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23

[Pluto the Duke of diu'ls, enrag'd with an hellish Erynnis]

Pluto the Duke of diu'ls, enrag'd with an hellish Erynnis,
Gan to repyne and grudge, and moue a rebellius vprore,
For that he wanted a wife: and now eu'n all the detested
Infernal rablement, and loathsome broode of Auernus
Clustred on heapes and troupes and threatned wars to Olympus.
But Lachesis, fearing lest laws layd down by the thundrer,
By the reuenging rout of feends might chance to be broken,
Fate-spinning Lachesis cry'd out to the prince of Auernus.
Sou'raigne Lord of damned Ghosts, and mightie Monarcha
Of Stygian darknes, which giu'st each thing a beginning,
And by thy dreadful doome, doest draw each thing to an ending,
Ruling life and death with iurisdiction endles;
O let those decrees and fatal lawes be obeyed,
Which wee three sisters for you three brethren apoynted:
Let that sacred league and peace last freely for euer;
Stay these more then ciuil warres, vnnatural vprores,
And intestine broyls: aske Ioue, and stay for an aunswere,
Ioue shall giue thee a wife. His rage was somwhat abated,
Though not well calmed, yet he yeelds at last to the fatall
Sisters intreating and teares; although with an ill will
And a repyning heart, and Mercury sends to Olympus
With this round message: Tell Ioue that stately triumpher,
Pluto cannot abide to be thus controll'd by a brother,
Imperius brother: who though that he maketh a rumbling
With scar-crow thunders, and hurls his flames in a fury
On poore mortall men; yet he must not think that Auernus
Vndaunted Capten, with buggs can so be deluded.
Is't not enough that I liue in darksome dens of Auernus,
Where fire, smokes, & fogs, grief, plagues, & horror aboundeth,
Whil'st vsurping Ioue keepes court in lightsom Olympus,
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But that he must also forbid me the name of a husband,
And restraine those ioyes which nature freely afordeth?
Seas-sou'raigne Neptune embraceth his Amphitrite,
And clowd-rolling Ioue enioyes Saturnia Iuno,
His wife and sister, (for I let slip slipperie by-blowes)
But scorned Pluto must stil forsooth be a batchler,
Stil be a wiueles boy and childeles: But, by the dreadful
Streames of sacred Styx I protest, if he yeeld not an answere
Vnto my full content, Ile loose forth all the reuengful
Broode of damnable haggs and hel-hounds vp to the heauens:
Ile confound heau'n, hell, light, night, Ile cast on a cluster
Blisful Olympus bowres, with baleful dens of Auernus.
Plutoes tale scarce tolde, light-footed Mercury mounting
Vp to the highest heau'ns, disclos'd each word to the thundrer:
Who consulting long, at last thus fully resolued,
That Stygian brother, should take Proserpina, daughter
Vnto the Lady Ceres, pereles Proserpina: matchles,
And yet fit for a match. Bloody Mars, and archer Apollo
Sought her a long while since; Mars big & fram'd for a buckler,
Phœbus fit for a bowe, Mars actiue, learned Apollo:
Mars offred Rhodope, Phœbus would giue her Amyclas,
And Clarian temples, and Delos fayre for a dowrie.
Lady Ceres cast off bloody Mars, and archer Apollo,
Contemning Rhodope, despising proffred Amyclas:
And fearing violence and rape, commendeth her onely
Dearling and deare childe to the dearest soyle of a thousand
Louely Cicil. from whence with watery cheekes she returned
Vnto the towre-bearing Cybele, and lowd Coribantes,
On Phrygian mountains: Where shee no sooner aryued,
But Ioue, spightful Ioue tooke opportunity offred,
And by the secret sleights and wyles of false Cytheræa,
In mothers absence her daughter alas he betrayed.
Goe, qd he, my wanton, goe now whilst mother is absent,
Bring her daughter abroad to the flowring fields of a purpose;
Atropos hath decreed, that supreame Duke of Auernus
My brother Pluto, must haue Proserpina, fatall
Orders must be obeyd: thy iurisdiction hereby
Shalbe the more enlarg'd, and fame fly daily the further,
If very hell feele hell, taste hellish pangs of a Louer.
Shee (for a word was enough) conueyd her away in a momēt,
And (for so Ioue would) Pallas with stately Diana
Ioynd as companions: all which three lastly aryued
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There, where Lady Ceres her daughters bowre had apoynted.
Wyly Venus drawes on simple Proserpina foorthwith,
Vnto the greene medows: herself went first as a leader,
Next came fayre Phœbe, and Ioue-borne Pallas Athene,
And shee between them both, who both thē rightly resembled,
Sweete yet sweetly seuere Proserpina: eu'n very Phœbe,
If that a bow were giu'n, if a target, Pallas Athene.
And sweete water-Nymphs by the careful mother apoynted,
Their mayden Princesse with a princelike company guarded:
Chiefly of all others, Cyane there made her aparance,
Whom for her excelling conceipt, and seemly behauiour,
Chiefely of all other well-Nymphs Proserpina loued.
There was a Christal brook by the fields, that ioyned on Ætna.
Called Pergusa, transparent down to the bottome;
Trembling leaues as a veyle, gaue cooling shade to the water,
Trembling leaues of trees, that crownd this lake as a garland;
Euery tree displayd his flowring boughs to the heauen,
Euery bow had a bird which therein made her abyding,
Euery bird on bow tooke ioy to be cherefuly chirping,
Euery chirp was a song, perswading all to be louing.
Fresh-colored medowes were ouer-spread with a mantle
Figured, and Diapred with such and so many thousand
Natures surpassing conceipts, that maruelus Iris
Was no maruel at al, and spotted traine, but a trifle,
Prowd-hart Peacocks spotted traine, compar'd to the matchles
Art, which nature shewd, in shewing so-many strange shewes.
Hither these Ladyes are come, and euery Lady
Plucketh at euery flowre; seeing each flowre to be more fayre,
More fresh, more radiant, more louely, then euery Lady.
In meane time Pluto wounded by wyly Cupido,
Intends his iourney to Sicilia; Griesly Megœra,
And fell Alecto his foaming steedes be preparing,
Steedes, that drank on Lethes Lake, and fed by the ioyles
Bancks of Cocytus. Nycteus and sulphurus Æthon
Swift, as a shaft; fierce Orphnæus with fearful Alastor,
Ioynd to the cole-black coach, drew neare to Sicilian Ætna
And seeking passage, with strange and horrible earthquakes
Ouer-turnd whole townes, and turrets stately defaced.
Euery Nymph heard, felt, and fear'd this deadly resounding,
And dreadful quaking, but of all this deadly resounding
And dreadful quaking, not a nymph there knew the beginning,
Sauing onely Venus; whose heart with terror amazed,
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Yet with ioy possest, was party to all the proceeding.
Duke of Ghosts, missing of a way, through so-many by-waies,
And all impatient with loues rage, brake with his Iron
Mace, the rebelling rocks, and piearst through th' earth to the heauens,
Heauens all dismai'd to behold so hellish an obiect.
Starres fled back for feare, Oríons hart was apaled,
Charles-Wayne ran to the sea, that he euermore had abhorred,
And by the yrksome noyce, and neighing of the detested
And poysned palfrayes of Pluto, laesy Bootes
Tooke himselfe to his heeles, and lingring wayne did abandon.
Baleful breath of night-borne coursers darkned Olympus
Chereful light, and loathed foame distild fro the bleeding
Bits, infected th' ayre: and th' earth all torne by the trampling,
Shakte and quakte for dread, and yeelded a heauy resounding.
Ladies al ran away; Proserpina lastly remayned,
Whom Stygian coachman both sought & caught in a moment.
Pluto droue on apace, Proserpina woefuly wayling,
Cald and cryed, alas, to the Nymphs, to the maids, to the Ladies;
But Nymphs, Mayds, Ladies were all affrayd to be present,
And her mothers chance, ill chance, was then to be absent.
Now Stygian raptor those prayers lightly regarding
In respect of a pray and prise so worthy the taking,
Chears and calls his dreadful steedes, and shaketh his out-worne
Bridle raynes, orecast with rust; and entreth Auernus,
All vnlike himselfe, and much more milde then a Pluto.
Ghosts and sprvtes came clustred on heaps, to behold the triumphant
Tartarean Capten, with soe great glorie returned:
Euery one was prest, some bent their care to the coursers,
Some to the coach, some strawd sweete flowr's, some lookt to the bride-bed.
Elysian Ladies with a spotles company wayted
On their new-come Queene, and carefuly sought to recomfort
Those her virgin feares and teares. Ghosts wont to be silent,
Sang sweete wedding songs, and euery nooke in Auernus
With banquets, meryments, and louelayes freely resounded,
And whole hell, for ioy was speedily turnd to a heauen.
Æacus intermits his iudgements; stearne Rhadamanthus,
And austere Minos waxe milde: all plagues be remitted:
Tantalus eats and drinks; Ixion's loost from his endles
And still-turning wheele, Tityus set free fro the Ægle,
Sisyphus extreame toyle by the rolling stone is omitted,
And Danaus daughters from running tubbes be released.
Pale-fac'te Tisiphone, with snake-hayrd ougly Megæra,
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And euer-grudging Alecto, fell to carousing,
And their burning brands embru'd with blood, did abandon.
Birds might easily passe by the poysned mouth of Auernus,
Men might safely beholde, and looke on stonie Medusa;
No consuming flames were breathd by fyrie Chymera.
Howling Cocytus with wine mirth-maker abounded,
Lamenting Acheron hart-chearing honny aforded,
And boyling Phlegeton with new milke chearefuly streamed:
Cerberus held his peace, Lachesis left off to be spinning,
And gray-beard feriman forebare his boate to be rowing,
All tooke all pleasure, and all for ioy of a wedding.
Lady Ceres all this meane time possest with a thousand
Careful mothers thoughts, thought euery houre to be twenty,
Till she returnd homeward: and home at last she returned,
At last, but too late, to her house, but not to her houshold:
Court was a wildernes, forelorne walkes, no-body walking,
Gates turnd vpside downe, hall desolat, euery corner,
Euery way left waste. But alas when lastly she entred
Persephone's chamber, seeing her curius hand-work,
And embroydred clothes, all ouer-growne by the copwebs,
But no Persephone; such inward anguish amased
Her distressed sprites, that neither a word fro the speechles
Mothers mouth could once come forth, nor a teare fro the sightles
Eyes; eyes, mouth, sence, soule, were nothing els but a horror:
Only she clipt, embrac't, and kist, and only reserued
Her sweete daughters work, poore soule, insteed of a daughter.
After long wandring, by chance shee found in a corner
Her deare daughters nurse, Electra, wofuly wayling,
With rent roabes, scratcht face, and beaten brest, for her only
Harts-ioy Persephone: whom shee as charily tendred,
As dearest mother could euer tender a dearest
Daughter: shee, when griefe and inward horror aforded
Time to reueale it selfe, this woful storie recounted
All at large: How Persephone was forc't to be walking
Greatly against her mind, and mothers wil, to the meddowes,
How foure black coursers conuey'd her away on a sudden,
No-body knew whither, nor what man might be the autor:
How her companions were all gone: only the louing
And loued Cyane, for grief was lately resolued
Into a siluer streame; and all those sweetly resounding
Syrens, made to be birds in part, in part to be maydens,
And she alone was left, left all forelorne in a corner,
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Mourning Persephone and her so heauy departure.
Silly Ceres hearing these dead newes, all in a furie
Rayled on heau'n and earth, and ran to the sulphurus Ætna,
Lighted two Pine-trees, and day and night by the deserts,
Hils, dales, woods, waters, lands, seas, Proserpina searched,
Searcht from th' East to the Weast: at last, al weary with endles
Toyling and moyling, halfe dead for drink, she repayred
Vnto a poore thatcht coat, and knockt, and meekly desired,
That to a schorched mouth some water might be aforded.
Th' ould Beldam coat-wise brought forth a domestical Hotchpot,
Her chiefe food, both meat and drink, and gaue to the Goddes.
Faintly Ceres feeding by the coat, was spy'd of a sawcie
Crackrope boy, who mockt, and cald her a greedy deuouring
Out-come witch in scorne: Whereat this Lady agreeued,
And not forgetting Latonaes worthy reuengement
On Lician Lobcocks, (who sith they rudely denied
Water, were made frogs alwayes condemn'd to the water)
Threw in this boyes face all that was left of her Hotchpot.
Mocking gallowes thus by the Goddes strangely besprinckled,
Was transformd to a Swyft; whose back grew al to be speckled,
And his spiteful breast with wonted poyson abounded.
Through what lands and seas this Goddes wofuly wandred,
Twere too long to report: each part of th' earth she perused,
Vainly perused alas: and home at last she returned
Back to Sicil; cursing, banning, and daylie reuiling
Euery soyle, but chiefly Sicil: Which now the detested
More, then afore the desir'd: brake plowes, kild wearied oxen,
Blasted corne, bred weedes and tares, sent forth the deuouring
Foules, and too much drought, & too much raine from Olympus.
Fields for corne and graine of late so greatly renowned,
Are to a barren waste, and wilde heath speedily changed.
Whilst childeles mother thus rageth, faire Arethusa
(Who by the secret caues of th' earth from Pisa to Ætna
Fetcheth a restles race) vp-lifted her head to the heauens,
And these first tidings to the forelorne Lady reported,
How herselfe of late taking her way by the fearfull,
Imperiured Styx, saw her lost childe in Auernus,
Somwhat sad, yet a Prince and supreame Queene in Auernus;
Queene to the mighty Monarch & sou'raigne king of Auernus.
Mournfull mother amas'd, for a while stoode like to a senceles
Stocke or stone: at length, when fury remoued amasement,
Vp to the heau'ns she flies, & makes her moane to the thundrer.
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Lord and loue, qd shee, vouchsafe at last to remember,
Take some care in time of poore Proserpina, think her
If not mine, yet thine, and if thine, not to be stollen:
But let passe what's past, let rape and rage be remitted,
So that thy daughter from his hellish dens be deliu'red.
T'were no disparaging, qd Ioue, if prince of a mighty
Empire, Ioues brother might haue Proserpina, ioyned
By both our consents in wedlock: darksom Auernus
Should haue no cause then to repine at lightsom Olympus.
Yet notwithstanding, if thou stand fully resolued,
And that my brother Pluto must needs be refused;
Then let Persephone both mine and thine be reduced,
If she be fasting yet: for so hath Atropos ordred,
And fatall orders are neuermore to be altred.
Mother was ful bent, to reduce her childe from Auernus
Destinie did forbid: for that Proserpina walking
In Plutoes Orchard, by chance (worst chance of a thousand)
Suckt seu'n Pomegranate kernels: and no-body knew it,
Sauing Ascalaphus, who made it knowne to Auernus,
And stayd Persephone: who then for a worthy requitall,
Foule-tungd Ascalaphus, forthwith trāsformd to a Scricheowle,
Foule and loathsome foule, whose neuer-luckily-sounding
Voyce, brings baleful newes, and certaine signes of a vengeance.
Ioue tooke paines, made peace: first iustly the yeare he deuided,
Then, to the husband halfe, and halfe to the mother apointed,
and by thease good meanes causd euery part to be pleased.
Persephone six moonths with her husband dwels in Auernus,
And six other months doth shew her selfe to Olympus.
Lady Ceres all griefe and all contention ended,
Sent forth Triptolemus with coach and corne to the people
Scattred in euery coast, whose foode was kernel of ackorne.
Triptolemus traueling through strange lands, lastly ariued
On Scythian borders: where Lyncus, falsly pretending
Life, intended death, and making shew of a friendly
Host, his sleeping guest vnawares had shamefuly murdred,
Had not Lady Ceres, his barbarus enuy preuenting,
Lyncus turnd to a Lynx, and his vayn-glory repressed,
Who of an others fact first autor would be reputed.
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