Then came the fmalleft tribe I yet had feen;
Plain was their drefs, and modest was their mien.
Great idol of mankind! we neither claim
The praife of merit, nor afpire to fame!
But, fafe in deferts from th' applaufe of men,
Would die unheard-of, as we liv'd unfeen.
'Tis all we beg thee, to conceal from sight
Thofe acts of goodnefs, which themselves requite.
O let us ftill the fecret joy partake,
To follow virtue ev'n for virtue's fake.
Ver. 356. Then came the fmalleft, &c.]
I faw anone the fifth route,
That to this lady gan loute,
And downe on knees anone to fall,
And to her they befoughten all,
To hiden their good works eke.
And faid, they yeve not a leke
For no fame ne fuch renowne;
For they for contemplacyoune,
And Goddes love had it wrought,
Ne of fame would they ought.
What, quoth fhe, and be ye wood?
And ween ye for to do good,
And for to have it of no fame?
Have ye despite to have my name?
Nay ye fhall lien everichone:
Blow thy trump, and that anone
(Quoth the) thou Eolus, I hote,
And ring thefe folks works by rote,
That all the world may of it heare;
And he gan blow their loos fo cleare,
In his golden clarioune,
Through the world went the foune,
All fo kindly, and eke fo foft,
That ther fame was blown aloft.
And live there men, who flight immortal fame?
Who then with incenfe fhall adore our name?
But, mortals! know, 'tis ftill our greatest pride,
To blaze thofe virtues which the good would hide.
Rife! Mufes, rife! add all your tuneful breath;
Thefe muft not fleep in darknefs and in death.
She faid in air the trembling mufic floats,
And on the winds triumphant fwell the notes;
So foft, though high, fo loud, and yet so clear,
Ev'n liftening Angels lean from heaven to hear:
To fartheft fhores th' Ambrofial fpirit flies,
Sweet to the world, and grateful to the skies.
Next thefe a youthful train their vows exprefs'd,
With feathers crown'd, with gay embroidery drefs'd:
Hither, they cry'd, direct your eyes, and fee
The men of pleafure, drefs, and gallantry;
Ours is the place at banquets, balls, and plays,
Sprightly our nights, polite are all our days;
Courts we frequent, where 'tis our pleasing care
To pay due vifits, and addrefs the fair:
In fact, 'tis true, no nymph we could perfuade,
But ftill in fancy vanquish'd every maid;
of unknown Dutcheffes lewd tales we tell,
Yet, would the world believe us, all were well.
The joy let others have, and we the name,
And what we want in pleafure, grant in fame.
The Queen affents, the trumpet rends the skies,
And at each blaft a Lady's honour dies.
Pleas'd with the ftrange fuccefs, vaft numbers preft Around the fhrine, and made the fame request:
What you (the cry'd), unlearn'd in arts to please,
Slaves to yourselves, and ev'n fatigued with eafe,
Who lofe a length of undeferving days,
Would you ufurp the lover's dear-bought praife?
To juft contempt, ye vain pretenders, fall,
The people's fable, and the fcorn of all.
Straight the black clarion fends a horrid found,
Loud laughs burft out, and bitter scoffs fly round,
Whispers are heard, with taunts reviling loud,
And scornful hiffes run through all the croud.
Last, those who boast of mighty mischiefs done,
Enslave their country, or ufurp a throne;
Or who their glory's dire foundation lay'd
On fovereigns ruin'd, or on friends betray'd;
Calm, thinking villains, whom no faith could fix, 410 Of crooked counfels and dark politics;
Of these a gloomy tribe furround the throne,
And beg to make th' immortal treasons known.
The trumpet roars, long flaky flames expire,
With sparks, that feem'd to set the world on fire.
At the dread found, pale mortals stood aghaft,
And startled nature trembled with the blast.
This having heard and feen, fome power unknown Straight chang'd the fcene, and fnatch'd me from the
Ver. 406. Laft, those who boast of mighty, &c.]
Tho came another companye,
That had y-done the treachery, &c.
Ver. 418. This having heard and feen, &c.] The Scene here changes from the Temple of Fame, to that
Before my view appear'd a structure fair,
Its fite uncertain, if in earth or air;
With rapid motion turn'd the manfion round;
With ceaseless noife the ringing walls refound;
Not lefs in number were the fpacious doors,
Than leaves on trees, or fands upon the fhores;
Which ftill unfolded ftand, by night, by day,
Pervious to winds, and open every way.
As flames by nature to the skies afcend,
As weighty bodies to the centre tend,
of Rumour, which is almost entirely Chaucer's. The
particulars follow.
Tho faw I ftonde in a valey,
Under the caftle faft by
A houfe, that Domus Dedali
That Labyrinthus cleped is,
Nas made fo wonderly, I wis,
Ne half fo queintly y-wrought;
And evermo as swift as thought,
This queint house about went,
That never more it still stent-
And eke this houfe hath of entrees,
As many as leaves are on trees
In Summer, when they ben grene;
And in the roof yet men may fene
A thoufand hoels and well mo
To letten the foune out-go;
And by day in every tide,
Ben all the doors open wide,
And by night each one unfhet;
No porter is there one to let,
No manner tydings in to pace:
Ne never reft is in that place.
As to the fea returning rivers roll,
And the touch'd needle trembles to the pole;
Hither as to their proper place, arise
All various founds from earth, and feas, and skies,
Or spoke aloud, or whisper'd in the ear;
Nor ever filence, reft, or peace, is here.
As on the smooth expanfe of cryftal lakes
The finking stone at first a circle makes ;
The trembling furface, by the motion stirr'd,
Spreads in a fecond circle, then a third;
Wide, and more wide, the floating rings advance, 440
Fill all the watery plain, and to the margin dance:
Thus every voice and found, when firft they break,
On neighbouring air a soft impreffion make;
Another ambient circle then they move;
That, in its turn, impels the next above;
Through undulating air the founds are fent,
And spread o'er all the fluid element.
There various news I heard of love and strife,
Of peace and war, health, fickness, death, and life,
Ver. 448. There various news I heard, &c.]
Of werres, of peace, of marriages,
Of reft, of labour, of voyages,
Of abode, of dethe, and of life,
Of love and hate, accord and ftrife,
Of lofs, of lore, and of winnings,
Of hele, of ficknefs, and leffings,
Of divers tranfmutations,
Of eftates and eke of regions,
Of truft, of dred, of jealoufy,
Of wit, of winning, and of folly,
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