Rinaldo is Warned of the Witch Armida-Torquato Tasso

Torquato Tasso from Wikimedia Commons

RINALDO IS WARNED OF THE WITCH ARMIDA

An Isle that with her fellowes beares the name

Of fortunate, for temperate aire and mould,

There in a mountain high alight the dame,

A hill obscur'd with shades of forrests ould,

Vopn whose sides the witch by rate did frame

Continuall snow, shape frost and winter could,

But on the top, fresh, pleasant, sweete, and greene.

Beside a lake a pallace built this queene.

There in perpetuall, sweet and flowring spring

She liues at ease, and ioies her Lord at will;

The hardie youth from this strange prison bring

Your valours must, directed by my skill,

And overcome each monster and each thing,

That guardes the pallace, or that keeps the hill,

Nor shall you want a guide, or engins fit,

To bring you to the mound, or conquer it.

Beside the streame, I parted shall you finde

A dame, in visage young, but old in yeeres,

Her curled lockes about her front are twinde,

A parties colour'd roabe of silke she weares;

This shall conduct you swift as aire or winde,

Or that flit birde that loues hot weapon beares,

A faithull Pilot, cunning, trustie, sure.

As Tiphis was, or skillful Palinure.

At the hils foot, whereon the Witch doth dwell

The serpents hisse, and cast their poyson vilde,

The ouglie bores doe reare their bristles fell,

There gape the beares, and roare the lyons wilde;

But yet a rod I haue can easlie quell

Their rage and wrath, and make them meeke and milde.

Yet on the top and height of all the hill,

The greatest danger lies, and greatest ill:

There welleth out a faire, cleere, bubbling spring,

Whose water pure the thirstie guests entise,

But in those liquors cold the secret sting

Of strange and deadly poyson closed lies,

One suppe thereof the drinkers hart doth bring

To sudden ioy, whence laughter vaine doth rise,

Nor that strance meriment once stops or staies

Till, with his laughter end, he end his daies;

Then from those deadly, wicked streames refraine

Your thirstie lippes, despise the daintie cheare

You find expos'd vopn the grassie plaine,

Those false damsels once vouchsafe to heare,

That in melodious tunes their voices straine,

Whose faces louely, smiling, sweet, appeare;

But you their lookes, their voice, their songs despise,

And enter faire Armidaes Paradise.

The house is builded like a maze within,

With turning staires, false doores and winding waies,

The shape whereof plotted in velam thin

I will you give, that all those sleights bewraies,

In midst a garden lies, where many a gin

And net to catch fraile hearts, fale Cupid laies;

There in the verdue of the herbours greene,

With your braue champion lies the wanton queene.

But when she haply riseth from the knight,

And hath withdrawne her presence from the place,

Then take a shield I haue of dimonds bright,

And hold the same before the yongmans face,

That he may glasse therein his garments light,

And wanton soft attire vew his case,

That with the sight, shame, and disdaine may moue

His hart to leaue that base and seruile loue.

Written by Torquato Tasso, Translated by Edward Fairfax