constrained with a couetous desire to obtaine the golden Fléece arryuing at Colchos was preserued by the Gods from the dint of the deadly Dragons no doubt Iupiter himselfe woulde either haue made the staggering bridge more strong cōsidering that no hope of wealth no desire of riches no gréedinesse of gaine no loue of lucre but beautie her selfe was the victorie I meant to vaunt of or els if I hadde sowsed in the roaring Seas hée woulde haue prouided some happie Dolphin that Arion lyke I might arriue at the desired Rocke and then my daungers should haue bene tourned into delight my perilles into pleasures my hazarding into happinesse yea I should haue possessed that heauenly paragon and enioyed the loue of that louelye Venus whose onelye sight were a sufficient salue against all fore-passed sorrowes Staye there Master Gwydonius quoth the Ladye Melytta for I sée to graunt one false proposition is to open a doore to innumerable absurdities and that by suffering you too long of these supposed premisses you wil inferre some cauillyng conclusion to your former reasons thus I replye That I confesse necessitie to haue no lawe but I graunt not the same of Loue for if it be lawlesse it is leawde if without lymittes lasciuious if contayned within no boundes beastlye if obserued with no order odious so that lawlesse Loue without reason is the verye Load-stone to ruth and ruine Sith then Master Gwydonius as your selfe affirme this was the pricke that pusht you into perill how can the effect be good when the cause was naught or howe can you clearkly defend your desperate motion procéeding of such a fonde and foolish occasion But it was the perfection of her comelye person her exquisite feature and rare beautie that so kindled thy desire and so bewitched thy sences for who is so fearefull that beautie will not make bolde who so doubtfull that beautie wil not make desperate yea what so harde that a man will not hazarde to obtayne so diuine a thyng as beautie Oh Gwydonius hast thou not hearde the Fish Remora lystening to the sounde of a Trumpet is caught of the Fishers that while the Porcupine standeth staring at the glymmering of the starres hée is ouer-taken with dogges that the Deare gazing at the bowe is striken with the bolte that the Leoparde looking at the Panthers paynted skinne is taken as a praye and that he which taketh too much delyght to gaze vpon beautie is oftentimes galled with griefe and miserie Yea his pleasure shall inferre such profite and his good wil such gayne as if he reapte the beautifull apples of Tantalus which are no sooner toucht but they tourne to ashes Beautie Gwydonius no sooner flourisheth but it fadeth and it is not fullye ripe before it beginne to rot it no sooner blossometh but it withereth and scarcelye béeing toucht it stayneth lyke to the Guyacum leafe that hath the one halfe parched before the other halfe be perfect to the Birde Acanthis which hatched white yet tourneth blacke at the first storme or lyke to the Stone Astites that chaungeth colour with the onelye breath of a man If then Gwydonius Beautie be so fading so fickle so momentarie so moouing so withering so waning so soone passed and so soone parched is this the Iewell which you count more déere than life and the Iemme which you thinke worthie to be purchased with the danger of death No doubt Gwydonius if you wonne the victorie you might vaunt of a great Conquest and if your long hope were repayed with a great happe it shoulde bée much lyke to his which thinking to embrace Iuno caught nothing but a vanishing clowde You doo well Madame quoth Castania to put an If in it because hée that vaunteth of victorie before hée hath wonne the fielde maye prooue himselfe a foole hée that bragges of gaines before the accompts be cast may perhappes put his winnings in his eyes and hée that bloweth the Mort before the fall of the Buck may very well misse of his fées so he that counts himselfe a spéeder before he be a wooer sheweth himselfe a vaine person or a vaunting patch Might it not bée I praye you Master Gwydonius that passing the bridge scaping the dangerous seas happely arriuing at the desired Rocke yet you might misse of your purpose Yes forsooth for many a man bendeth his bow y ◠neuer killeth his game laieth y ◠strap y ◠neuer catcheth the fowle pitcheth the Net that neuer getteth the fish long time are heauie wooers that neuer proue happie speeders So perhaps Gwydonius you might be crossed with a chippe of the same mischaunce and the gorgeous Dame whome you adore for a Goddesse might repaye your liking with loathing your loue with hate your good will with despite and your fixed fancie with small affection either that she lyked you too little or loued another too much All these doubts Gwydonius are carefullye to be cast and wisedome it is to feare the worst and finde the best but you Sir like a lustie champion thinke a Ladie won at the first looke and the good will of women gained at the first glaunce thinking the Gods thēselues are to be accused of iniustice if they be not ayders to your enterprise insomuch that if in ventring ouer the perilous passage you had by disaster Fortune fallen into the daungerous Seas you doubted not but that Iupiter would haue sent a Dolphin that Arion like you might escape the fearefull surges but Gwydonius bée not so ventrous least though you harpe very long you get not the like hap These premisses considered if my censure might stand for a sentence I déeme it better to be counted a dastardly coward than a desperate caitife better to forsake your Goddesse than your God better to lyue pinched with a few momentarie passions than with desperate death to destroy both soule and body for there is no sore such which in time may not be salued no care such which cannot bée cured no fire so greate which may not bée quenched no loue liking fancie or affection which in time may not either be repressed or redressed Valericus hearing this rough replye of Castania supposed that although she leuelled at Gwydonius yet shée shot at him and fearing the fort should be too much shashaken with this fearce assault he stifly defended the walles with this fresh Alarum MAdam quoth hée I se you will sit nye the wals eare you be thrust out for a wrangler and that you will speake against your owne conscience but you will haue the conquest for my owne part Madame howsoeuer I séeme to lyke it I will not saye I mislike it but I am sorrie you Madame Melitta shoulde so blasphemouslye imblaze the Armes of beautie
such tumbling waues such fearefull surges such roaring stremes such hideous goulfs as it made the passage séeme a thousand times more perillous This terrible sight was such a cooling Card to my former conceits as hope was turned to feare blisse to bale supposed happinesse to assured heauinesse And yet my fancie was not quenched but rather far the more inflamed my desire was not diminished but augmented my liking no lesse but rather inlarged so that to liue in loue without hope was loathsome to séeke redresse was losse of life to want my wish was horror to inioy my will was hell to liue in care without comfort was calamitie to séeke for cure was more thâ— miserie not to possesse y e pray was hellish daunger to venture for the prize was haples death Thus crossed with cares daunted with such diuers doubts desperate hope so repulsed direfull feare y â— incouraged by ventrous desire I hadde either obtained my wish or wanted of my will if your Ladyshippe had not so sodainely wakened me out of my slumber Thus madame Castania you haue heard my dreame now the doubt is whether it had ben better to haue ventured vppon the brickle bridge and so either desperatly to haue ended cares with death or else valiantly to haue inioyed desire with renowme or still like a fearefull dastard to haue ended my dayes in lingering loue with myserie Castania hearing the surmised dreame of Gwydonius both smelled the fetch and smiled at the follie of this young youth knowing that these fantastical visions and presupposed passions would in time if he tooke not héed proue but too true to preuent therefore such imminent perills shée nipt her young nouice on the pate with this parle GWydonius quoth shée I haue listened to thy drousie dreame with déep deuotion by so much the more desirous attentiuely to heare it by howe much the more I finde it straunge and wonderfull yea so straunge as if I my selfe had not wakened thée out of thy slumber I would either haue thought it a fained vision or a fantasticall inuention but sith these Gentlemen héere present mine owne eyes are witnesses thine owne tongue a testimonie of thy talke suffice I beléeue it though I can not diuine it to giue a verdit where the euidence is not vnderstood is vanitie to yéeld a reason of an vnknowen case is méere folly and to interpret so straunge a dreame without great practise is but to skip beyond my skill and so lay fast in the mire Yet least I might séeme to promise much and performe nothing I will decide your doubt if you please to take my doome for a censure It is a saying Gwydonius not so common as true that the hastie man neuer wantes woe and that hée which is rash wythout reason seldome or neuer sléepeth without repentaunce To venture amiddest the Pikes when perills cannot bée â—schewed is not fortitude but folly to hazarde in daungers when death ensueth is not to bée worthely minded but wilfully mooued Uertue alwayes consisteth betwéene extremities that as too much fearefulnesse is the signe of a quaking coward so too much rashnesse betokeneth a desperate Ruffian Manhoode Gwydonius consisteth in measure and worthynesse in fearing to hazard without hope But to giue a verdite by thine owne voyce I perceiue thou art guiltie of the same crime for when the bricklenesse of the Bridge portended death and the surging Seas inferred losse of lyfe yet desire draue thée to aduenture so desperate a daunger Better it is Gwydonius to liue in griefe then to die desperatelye without grace better to choose a lingering lyfe in miserie then a spéedie death without mercie better to bée tormented wyth haplesse fancie then with hellish fiends for in lyfe it is possible to represse calamity but after death neuer to redresse miserie Tully Gwydonius in his Tusculans questions discoursing of the happinesse of life and heauinesse of death sayth that to lyue we obtaine it of the louing Gods but to die of the vnluckie destinies meaning heereby that lyfe though neuer so loathsome is better then death though neuer so welcome whereby I conclude Gwydonius that to liue carfully is better then to die desperatly Gwydonius perceiuing that Castanias parle was nothing to the purpose and that shée toucht not that point whereof hée desired most to bée absolued but meant to shake him off wyth a fléeâ—elesse aunswere beganne to drawe her to the Trappe wyth this traine MAdame Castania quoth he I confesse that rashnesse neuer raigneth without repentaunce nor hastie hazarding without haplesse harmes that he which aduentureth desperate daungers is a foole he that passeth ineuitable perills is worse then an Asse Yet from these so generall rules Madame I exempt these perticular exceptions namely Loue Necessitie which two are tied w tin no bonds nor limitted within no law for whom y e diuel driues he must néedes run be the passage neuer so perillous and whom Loue or Necessitie forceth he must venture be the daunger neuer so desperate for as there is no enterprise so easie which to an vnwilling man séemeth not verie hard to bée atchieued so there is no incounter so combersome where will wisheth that séemeth not passing easie to bée perfourmed nowe this will is with nothing sooner pricked forwarde then either with the force of Loue or sting of necessitie So that whosoeuer aduentureth in a daunger though neuer so desperate is not to be blamed if inforced by fancie or incouraged by affection and especially where the perill is in possibilytie to bee passed without death and in the performaunce thereof the possession of such a prise as the passionate person more estéemeth then lands limmes or lyfe it selfe bée it neuer so swéete In which case madame my cause consisteth For the Ladie who was an heauenly obiect to my glasing eies was so beautified with the giftes of nature and so perfectly pollished with more then naturall perfection that with the only view of such diuine beutie my sences were so besotted my wit will so inueigled my affection so inflamed any fréedome so fettered yea Loue alreadie had made so greate a breach into the bulwarke of my breast that to obtaine so gorgeous a Goddesse I thought death no daunger though neuer so direfull nor losse of lyfe no torment though neuer so terrible In déed Gwydonius quoth Thersandro I agrée with thée in this poynt that there is no carpet Knight so cowardly that wold not passe most perillous pikes to possesse so liuely a Dame as thou doost decypher nor no dastard so daunted with dread which would not greatlye indanger himselfe to inioy so louely a damsell in y â— fruition of whom consisteth nothing but ioy blisse rest contentation of minde delight happinesse yea all earthlye felicitie And yet Sir quoth Gwydonius your sister Castania condemnes me of follye in ventring for so precious a price when as hope perswaded me that no hazarde could be haples and assured me that Loue
for all the first repulse but onely sought opportunitie how he might in close combat once again incounter with Castania vowing either to return w t some signe of victorie or els to put lim and life in hazard But fortune meaning plesantly to sport w t this youÌ„g nouice wold neuer minister such fit occasioÌ„ y â— he might haue solitary accesse to his goddes for Castania of preteÌ„ded purpose so warely auoided his companie and with such disdainfull lookes so reiected his dutie as Gwydonius was constrained to séeke his course by a new compasse delyuering vnto one of her maides a friendly letter to this effect Disdayned Gwydonius to his desired Castania Health WHo so tasteth Madame Castania of the Riuer Licos in India féeleth such a continuall flame to fry and fret his intrayles as it is more torture than to bée tormented with the hellish-furies and this griefe canne neuer be redressed but with drinking the bloud of his déerest friend And as he that is venomed by the Phalanga féeleth such painfull passions as he runneth mad and is onely cured by the meanes of most harmonious musicke so Madame the furious heate of fancie dooth so scorch and scale my haplesse heart and dooth perplexe me with such hellish pangues as death it selfe were thrice more desired than thus to driue my dayes in dolour And I haue so gréedely swallowed vp the sugred poyson of your deuine beautie as through the extremitie of pinching griefe which so direfully distresseth me I rest as one distract from his senses not possible to obtaine a cure for this my calamitie vnles with the deaw of mutuall affection you mitigate my maladie or with the pleasant harmonie of your musical consent you appease my miserie Sith then Madam my care procéedeth from your beautie let my sore be cured by your bountie sith the perfection of your person hath wrought my bane let the effect of your courtesie procure my blisse and reiect him not so rigorously which respeâ—â—â—th you so reuerently Loath him not so hatefully which loueth you so heartely nor repaie not his dutifull amitie with such deadly enmity The pike fatally prosecuteth the fish Mugra as his mortall foe and yet séeing him snared on the fishers hooke he spéedely shreddeth the line in sunder to deliuer him the Snake most deadly detesteth the field-mouse and yet she heapeth vp in her hole store of prouision to preuent her enimies penurie and shall then madame your crueltie so farre excéede these sencelesse creatures shall your rigour be so voide of reason as to requite your friende with paine when they repaie their foes with pleasure to driue your friends into distresse when they redéeme their foes from daunger no madame I hope you wil not counteruaile my constancie with such discurtesie nor so recklesly regard your poore Gwydonius whose loue and loyaltie is so great that as the stones which are found in the riuer Lyncestis the lowder the winde bloweth the deeper they are drencht in the water the more they burne and blaze so the more you séeke to coole my fancie with disdaine the more my affection is kindled with desire the more you loath the more I like the greater dispaire you driue me into by denialls the greater hope incouraged by constancie I haue to obtaine my request in which feruent affection I meane to remayne without chaunge crauing in liewe of this my loyaltie that you will spéedely send the messenger of present consolation to him which pineth awaie and is yours onely and euer Still in hope Gwydonius CAstania hauing receiued this Letter from her assured friend Gwydonius although she perceiued by the contents that his loue was not counterfait but constant not lyght but loyall not floting but faithfull and that she should not finde him immutable in prosperitie which was so permanent in aduersitie Yet whether it were for coynesse in consent or charinesse of choise I knowe not she once againe thought to sound him more deeper to kéepe out still the flagge of defiaunce and to spende one Uollée of shot in the face of her enimie to sée if a hot skirmish would make him flie the field And if lyke a valiaunt souldier he did manfully march on and not refuse the brunt of the battaile shée woulde then resigne the fort of her fréedome into his hands and yéelde vp the bulwarke of her breast which so long he had battered that triumphauntly he might set vp Trophees in signe of a most victorious conquest To put therefore the matter in question she returned him this answere Castania to Gwydonius which hopeth in vaine health MAister Gwydonius your Letter béeing more hastely receiued then heartely read I perceiue by the contents that you are still perplexed with your pensicke passions and that your disease is incurable for if your pains may be appeased or your maladie mittigated by no medicine but by my meanes you are like either to pay your due vnto death or still to linger in distresse My cunning is too small to enterprise the composition of anye secrete simples and my calling too great to become a Phisition to such a paltering pacient so that I neither can nor wil cure another mannes harme by mine owne mishap To loue him whome I cannot like were but to wreast against mine owne will to flatter him whome I meane not to fancie is but a méere tricke of extreame follye What the cause is Gwydonius that thy good will reapes so small gaine and that so rigorously I repaie thy loue with hate I knowe not vnlesse the constellation of the Starres by some secrete influence haue so appointed it in the calculation of our natiuitie But this I am sure that as no Serpent can abide the smell of a harts horne as the Panther escheweth the companie of the Ownce as the Uulture is mortall enimie to y â— Eâ—le and as it is impossible to hatch vp a Swanne in an Eagles neast to temper Oile Pitch together in one vessell to mixe the bloud of a Lyon and a Woolfe in one bowle and to procure amitie betwéene the Fawlcon called Tilo and the Foxe so hard is it to procure me by ruthfull request to be thy friend which am by instinct of nature thy protested foe and as harde to winne me to thy wife who so little likes of thy loue that the verie remembrance of thy person makes me fal into most hatefull passions Cease theÌ„ Gwydonius to condempne me of crueltie and leaue off at last to appeale to my curtesie for thou shalt alwayes bée sure to feele the one neuer to finde the other Yet least thou shouldest accuse me of ingratitude though I cannot inwardly mittigate thy miserie yet I will outwardlye teach thée to applie such plaisters as if the experience of them proue true shall greatly appease thy paine Plinie Gwydonius reporteth that hée which drinketh of the riuer Auerna cooleth and mortifieth his affections but if the water be toucht by any meanes before it be drunke the vertue thereof
calme consent and her contemptuous protestations to most constant promises For if the carefull captiue who by the doome of the Iudge expecteth each hower to die reioyceth when he heareth his pardon pronouÌ„ced no doubt Gwydonius ioye could be no losse sith deniall was his death and consent the conserue to heale his wounds the greater care the greater ioye the more paine the greater pleasure the more hellish miserie the more heauenly felicitie Yea Gwydonius was driuen into such an extasie for ioy that he was in doubt whether this letter was preferred to him in déede or presented to him in a Uision whether hée were wrapte into a Traunce or rauished with some drowsie slumber but at last perceiuing it to be no fained fantasie such a déep desire inforced his affection as he thought euery moment a month euery houre a yeare euerye daye a thousande vntill hée might fréely enioy the presence and sight of his loue and Ladie Castania Fortune meaning to aduaunce him to the toppe of her inconstant whéele brought it so to passe that before the wéeke was ended he spied Castania walking alone in the garden which sodaine sight so reuiued his sences y e without anye dread or doubt he manfully marcht on towards her and was as hastely hartely incountred by Castania who embracing Gwydonius in her armes welcommed him with this salutation AS the Whale Gwydonius maketh alwayes signe of great ioye at the sight of the fish called Talpa Marina as the Hynde greatlye delyghteth to sée the Leoparde as the Lion fawneth at the viewe of the Unicorne and as he which drinketh of the Fountaine Hypenis in Scithia féeleth his mind so drowned in delight that no greefe though neuer so great is able to asswage it so Gwydonius I conceiue such surpassing pleasure in thy presence and such heauenlye felicitie in the sight of thy perfection that no miserie though neuer so monstrous is able to amaze me no dolour though neuer so direfull is able to daunt me nor no mishap though neuer so perillous is able to make me sinke in sorrow as long as I inioy thy presence which I count a soueraine preseruatiue against all carefull calamities That as he which tasteth of the hearbe Hyacynthus is neuer combred with care and as he that weareth the stone Agathes about him is surely defenced against all insuing sorrrowes so inioying the sight of thy séemely selfe and féeding mine eyes with the forme of thy feature I think my selfe sufficiently shrowded against all the tempestuous showers of sinister fortune And to proue these my promises to be no fained vanities but faithfull veritie I commit my selfe my stay and state into thy hands to dispose of me at thy plesure wishing rather to liue with thée in most distressed penurie than to linger héere in most fortunate prosperitie GWydonius listening attentiuely to this sugred harmonie was so rauished with the sight of her sweete face and so rapt into a traunce with the contemplation of her beautie that as the Lyon tasting of the gumme Arabicke becommeth senselesse as the Bul by browsing on the barke of a Iuniper trée falleth a sléepe as the Camill standeth astonished at the sight of a Rat so Gwydonius séeing in his armes the Saint whom in heart hée did honour and imbracing the Goddesse whome with most déepe deuotion hée did adore was so amazed that he was not able to vtter one worde as witnesse of his happinesse vntill at last gathering his wits together he beganne thus to reply CAstania quoth hée it is an axiome in Philosophie that the colour ioyned hard to the sight hindereth the sence the flower put into the nosethrill stoppeth the smelling the Wine vessell béeing full lets passe no wine though neuer so well vented the water-pot béeing filled to the brimme yeeldes forth no licour though hauing a thousand holes so where the minde is surcharged with ouermuch ioy or too much pleasure there the tongue is both tied and the sences so restrained that the heart is neither able to conceiue the ioye nor the tongue able to expresse the pleasure Which Castania I nowe speake by proofe and knowe by experience for I am so drowned in delight by inioying that princely Iemme which I estéeme the rarest and richest Iewell not onely in Alexandria but in all the worlde and so puffed vp in pleasure by thy diuine presence Yea thy faithfull and vnfained affection the promise of thy constancie and the hope of thy loyaltie the report of thy chastitie the renowme of thy modestie the force of thy beautie the fame of thy vertue But aboue all thy prodigall bountie in bestowing these heauenlye perfections on thy poore Gwydonius béeing by person and parentage most vnworthy to possesse them so surchargâ—th my silly heart with excessiue ioye that my tongue not being able in part to expresse the extreame pleasure of my minde I am with Philiâ—tion the Comicall Poet constrayned by silence to vnfolde that affection which in words the filed phrase of Demosthenes were not able to decypher But this assure thy selfe Castania that if Iuno wold aduance me to be Monarch of the world if Pallas would preferre me to excéede hautie Hercules in valour if Venus wold present me with some princely péece of heuenly perfection yet would I not so gladly receiue their proffers as I doo gratefully accept the promise of thy loue and loyaltie No I accompt the treasure of Croesus but trash in respect of the guerdon of thy good will I accompt the fortune of Caesar but folly respecting the fruites of thy fauour I estéeme the dignities of Priamus as dregs in respect of thy diuine perfection Yea Castania I am so snared with thy beautie and so intangled in the trap of thy bountie as I shall neuer leaue to loue thée nor euer beginne to like any other IT is easie Gwydonius quoth Castania to purchase credite where the partie is alreadie perswaded and to infer beléefe where euery word is counted an Oracle Therefore omitting these friuolous protestations thus much I say touching the purpose Cecillius Metellus was wont to say that as it was necessary that old men shuld be graue in counsaile so it was expedient young men should be secret in loue and therefore when the contract was made betwéene Fuluius and his daughter he sealed vp their lippes with his signet meaning that to violate the secret conference of louers was to commit a second sacriledge I speake this Gwydonius as one carefull of thy staye and my state for if Orlanio my father should but once heare of our loue or suspect our liking it wold bréede thy mishap and my miserie yea no doubt hée would spéedely preuent our pretence which woulde bée thy care and my calamitie Dispose our affaires at thy pleasure but discouer not our purpose if thou hast won the castell vaunt not of the conquest if thou hast made a good market bragge not of thy gaines lest by boasting of thy bootie thou loose thy pray and
tourned himselfe he sawe before his face death and dispaire woe and wretchednesse mishap and miserie Combred thus with this curelesse care and sitting solitarily in sorrow séeing the dismal day drew on and hearing that Fernandus the king of Bohemia was lately landed he fell into more furious passions vntill he was driuen out of his dumps by his sonne Thersandro who perceiuing his father thus dolefully daunted he began most louingly to comfort him promising that since none durst venture to deale with Clerophontes he himselfe would fight y â— combat and either worthelye winne the conquest with renowme or manfully die in the field with honour Orlanio hearing the bold courage of this new champion felt his sorrow somewhat salued by this proffer perswading himselfe y â— his sonne was better able to abide y e brunt then he hoping that the Gods would fauour the equitie of the cause and assuredly by iustice graunt him the victorie Resting I saie vppon this hope and thanking Thersandro for his naturall affection and praysing him for his noble courage hée presentlye went to méete Fernandus whom he most princely entertained conducting him very royally into Alexandria where hée most sumptuously feasted him and all his traine But as they passed away the time in pastime and pleasure so poore Thersandro spent the daye in dolour and the night in sorrowe For although to comfort his Father he made light of the combat and valiauntly offered himselfe to trie the chaunce of Fortune yet séeing his enimies force farre to excéede his féeble strength he began to faint although like a worthie Gentleman he couered his dreadfull courage with a desperate countenaunce raunging vp and downe the fieldes to driue awaye his melancholy where by chaunce in disguised apparaile he met Gwydonius to whom after some Parle past betwéen them he bewrayed the whole state of the matter howe he was to enter combat with Clerophontes and that hée doubted greatly of the euent of the victorie fearing the force of his Father and fainting at his owne imbecilitie Which Gwydonius hearing he made this short aunswere THersandro quoth he it is vaine with long talke to passe away the time when delay bréedes daunger folly to hope for faire weather when the aire is ouercast with clowdes leauing off therefore all oathes to confirme my faith thus much to the purpose If it please thée to trust me without triall and to giue anye confidence to my words I héere promise both to make manifest my loyall loue to Castania and to repay thy courtesie that I will resembling thy person and disguised in thy armor enter combat with my father Clerophontes either intending by winning the victorie to obtaine my will or by loosing the conquest to want my wish if this my proffer please thée I will passe priuilie to y t Court if not good Thersandro let me goe as I came Thersandro commending the subtill deuise of Gwydonius caried him as couertly as could be to Castania to whom he was 〈◊〉 more welcome than soone come remaining closely in her closet till y e next morning Castania 〈…〉 nothing of their preteÌ„ce Fernandus â—ing of Bohemia the nexte daye being gone with all his 〈…〉 place appointed for the combat Orlanio Castania and all the Lords of Alexandria clad in mourning attire folowed him thinking this dismall day should be the â—â—te of their destruction And 〈…〉 thirfting after bloud and gloryâ—ng in the hope of his supposed conquest stoode in the 〈…〉 foe To whome Gwydonius his 〈◊〉 furnished with the armour of Thersandro presented himselfe Who séeing that forced by the fond allurements of loue he was to fight not wyth his mortal foe but with his natural father he fell into these doubtfull dumpes Alas poore Gwydonius quoth he how art thou combred with diuers cogitations what a cruell conflict dost thou sinde in thy minde betwéene loue and loyaltie nature necessitie who euer was so wilfull as willingly to wage battaile against his owne father who so cruell as to enter combat with his owne sire Alas duetie perswades me not to practise so monstrous a mischiefe but the deuotion I owe to Castania driues me to perfourme the déede were it thrice more daungerous or desperate The honour I owe to my Father makes me faynt for feare but once to imagine so brutish a fact the loue I owe to Castania constrayneth me to defende the combat if Iupiter himselfe made the challenge And is not fond foole necessitie aboue nature is not the lawe of loue aboue King or Keyzar Father or Friends God or the Diuell Yes And so I meane to take it for either I wil valiantly win the conquest and my Castania or lose the victorie and so by death ende my miseries With that the trumpets sounded and Gwydonius lustely leaping into the lystes fell presentlye into furyous fight with his father driuing not onely Fernandus Orlanio but also both the armies into a great doubt for although Clerophontes most cruelly prosecuted him yet he alwaies receiued the strokes but neuer so much as once returned one blow till at last looking aloft and spying Castania his courage so increased that all feare set aside he carelessely flang away his sword and shield and ranne vpon his Father not onely tearing from him his target but vyolently casting him vpon the ground and spéedely vnlacing his Helmet offered to cut off his head with his owne sword but Clerophontes crying out confessed himselfe captiue and granted his enimie the conquest Wherevpon they of Alexandria gaue a mightie showte and Fernandus and Orlanio came down readie to carrie Clerophontes captiue to the Citie But Gwydoniâ—s first demaunded of Orlanio if hée was content to perfourme that which he promised by proclamation to whom Fernanduâ— aunswered that both he would and should or els as he was his friend so he woulde bee his foe Gwydonius hearing this faithfull assertion of the King pulling downe his beauer began to speake in this manner I Let thée Orlanio quoth he and the worthie king of Bohemia to knowe that I am Gwydonius sonne and heire to this conquered Clerophontes who for the loue of thy Daughter Castania haue not spared contrarie to the lawe of nature to fight with mine owne Father hoping the destinies by my meanes haue decréed not onely of fatall foes to make you faithfull friendes but to finish vp our loue which otherwise coulde not haue bene perfourmed I haue wonne Orlanio my Fathers Dukedome by victorie and thy Daughter by conquest the one I had before by inheritaunce and the other by loue yet I wold willingly haue thy good will which if thou graunt I hope my father will both pardon my offence and thinke well of my proffer Clerophontes kissing and imbracing Gwydonius tolde him his care was halfe cured in that such a good Captaine had wonne the Conquest Fernandus Orlanio stood astonished at this strange Tragedie doubting in whether they dreampt of such a rare deuice or saw it effect At last Orlanio
loued Helena Sparta had neuer reioyced nor Troy ben brought to ruine But did not I cause him to goe to Menelaus vnder coulour of Embassage to Court vnto his wife to leade her awaie by force and after to defend his vniust quarrel against all Greece Who had spoken of the loue of Dido if he had not deuised to goe a hunting that she might haue the better commoditie to communicate with Aeneas that by such priuate familiaritie he might not be ashamed to take from her that which long before most willingly she would haue giuen him I beléeue no mention had béene made of Artemizia if I had not caused her drinke the cynders of her husbands dead carcasse for else who had knowen whether she had loued her husband more then other women The effect and issues of things alwayes make them to be praised or dispraised If thou makest men to loue yet I am oft times the chiefest cause But if any straunge aduenture or greate effect chaunceth in that thou hast no part but the onely honour belongeth vnto me Thou rulest nothing but y â— heart the rest I gouerne yea I leade thée I conducte thée and thine eyes serue thée to no more vse then the beames of the Sunne to a blinde man But to the ende thou knowe mée from hence foorth and that thou mayst giue mée thankes for conducting thée carefullye Beholde nowe howe greatlye thine eyes dooe profite thée Follie putteth out Cupids eies Loue. Alasse Iupiter O my mother Venus what auayleth it to bée thy sonne so feared so redoubted both in heauen and in earth if I be subiect to bée iniured as the most vile slaue in the worlde Alasse haue I thus lost mine eies by an vnknowen woman Folly Take héede sond foole another time to rayle vppon those who perhappes are of more force and puissaunce then thou Thou hast offended the Quéene of men thou hast outraged her who gouerneth the heart the braine and the minde Under whose shadowe euerie one once in his lyfe shroudeth himselfe and ther remaineth either long or short time according to his merite thou hast displeased her who procureth thy renowme thou hast contempned her who hath aduaunced thée and therfore hath this misfortune fallen vpon thy head Loue. Alasse how is it possible for me to 〈◊〉 her whom I neuer knew or to reuerence that person whom before I neuer sawe but if thou hast borne me such great good will as thou saist pardon this my offence and restore me my sight Folly To restore thée thine eyes is not in my power but I will couer the place to hide the deformitie Folly couereth Cupids face with a Scarfe and giueth him wings And in liew of this haplesse lucke thou shalt haue these wings which shal cary thée whether thou wilt wish Loue. But where hadst thou this vaile so readie to couer my deformitie Folly It was giuen me as I came hether by one of the destinies who told me it was of that nature that if it were once fastned it could neuer be vnloosed Loue. How vnloosed am I then blinde for euer O vile and traiterous wretch coulde it not suffice to pull out mine eyes but to take awaie the meanes that the Gods cannot restore them now I sée the sentence verified on my selfe that it is not good to take a present at the hande of an enimie O cruell destinies O cursed daie shall not the heauens the earth and the seas haue cause to waile sith loue is blinde But why doe I complaine héere in vaine it is better for me to sue to the Gods for reuengement The second discourse Loue goeâ—â— from the Pallace of Iupiter lamenting to himselfe his mischiefe Loue. Alasse in what miserable case am I what can eyther my bowe or mine arrowes auaile me nowe can I not cause whom I 〈…〉 â—oue but without respect of persons euerie one is in daunger of my darts Hetherto I haue onely caused daintie damsells and young youths to loue I did choose out the brauest blouds and the fairest and most well featured men I did pardon vile and base persons I excused the deformed creatures and let olde age remaine in peace But now thiâ—king to hit a young gallaunt I light vpon some olde â—â—â—ting lecher in stéed of some braue Gentleman I strike some filthie foule lurden And it shall happen I dâ—â—bt that they shall bée most fortunate in their loue so that by patrimonie presence or wealth they shall soonest winne the fauour of women and by this meanes my kingdome shall come to ruine when men sée in it such disorder and euill gouernment Venus hauing long sought Cupid now meeteth him I haue carefully long sought thée my deare sonne meruailing what the cause shoulde bée that thou hast not bene present at the banket of Iupiter Who is greatly incensed against thee not onely for thy absence but for the complaintes which are 〈◊〉 out against thée by sundrie poore artificers labouring men pesaunts slaues hand maides olde men and toothlesse aged women crying all vnto Iupiter that they loue thinking themselues greatly iniured in this respect that the passion which is proper to worthy and noble men should be inflicted vpon them which are of the base and vildest sort Loue. Had not the great misfortune which is chaunced vnto me happened I had neither bene absent from the banquet nor these gréeuous complaints had not bene inferred against mée Venus Why and art thou hurt Who hath thus vailed thine eies Loue. Folly hath not onely pulled them out but also hath put this bande before mine eies which can neuer be taken away Venus O cursed enimie of all wisedome O haplesse wretch vniustly called a Goddesse and more vnrightly tearmed immortall hast thou depriued me of my chiefest delight and felicitie O disaster loue O dissolute mother O wofull Venus who séest thy sonne thy ioy and onely care thus cruelly depriued of his sight Well since thy mishap is so great I vowe that euerie one that shall loue what fauour or happie successe so euer he shall haue shall not be without some care trouble or calamitie that hée vaunt not himselfe to be more happie then the sonne of Venus Loue. Cease off good mother from these sorrowfull complaints redouble not my griefe by these your dolorous discourses suffer mée to beare mine owne misfortune and wish not euill vnto them which shall bée my subiectes Venus Well let vs then goe to Iupiter and complaine of this cursed inchauntresse The third discourse Venus If euer thou hadst pittie of my plaintes most iust Iupiter when thou sawest me labour to saue my son Aeneas from the furie of the raging Seas and to defend him from other daungers in the which he was present at the siege of Troy If my teares for the death of my deare Adonis moued thée to compassion The surpassing sorrow that I doe conceiue for the great iniurie offered to Cupid I hope shall moue thée to pittie If teares wold suffer me I would