Jerusalem Delivered | Page 9

lament;
And
more, perchance, by treason or by train,
To murder us they secretly
consent,
Or otherwise to work us harm and woe,
To ope the gates,
and so let in our foe.
LXXXVII
"But lest they should effect their cursed will,
Let us
destroy this serpent on his nest;
Both young and old, let us this people
kill,
The tender infants at their mothers' breast,
Their houses burn,
their holy temples fill
With bodies slain of those that loved them best,

And on that tomb they hold so much in price,
Let's offer up their
priests in sacrifice."
LXXXVIII
Thus thought the tyrant in his traitorous mind,

But

durst not follow what he had decreed,
Yet if the innocents some
mercy find,
From cowardice, not truth, did that proceed,
His noble
foes durst not his craven kind
Exasperate by such a bloody deed.

For if he need, what grace could then be got,
If thus of peace he broke
or loosed the knot?
LXXXIX
His villain heart his cursed rage restrained,
To other
thoughts he bent his fierce desire,
The suburbs first flat with the earth
he plained,
And burnt their buildings with devouring fire,
Loth was
the wretch the Frenchman should have gained
Or help or ease, by
finding aught entire,
Cedron, Bethsaida, and each watering else

Empoisoned he, both fountains, springs, and wells.
XC
So wary wise this child of darkness was;
The city's self he
strongly fortifies,
Three sides by site it well defenced has,
That's
only weak that to the northward lies;
With mighty bars of long
enduring brass,
The steel-bound doors and iron gates he ties,
And,
lastly, legions armed well provides
Of subjects born, and hired aid
besides.
SECOND BOOK
THE ARGUMENT.
Ismeno conjures, but his charms are vain;

Aladine will kill the Christians in his ire:
Sophronia and Olindo
would be slain
To save the rest, the King grants their desire;

Clorinda hears their fact and fortunes plain,
Their pardon gets and
keeps them from the fire:
Argantes, when Aletes' speeches are

Despised, defies the Duke to mortal war.
I
While thus the tyrant bends his thoughts to arms,
Ismeno gan
tofore his sight appear,
Ismen dead bones laid in cold graves that
warms
And makes them speak, smell, taste, touch, see, and hear;

Ismen with terror of his mighty charms,
That makes great Dis in
deepest Hell to fear,
That binds and looses souls condemned to woe,


And sends the devils on errands to and fro.
II
A Christian once,
Macon he now adores,
Nor could he quite his wonted faith forsake,

But in his wicked arts both oft implores
Help from the Lord, and aid
from Pluto black;
He, from deep caves by Acheron's dark shores,

Where circles vain and spells he used to make,
To advise his king in
these extremes is come,
Achitophel so counselled Absalom.
III
"My liege," he says, "the camp fast hither moves,
The axe is laid
unto this cedar's root,
But let us work as valiant men behoves,
For
boldest hearts good fortune helpeth out;
Your princely care your
kingly wisdom proves,
Well have you labored, well foreseen about;

If each perform his charge and duty so,
Nought but his grave here
conquer shall your foe.
IV
"From surest castle of my secret cell
I come, partaker of your
good and ill,
What counsel sage, or magic's sacred spell
May profit
us, all that perform I will:
The sprites impure from bliss that whilom
fell
Shall to your service bow, constrained by skill;
But how we
must begin this enterprise,
I will your Highness thus in brief advise.
V
"Within the Christian's church from light of skies,
An hidden
alter stands, far out of sight,
On which the image consecrated lies

Of Christ's dear mother, called a virgin bright,
An hundred lamps aye
burn before her eyes,
She in a slender veil of tinsel dight,
On every
side great plenty doth behold
Of offerings brought, myrrh,
frankincense and gold.
VI
"This idol would I have removed away
From thence, and by
your princely hand transport,
In Macon's sacred temple safe it lay,

Which then I will enchant in wondrous sort,
That while the image in
that church doth stay,
No strength of arms shall win this noble fort,


Of shake this puissant wall, such passing might
Have spells and
charms, if they be said aright."

VII
Advised thus, the king impatient
Flew in his fury to the house
of God,
The image took, with words unreverent
Abused the prelates,
who that deed forbode,
Swift with his prey, away the tyrant went,

Of God's sharp justice naught he feared the rod,
But in his chapel vile
the image laid,
On which the enchanter charms and witchcraft said.
VIII
When Phoebus next unclosed his wakeful eye,
Up rose the
sexton of that place profane,
And missed the image, where it used to
lie,
Each where he sough in grief, in fear, in vain;
Then to the king
his loss he gan descry,
Who sore enraged killed him for his pain;

And straight conceived in his malicious wit,
Some Christian bade this
great offence commit.
IX
But whether this were act of mortal hand,
Or else the Prince of
Heaven's eternal pleasure,
That of his mercy would this wretch
withstand,
Nor let so vile a chest hold such a treasure,
As yet
conjecture hath not fully scanned;
By godliness let us this action
measure,
And truth of purest faith will fitly prove
That this rare
grace