HISTORY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE

1.   English – Present and Future

1. Language and Culture

Among other things, one thing which distinguishes man from animal is ‘taking interest in his past’. As we feel that our education is not complete without some basic knowledge of economics, every day science and history, so we have a keen desire to discover how our mother tongue (or any other language) started and developed into the present shape. We are keen to study the details about the medium through which we communicate with our family and friends, the tool with which we conduct our business and the vehicle by which science, philosophy and poetry have been transmitted to us. Thus an educated man must know something of the structure of his language, its position in the world, its relation to other tongues, the richness of its vocabulary; and political, social and cultural influences on his mother tongue.

2. Influence on Language

While political and social events of history have profoundly affected the English people’s life, they have overwhelmingly affected their Language also. Christianizing of Britain in 597 brought England into contact with Latin civilization and made significant additions to the vocabulary of English language. The Scandinavian invasions resulted in a considerable mixture of the two peoples and their languages. After Norman Conquest, English language for two centuries remained the language of the lower class; while the nobles used French all the time. And when the English once again came to power, English language became the language of all population. But it was now an English greatly changed both in form and vocabulary from what it was in 1066. Similarly, the Hundred Years’ War, the rise of middle class, Renaissance, maritime power of England, expansion of British Empire, and growth of commerce, industry, science and literature all have contributed to make the English language what it is today. Thus the English language reflects in its entire development the political, social and cultural history of the English people.

3. Growth and Decay of Language

All languages have a history of growth and decay. English language has also seen many ups and downs. Such as plants and animals live and die, so is the language. Sometimes, it is living and sometimes it is dead. This process of change in Language is essential for its progress. When a language ceases to change, we call it a dead language. Classical Latin is a dead language because it has not changed for nearly two thousand years. Change in a living language can be mostly seen in its vocabulary. Old words die out, new words are added and existing words change their meaning. For instance Nice in Shakespeare’s days meant foolish, rheumatism meant a cold in the head. Pronunciation also changes. Old English word stan has become our stone; cu has become cow. Grammar also changes. Previously, knowed was the past tense of know. This process of change is called analogy. It is interesting to trace the influences which alter a language (spoken and written) from age to age. These are the influences which have made the English language of 900 quite unintelligible to the people of 1900.

4. Importance of Language

There is a strong relationship between a language and the people who speak it. The two can never be thought apart. A language lives only so long as there are people who speak it. A language is important because the people who speak it are important – politically, economically, commercially, socially and culturally. English, French and German languages are important because they are the languages of important peoples.  Hence they are widely studied even outside their native countries. But Romanian, Serbian and Malay are seldom learned by outsiders. Sometimes cultural importance of a nation has been so great that its language remains important for a long time even though that nation has lost its political, commercial or cultural greatness. Greek language, for example, is studied in its classical form because its literature preserves the most complete record of its great civilization. As for the Modern Greek language spoken today, it is largely neglected by the outside world.

5. Importance of English

English is the largest language spoken in Europe and America by more than 340 million people. A comparison with the speakers of other European languages is as follows:-

Language	Number of Speakers
English	340 m
Spanish	210 m
Russian	200 m
Portuguese	115 m
German	105 m
French	80 m
Italian	62 m

Importance of a language is not only due to the large number of its speakers. It also depends on the importance of the people who speak it. It is closely associated with the political role played by the nations who use it; with their influence in international affairs; with the extent of their business and international trade; with the conditions of life under which their people live; and with the part played by them in art and literature and music, in science and inventions; and in exploration and discovery – in short with their contribution to the material and spiritual progress of the world. English is the mother tongue of the nations whose combined political influence, economic soundness, commercial activity, social well-being and scientific and cultural contributions to civilization have made English the largest language of the world.

It is interesting to note that Arabic is spoken by 325 million people. But since the Arabs today are not living like a strong and powerful nation, their language is not as important as English. If they are united as one Muslim nation, Arabic can become the language of the world.

6. The Future of the English Language

What will be the future of the English Language? It is very difficult to predict about the future of a language because we cannot predict about the future of the nations. Existence of a language mostly depends on the population of its speakers. Current trends show that the population of developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America is growing faster than the population of developed countries in Europe and North America. Thus the population of the English speaking countries is shrinking. But we should remember that the future of a language is not merely the matter of the number of people who use it. A language lives as far as its speakers live like a strong and powerful nation. Besides, English is widely used as a second language throughout the world. In some developing countries which are experiencing fast economic growth, such as India, Nigeria and Philippines, English is one of the official languages. Although such countries try to adopt their native language as official language, but these efforts mostly fail and English language continues to play its vital role in the developing countries. It is hoped that English language will remain important and indispensable throughout the world in future.  

7. Will English become the language of the world?

Will English become some day the language of the world? This is a very interesting question. What a pleasant idea it is:-

·         if a traveler is not required to rely on a foreign language while visiting any country of the world;

·         if we can conduct our business using one single language;

·         if scientists and scholars can learn and exchange information without any barrier of language; 

·         if we could avoid misunderstandings among nations and promote peace through direct contacts among the world leaders – all of them using one common language.

The world is fully aware of the need of one international language. Several attempts made in the past to create a new artificial language have, however, failed. The official languages of United Nations are English, French, Russian, Spanish, Chinese and Arabic. When we compare the present status of English with other five languages, we see that English is the most popular language of international communication and media, its number of speakers is increasing, in many countries it is either the primary (official) language or a compulsory second language in schools, courts and business. Thus it can be hoped that if some day the whole world agrees to adopt one single language for communicating with one another, it will be none but the English language. As John Galsworthy remarked, “any impartial scrutiny made at this moment of time must place English at the head of all languages as the most likely to become, in a natural, unforced way, the single intercommunicating tongue.”

8. Assets and Liabilities (Strengths and Weaknesses of English Language)

Every language has some strong points and some weak points.

Strengths of English Language

English language has the following 3 strong points which have made this language easy to learn for foreigners:-

1. Cosmopolitan Vocabulary
2. Inflectional Simplicity (Simplicity in variations)
3. Use of Gender

9. Cosmopolitan Vocabulary

English is called a Germanic language, which means that it belongs to the group of German, Dutch, Flemish (Belgian), Danish, Swedish and Norwegian languages. It shares with these languages similar grammatical structure and many common words. More than half of its vocabulary is derived from Latin (through French, Italian and Spanish). It frequently borrows words from many other languages, such as:-

WORDS	BORROWED FROM
Caravan, divan, khaki, shawl, sherbet, jasmine, paradise, check, chess, lemon, turban, spinach	Persian
Brandy, golf, wagon, uproar	Dutch
Balcony, duet, granite, opera, piano, umbrella, volcano	Italian
Cargo, contraband, cork, mosquito, stampede, tornado, vanilla	Spanish
Anthology, barometer, catastrophe, chronology, elastic, magic, tactics	Greek
Vodka, ruble,	Russian

Besides, English has borrowed many words from Arabic, Hungarian, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Malay, Chinese; and also from the languages of Java, Australia, West Africa and Brazil. Such a cosmopolitan vocabulary can easily make a language international.  

                         

10. Inflectional Simplicity (Simplicity in Variations)

A language in which variation of words is simple can sustain and can progress. In the process of simplification, English has gone further than any other language in Europe. For instance, to make plural of a noun, generally, we have to add ‘s’ after it and for apostrophe, we are required to add “ ’s” after the noun. For making past tense of a verb, we may simply add ‘ed’ after it. For making comparative and superlative degrees of adjective, we generally add ‘er’ and ‘est’ respectively. These things are very complicated in other languages like German and French.

11. Use of Gender  

Handling of Gender in English language is very simple when compared to other European languages. Gender in English is determined by meaning and there is a very simple rule for this: All living creatures are masculine or feminine according to their sex; while all non-living things are called Neuter Gender. We say:-

·         Man is brave. He is not afraid of any one.

·         Lady is beautiful. She is wearing a nice dress.

·         I have a chair. It is made of wood.

For non-living things, we never bother whether we should use for them ‘He’ or ‘She’; we simply use ‘It’.

12. Liabilities (Weaknesses of English Language)

Like all other languages, English also has some weak points, which make it difficult to learn, especially for foreigners:-

1. Difficult idiomatic expressions:      An idiom is a form of expression peculiar to the language. Foreigners often complain that they cannot easily express themselves idiomatically in English. English language is not alone to face this problem. All languages have their special ways of saying things. Let us see these sentences expressed in German and English:-

German	English
Was fur ein Mann (What for a man)	What kind of man
Il fait froid (It makes cold)	It is cold

  

The French visitor, who had learned the English idiom: ‘to press a person to do something’ said: “Can we not squeeze the young lady to sing?” His substitution ‘squeeze’ for the word ‘press’ was logical; but it was not idiomatic. Similarly, note the difference in the meanings of these sentences:-

My husband isn’t up yet	My husband isn’t down yet
Go fast (Run fast)	Stand fast (Stay firm)

But such difficulties we find in every language. Specially, the languages which are simple have to face these kinds of problems. Their mastery largely depends on their memory.

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2. Relation between spelling and pronunciation:       The most adequate system of spellings is that which best combines simplicity with consistency – a system in which the same sound is regularly represented by the same character and a given character always represents the same sound. There is only one language in the world which perfectly fulfils this condition; and that is Arabic – the language of the Holy Quran. Among European languages, Italian and German are much better than English in this respect.

In English:-

1)      The vowel sound in each of the following words is represented by a different spelling:-

Believe, receive, leave, machine, be, see

2)      The character ‘a’ sounds differently in the following words:-

Father, hate, hat

3)      There are 14 spellings for the sound of ‘sh’:-

Shoe, sugar, issue, mansion, mission, nation, suspicion, ocean, nauseous, conscious, chaperon (protector), schist (rock), fuchsia (bush), Pshaw (hate)  

This shows that there is lack of uniformity in spelling in English language. One cannot tell how to spell an English word by its pronunciation or how to pronounce it by its spelling. The English-speaking child wastes much valuable time during the early years of his education in learning to spell his own language; and to a foreigner, English spelling is extremely difficult. About a hundred years back, an attempt was made to simplify English spellings as follows:-

Existing Spelling	Simplified Spelling
Have	hav (like ‘has’ and ‘had’)
Are	ar (like ‘is’)
Were	wer (like ‘was’)

But though logically sound, these spellings seemed strange to the eye. So this change could not be accepted. But there is a possibility that some day we are forced to reform our spelling from international point of view.

2.   Indo-European Family of Languages

13. Language Constantly Changing

Language is not writing. Actually it is speech. Writing is only a device of recording sounds. Since language is speech, therefore, it is not uniform and fixed; it is always changing. Speech is produced by moving certain muscles of human body. When muscles are moved repeatedly, this movement is subject to alteration. This alteration takes place largely without our being conscious of it. Thus each individual is constantly and quite unconsciously introducing slight changes in his speech. There is no such thing as uniformity in a language. Speech of one community differs from that of another; speech of different individuals of a single community differs from one another; even speech of different members of the same family differs from one another. Members of a group, however, are influenced by one another. Therefore we find a general similarity in the speech of a particular community. Changes in speech are general and common to a large part of the community.  

Alteration that is going on in a language is so gradual that we hardly notice it. But after a period of time it becomes visible. Classical Poet, Alexander Pope writes:

            Good-nature and good-sense must ever join;

            To err is human, to forgive, divine …..

Here it is apparent that he pronounced ‘join’ as ‘jine’. Again he says:

            Here thou great Anna! Whom three realms obey,

            Dost sometimes counsel take – and sometimes Tea.

This shows that he pronounced ‘Tea’ as ‘Tay’. At other places Pope has used the words full—rule, give—believe, glass—place, ear—repair etc. Similar examples can be seen in Chaucer’s and King Alfred’s works. Alfred used the words: ban (bone), hu (how), heah (high). These words can hardly be recognized by the ordinary English-speaking person today.

14. Dialectal Differentiation

In a community, individual differences of speech remain merged in the general speech of the community, so they are not visible. But if any separation of one community from another takes place and lasts for quite some time, differences grow up between them and become visible. We call them ‘Local Dialects’. If separation is still longer, so as the language of one district is not understood by the other district, then we have ‘Development of a separate language’. Common features in two languages indicate that at one time in the past they were one, such as English and German:-

German	English
Milch	Milk
Brot	Bread
Fleisch	Flesh
Wasser	Water

Let us have a look at the English words ‘Father’ and ‘Brother’ in other languages:

English	Father	Brother
German	Vater	Bruder
Dutch	vader	Broeder
Greek	Pater	Phrater
Sanskrit	Pitar	Bhratar

This shows that the languages of Europe and Asia were at one time identical.

15. The Discovery of Sanskrit

In late 18^th century, it was discovered that Sanskrit, a language of ancient India, was also one of the language of this European group. The rich literature of India, reaching back further than that of any of the European languages, preserves features of the common language. Besides, the inflections (variations) of these languages also have a common origin. Compare the inflection of ‘is’ and ‘are’ :-

English	Is	are
Old English	Is	sindon
Gothic (German)	Ist	sijum
Latin	Est	sumus
Greek	Esti	semen
Sanskrit	Asti	smas

Analysis carried out by Hindu grammarians also proves that a close relation exists in Sanskrit and European languages, which shows that Sanskrit is also from the family of European languages.

16. Grimm’s Law

In 1822 a German Philologist, Jacob Grimm discovered that there was a great similarity between some consonants in Germanic languages and those found in Sanskrit, Greek and Latin. According to him a ‘p’ in Indo-European languages remained as ‘p’ in Latin and Greek; but it was changed to ‘f’ in Germanic languages. So the Latin word ‘piscis’ (pish) became ‘fish’ in English. Similarly, ‘c’ (sounding as ‘k’) in Latin was changed to ‘h’ and ‘t’ to ‘d’ in English. So the Latin word ‘centum’ (sounding as ‘kentum’) became ‘hundred’ in English. Formulation of these correspondences is known as Grimm’s Law.

The cause of this change is not known. It is said that it took place in fifth century B.C., after the Germanic dialect was separated from the neighboring dialect of the parent language. It is also assumed that the change was due to the migration of Germanic tribes and their contact with non-Germanic population. Another possibility is that a foreign population had entered into Germanic territory which caused this change.  

There were some exceptions in Grimm’s Law. For instance, Latin word ‘centum’ became ‘hundred’ in English. Here change from ‘c’ to ‘h’ was according to rule; but change from ‘t’ to ‘d’ was an exception (because according to rule, ‘t’ should have been changed to ‘th’ (sounding as ‘th-e’) and not ‘d’). In 1875, Karl Verner showed that some voiceless spirants became voiced in Germanic languages. So ‘th-e’ became ‘the’ and then ‘d’ in English.

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17. The Indo-European Family

The languages brought into relationship from a parent speech are called a family language. Previously, the name ‘Aryan’ was used for the Indo-European family languages. But now this word is used only for the language of the family located in India. Another common term used for the Indo-European family languages is Indo-Teutonic (i.e. the languages of Indians, Germans, Scandinavians and British). German Philologists name this family as Indo-Germanic. But this is open to objection of giving undue emphasis to Germanic languages. The term now most widely used is Indo-European, suggesting more clearly the geographical extent of the family.   

We have no written record of the common Indo-European language. By comparison of its descendants, however, it is possible to form a fair idea of it and to reconstruct with approximate accuracy its vocabulary and inflections. There are 11 surviving languages of Indo-European family, which show various degrees of similarity to one another.

18. Indian

The oldest literary texts preserved in any Indo-European language are the Vedas (sacred books) of India. These books form the basis of Brahman philosophy. Oldest of these books go back to 1500 B.C. These are written in Sanskrit language (or Vedic Sanskrit). This language is also found in certain prose writings containing directions for various religious activities of Hindus. Sanskrit was later used for writings other than religion. It was now given a literary form and was known as Classical Sanskrit. Two great epics (long poems) ‘Mahabharata’ and ‘Ramayana’ were written in this language. Besides, numerous scientific and philosophical works are also available in Classical Sanskrit. However, long ago Sanskrit ceased to be a spoken language. Later, some local dialects of Sanskrit got a literary form. One of these, ‘Pali’ became the language of Buddhism. The present official languages of India (Hindi), Pakistan (Urdu) and Bangladesh (Bengali) have also descended from these local dialects. These languages are spoken by about 600 million people. Other important languages of India and Pakistan are ‘Panjabi’ and ‘Marathi’. Urdu is closely related to Hindi. However it is differentiated from Hindi for its considerable mixture of Persian and Arabic words and also for its script which is Arabic, not Sanskrit.

The First Book of The Faerie Queen

(Edmund Spenser)

Lo, I the Man, whose Muse whileom did mask,

As time her taught, in lowly Shepherds weeds,

Am now enforc't a far unfitter Task,

For Trumpets stern to change mine oaten Reeds,

And sing of Knights, and Ladies gentle Deeds;

Whose Praises having slept in silence long,

Me, all too mean, the sacred Muse areeds

To blazon broad, amongst her learned Throng:

Fierce Warres, and faithful Loves, shall moralize my Song.

Help then, O holy Virgin, chief of nine,

Thy weaker Novice to perform thy Will:

Lay forth out of thine everlasting Scrine

The antique Rolls, which there lie hidden still,

Of Fairy Knights, and fairest Tanaquill,

Whom that most noble Briton Prince so long

Sought through the World, and suffer'd so much Ill,

That I must rue his undeserved Wrong:

O! help thou my weak Wit, and sharpen my dull Tongue.

And thou, most dreaded Imp of highest Jove,

Fair Venus' Son, that with thy cruel Dart

At that good Knight so cunningly didst rove,

That glorious Fire it kindled in his Heart;

Lay now thy deadly Heben Bowe apart,

And with thy Mother mild come to mine ayd:

Come both, and with you bring triumphant Mart,

In Loves and gentle Jollities arrayd,

After his murdrous Spoiles and bloody Rage allayd.

And with them eke, O Goddess heavenly bright,

Mirrour of Grace and Majesty Divine,

Great Lady of the greatest Isle, whose Light

Like Phoebus' Lamp throughout the World doth shine,

Shed thy fair Beames into my feeble Eyne,

And raise my Thoughts, too humble, and too vile,

To think of that too glorious Type of thine,

The Argument of mine afflicted Stile:

The which to hear, vouchsafe, O dearest Dread, a-while.

CANTO I.

The Patron of true Holiness

Foul Error doth defeat:

Hypocrisy him to entrap,

Doth to his Home entreat.

A Gentle Knight was pricking on the Plain,

Yclad in mightie Arms and silver Shield,

Wherein old dints of deep Wounds did remain,

The cruel Marks of many a bloodie Field;

Yet Arms till that time did he never wield:

His angry Steed did chide his foming Bit;

As, much disdaining to the Curb to yield:

Full jolly Knight he seem'd, and fair did sit,

As one for Knightly Giusts and fierce Encounters fit.

But on his Breast a bloody Cross he bore,

The dear Remembrance of his dying Lord,

For whose sweet sake that glorious Badge he wore,

And dead (as living ) ever him ador'd:

Upon his Shield the like was also scor'd,

For soveraign Hope, which in his help he had:

Right faithful true he was in Deed and Word;

But of his Cheere did seem too solemn sad:

Yet nothing did he dread, but ever was ydrad.

Upon a great Adventure he was bond,

That greatest Gloriana to him gave,

That greatest glorious Queen of Fairy Lond,

To win him Worship, and her Grace to have,

Which of all earthly things he most did crave;

And ever as he rode, his Heart did earn

To prove his Puissance in Battle brave

Upon his Foe, and his new force to learn;

Upon his Foe, a Dragon horrible and stearn.

A lovely Lady rode him fair beside,

Upon a lowly Asse more white than Snow;

Yet she much whiter, but the same did hide

Under a Veil, that wimpled was full low,

And over all a black Stole she did throw,

As one that inly mournd: so was she sad,

And heavie sat upon her Palfrey slow;

Seemed in heart some hidden care she had,

And by her in a line a milk-white Lamb she lad.

So pure an Innocent, as that same Lamb,

She was in Life and every vertuous Lore,

And by Descent from Royall Lynage came

Of ancient Kings and Queens, that had of yore

Their Scepters stretcht from East to Western Shore,

And all the World in their Subjection held;

Till that infernal Fiend with foul uprore

Forewasted all their Land, and them expeld:

Whom to avenge, she had this Knight from far compeld.

Behind her farr away a Dwarf did lag,

That lazie seem'd in being ever last,

Or wearied with bearing of her Bag

Of Needments at his Back. Thus as they past,

The Day with Clouds was suddain overcast,

And angry Jove an hideous Storm of Rain

Did pour into his Leman's Lap so fast,

That every Wight to shroud it did constrain,

And this fair Couple eke to shroud themselves were fain.

Enforc't to seek some Covert nigh at hand

A shadie Grove not farr away they spide,

That promist Aid the Tempest to withstand:

Whose lofty Trees, yclad with Summer's Pride,

Did spread so broad, they Heaven's Light did hide,

Not perceable with power of any Starr:

And all within were Paths and Alleys wide,

With footing worne, and leading inward farr:

Fair Harbour, that them seems; so in they entred are.

And forth they pass, with Pleasure forward led,

Joying to hear the Birds sweet Harmony,

Which therein shrouded from the Tempest dread,

Seem'd in their Song to scorn the cruel Sky.

Much 'gan they praise the Trees so straight and high,

The sailing Pine, the Cedar proud and tall,

The Vine-prop Elm, the Poplar never dry,

The builder Oak, sole King of Forrests all,

The Aspine good for Staves, the Cypress Funeral.

The Laurel, Meed of mighty Conquerors

And Poets sage, the Firr that weepeth still,

The Willow, worn of forlorn Paramours,

The Ewe, obedient to the Bender's will,

The Birch for Shafts, the Sallow for the Mill,

the Mirrhe, sweet bleeding in the bitter Wound,

The warlike Beech, the Ash for nothing ill,

The fruitful Olive, and the Platane round,

The Carver Holme, the Maple seldom inward sound.

Led with delight, they thus beguile the way,

Until the blustring Storm is over-blown;

When weening to return whence they did stray,

They cannot find that Path which first was shown,

But wander to and fro in ways unknown,

Furthest from end then, when they nearest ween,

That makes them doubt their Wits be not their own:

So many Paths, so many Turnings seen,

That which of them to take in diverse doubt they been.

At last resolving forward still to fare,

Till that some End they find or in or out,

That Path they take, that beaten seem'd most bare,

And like to lead the Labyrinth about;

Which when by Track they hunted had throughout,

At length it brought them to a hollow Cave,

Amid the thickest Woods. The Champion stout

Eftsoons dismounted from his Courser brave,

And to the Dwarf awhile his needless Spear he gave.

Be well aware, quoth then that Lady mild,

Lest sudden Mischief ye too rash provoke:

The Danger hid, the Place unknown and wild,

Breeds dreadful Doubts: Oft Fire is without Smoke,

Peril without show: therefore your hardy stroke,

Sir Knight, with-hold till further trial made.

Ah Lady (said he) Shame were to revoke

The forward footing for an hidden Shade:

Vertue gives her self Light, through Darkness for to wade.

Yea, but (quoth she) the Peril of this Place

I better wot than you, tho now too late,

To wish you back return with foul Disgrace;

Yet Wisdom warns, whilst Foot is in the Gate,

To stay the Step, ere forced to retreat.

This is the wandring Wood, this Error's Den,

A Monster vile, whom God and Man does hate:

Therefore I reed, beware. Fly, fly (quoth then

The tearful Dwarf) this is no place for living Men.

But full of Fire and greedy Hardiment,

The youthful Knight could not for ought be staid,

But forth unto the darksome Hole he went,

And looked in: His glistring Armour made

A little glooming Light, much like a Shade,

By which he saw the ugly Monster plain,

Half like a Serpent horribly displaid,

But th' other half did Woman's Shape retain,

Most loathsom, filthy, foul, and full of vile Disdain.

And as she lay upon the dirty Ground,

Her huge long Tail her Den all overspred,

Yet was in Knots and many Boughtes upwound,

Pointed with mortal Sting. Of her there bred

A thousand young ones, which she daily fed,

Sucking upon her poisonous Dugs, each one

Of sundry Shapes, yet all ill favoured:

Soon as that uncouth Light upon them shone,

Into her Mouth they crept, and sudden all were gone.

Their Dam upstart, out of her Den effraide,

And rushed forth, hurling her hideous Tail

About her cursed Head; whose Folds display'd,

Were stretch'd now forth at length without Entrail.

She look'd about, and seeing one in Mail

Armed to point, sought back to turn again;

For Light she hated as the deadly bale,

Ay wont in defers Darkness to remain,

Where plain none might her see, nor she see any plain.

Which when the valiant Elf perceiv'd, he lept

As Lion fierce upon the flying Prey,

And with his trenchant Blade her boldly kept

From turning back, and forced her to stay:

Therewith enrag'd, she loudly 'gan to bray,

And turning fierce, her speckled Tail advaunc'd,

Threatning her angry Sting, him to dismay:

Who nought aghast, his mighty Hand enhaunst;

The stroke down from her Head unto her Shoulder glaunst.

Much daunted with that Dint, her Sense was daz'd,

Yet kindling Rage she her self gathered round,

And all at once her beastly Body rais'd

With doubled Forces high above the Ground:

Tho wrapping up her wreathed Stern around,

Lept fierce upon his Shield, and her huge Train

All suddenly about his Body wound,

That Hand or Foot to stir he strove in vain:

God help the Man so wrapt in Error's endless Train.

His Lady sad,to see his sore constraint,

Cry'd out, Now, now, Sir Knight, shew what ye be,

Add Faith unto your Force, and be not faint:

Strangle her, else she sure will strangle thee.

That when he heard, in great perplexity,

His Gall did grate for Grief and high Disdain,

And knitting all his Force got one Hand free,

Wherewith he grip'd her Gorge with so great Pain,

That soon to loose her wicked Bands did her constrain.

Therewith she spew'd out of her filthy Maw

A flood of Poison horrible and black,

Full of great Lumps of Flesh and Gobbets raw,

Which stunk so vildly, that it forc'd him slack

His grasping hold, and from her turn him back:

Her Vomit full of Books and Papers was,

With loathly Frogs and Toads, which Eyes did lack,

And creeping, sought way in the weedy Grass:

Her filthy Parbreake all the Place defiled has.

As when old Father Nilus 'gins to swell

With timely Pride above th' Aegyptian Vale,

His fatty Waves do fertile Slime outwell,

And overflow each Plain and lowly Dale:

But when his later Ebb 'gins to avail,

Huge heaps of Mud he leaves, wherein there breed

Ten thousand kinds of Creatures, partly Male

And partly Female, of his fruitful Seed;

Such ugly monstrous Shapes elsewhere may no Man reed.

The same so sore annoyed has the Knight,

That well nigh choaked with the deadly stink,

His Forces fail, ne can no longer fight:

Whose Courage when the Fiend perceiv'd to shrink,

She poured forth out of her hellish Sink

Her fruitful cursed Spawn of Serpents small,

Deformed Monsters, foul, and black as ink;

Which swarming all about his Legs did crawll,

And him encumbred sore, but could not hurt at all.

As gentle Shepherd in sweet Even-tide,

When ruddy Phoebus 'gins to welk in West,

High on an Hill, his Flock to vewen wide,

Marks which do bite their hasty Supper best;

A Cloud of combrous Gnats do him molest,

All striving to infix their feeble Stings,

That from their novance he no where can rest,

But with his clownish Hands their tender Wings

He brusheth oft, and oft doth mar their Murmurings.

Thus ill bestedd, and fearful more of Shame

Than of the certain Peril he stood in,

Half furious unto his Foe he came,

Resolv'd in mind all suddenly to win,

Or soon to lose, before he once would lin;

And strook at her with more than manly Force,

That from her Body, full of filthy Sin,

He raft her hateful Head without Remorse;

A stream of cole black Blood forth gushed from her Corse.

Her scatter'd Brood, soon as their Parent dear

They saw so rudely falling to the ground,

Groaning full deadly, all with troublous fear,

Gather'd themselves about her Body round,

Weening their wonted Entrance to have found

At her wide Mouth: but being there withstood,

They flocked all about her bleeding Wound

And sucked up their dying Mother's Blood,

Making her Death their Life, and eke her Hurt their Good.

That detestable sight him much amaz'd,

To see th' unkindly Imps of Heaven accurst,

Devour their Dam; on whom while so he gaz'd,

Having all satisfy'd their bloody Thirst,

Their Bellies swoln he saw with fulness burst,

And Bowels gushing forth; well worthy end

Of such as drunk her Life, the which them nurs'd.

Now needeth him no lenger Labour spend,

His Foes have slain themselves, with whom he should contend.

His Lady seeing all that chaunst, from far,

Approach'd in haste to greet his Victory,

And said, Fair Knight, born under happy Star,

Who see your vanquish'd Foes before you ly,

Well worthy be you of that Armory,

Wherein ye have great Glory won this day,

And prov'd your strength on a strong Enemy,

Your first Adventure: many such I pray

And henceforth ever wish, that like succeed it may.

Then mounted he upon his steed again,

And with the Lady backward sought to wend;

That Path he kept, which beaten was most plain,

Ne ever would to any by-way bend,

But still did follow one unto the end,

The which at fall out of the Wood them brought.

So forward on his way (with God to frend)

He passeth forth, and new Adventure sought;

Long way he travelled, before he heard of ought.

At length they chaunst to meet upon the way

An aged Sire, in long black Weeds yclad,

His Feet all bare, his Beard all hoary Gray,

And by his Belt his Book he hanging had;

Sober he seem'd, and very sagely sad,

And to the Ground his Eyes were lowly bent,

Simple in shew, and void of Malice bad,

And all the way he prayed, as he went

And often knock'd his Breast, as one that did repent.

He fair the Knight saluted, louting low,

Who fair him quited, as that courteous was:

And after asked him, if he did know

Of strange Adventures, which abroad did pass.

Ah my dear Son (quoth he) how should, alas!

Silly old Man, that lives in hidden Cell,

Bidding his Beads all day for his Trespass,

Tydings of War and worldly Trouble tell?

With holy Father fits not with such things to mell.

But if of Danger which hereby doth dwell,

And homebred Evil ye desire to hear,

Of a strange Man I can you Tydings tell,

That wasteth all this Country far and near.

Of such (said he) I chiefly do inquere,

And shall you well reward to shew the Place,

In which that wicked Wight his Days doth wear:

For to all Knighthood it is foul Disgrace,

That such a cursed Creature rises so long a space.

Far hence (quoth he) in wastful Wilderness

His Dwelling is, by which no living Wight

May ever pass, but thorough great Distress.

Now (said the Lady) draweth toward Night,

And well I wote, that of your later Fight

Ye all for wearied be: for what so strong,

But wanting Rest, will also want of Might?

The Sun that measures Heaven all day long,

At Night doth bait his Steeds the Ocean Waves emong.

Then with the Sun take, Sir, your timely Rest,

And with new Day new Work at once begin:

Untroubled Night, they say, gives Counsel best.

Right well, Sir Knight, ye have advised bin,

(Quoth then that aged Man); the way to win

Is wisely to advise: Now Day is spent,

Therefore with me ye may take up your Inn

For this same Night. The Knight was well content:

So with that godly Father to his Home they went.

A little lowly Hermitage it was,

Down in a Dale, hard by a Forests side,

Far from resort of People, that did pass

In Travel to and fro: a little wide

There was an holy Chappel edify'd,

Wherein the Hermit duely wont to say

His holy things each Morn and Even-tyde:

Thereby a Chrystal Stream did gently play,

Which from a sacred Fountain welled forth alway.

Arrived there, the little House they fill,

Ne look for Entertainment where none was:

Rest is their Feast, and all things at their will;

The noblest Mind the best Contentment has.

With fair Discourse the Evening so they pass;

For that old Man of pleasing Words had store,

And well could file his Tongue as smooth as Glass;

He told of Saints and Popes, and evermore

He strow'd an Ave-Mary after and before.

The drooping Night thus creepeth on them fast,

And the sad Humour loading their Eye-lids,

As Messenger of Morpheus on them cast

Sweet slumbring Dew, the which to sleep them bids.

Unto their Lodgings then his Guests he ridds:

Where when all drown'd in deadly sleep he finds,

He to his Study goes, and there amidds

His Magick Books and Arts of sundry kinds,

He seeks out mighty Charms to trouble sleepy Minds.

Then chusing out few words most horrible,

(Let none them read) thereof did Verses frame,

With which, and other Spells like terrible,

He bad awake black Pluto's griesly Dame,

And cursed Heaven, and spake reproachful Shame

Of highest God, the Lord of Life and Light;

A bold bad Man, that dar'd to call by Name

Great Gorgon, Prince of Darkness and dead Night,

At which Cocytus quakes, and Styx is put to flight.

And forth he call'd, out of deep Darkness dread,

Legions of Sprights, the which like little Flies

Fluttring about his ever-damned Head,

Await whereto their Service he applies,

To aid his Friends, or fray his Enemies:

Of those he chose out two, the falsest two,

And fittest for to forge true-seeming Lyes;

The one of them he gave a Message to,

The other by himself staid other Work to do.

He making speedy way through spersed Air,

And through the World of Waters wide and deep,

To Morpheus' House doth hastily repair.

Amid the Bowels of the Earth full steep,

And low, where dawning Day doth never peep,

His dwelling is; there Thetis his wet Bed

Doth ever wash, and Cynthia still doth steep

In silver Dew his ever-drooping Head,

Whiles sad Night over him her Mantle black doth spread.

Whose double Gates he findeth locked fast,

The one fair fram'd of burnish'd Ivory,

The other all with Silver over-cast;

And wakeful Dogs before them far do lie,

Watching to banish Care their Enemy,

Who oft is wont to trouble gentle Sleep.

By them the Sprite doth pass in quietly,

And unto Morpheus comes, whom drowned deep,

In drowsy Fit he finds; of nothing he takes keep.

And more to lull him in his Slumber soft,

A trickling Stream from high Rock tumbling down,

And ever drizling Rain upon the Loft,

Mixt with a murmuring Wind, much like the Sound

Of swarming Bees, did cast him in a Swoon:

No other Noise, nor Peoples troublous Cries,

As still are wont t' annoy the walled Town

Might there be heard: But careless Quiet lies.

Wrapt in eternal Silence, far from Enemies.

The Messenger approching, to him spake,

But his waste words return'd to him in vain:

So found be slept, that nought mought him awake.

Then rudely he him thrust, and push'd with Pain,

Whereat he 'gan to stretch: but he again

Shook him so hard, that forced him to speak.

As one then in a Dream, whose dryer Brain

Is tost with troubled Sights and Fancies weak,

He mumbled soft, but would not all his Silence break.

The Sprite then 'gan more boldly him to wake,

And threatned unto him the dreaded Name

Of Hecate; whereat he 'gan to quake,

And lifting up his lumpish Head, with blame,

Half angry, asked him, For what he came.

Hither (quoth he) me Archimago sent,

He that the stubborn Sprites can wisely tame,

He bids thee to him send, for his intent,

A fit false Dream, that can delude the Sleepers sent.

The God obey'd, and calling forth straight-way

A diverse Dream out of his Prison dark,

Deliver'd it to him, and down did lay

His heavy Head, devoid of careful cark,

Whose Senses all were straight benumb'd and stark.

He back returning by the Ivory Door,

Remounted up as light as chearful Lark,

And on his little Wings the Dream he bore

In haste unto his Lord, where he him left afore.

Who all this while with Charms and hidden Arts,

Had made a Lady of that other Spright,

And fram'd of liquid Air her tender parts

So lively, and so like in all Mens sight,

That weaker Sense it could have ravish'd quite:

The Maker's self, for all his wondrous Wit,

Was nigh beguiled with so goodly sight:

Her all in white he clad, and over it

Cast a black Stole, most like to seem for Una fit.

How when that idle Dream was to him brought,

Unto that Elfin Knight he bad him fly,

Where he slept soundly void of evil Thought,

And with false shews abuse his fantasy,

In sort as he him schooled privily:

And that new Creature born without her Due,

Full of the Maker's Guile, with Usage fly

He taught to imitate that Lady true,

Whose semblance she did carry under feigned hue.

Thus well instructed, to their work they haste,

And coming where the Knight in slumber lay,

The one upon his hardy Head him plac'd,

And made him dream of Loves and lustful Play,

That nigh his manly Heart did melt away,

Bathed in wanton Bliss and wicked Joy:

Then seemed him his Lady by him lay,

And to him plain'd, how that false winged Boy

Her chaste Heart had subdu'd, to learn Dame Pleasure's Toy.

And she her self, of Beauty soveraign Queen,

Fair Venus, seem'd unto his Bed to bring

Her, whom he waking evermore did ween

To be the chastest Flower that ay did spring

On earthly Bronch, the Daughter of a King,

Now a loose Leman to vile Service bound:

And eke the Graces seemed all to sing

Hymen Io Hymen, dancing all around,

Whilst freshest Flora her with Ivy Garland crown'd.

In this great Passion of unwonted Lust,

Or wonted Fear of doing ought amiss,

He started up, as seeming to mistrust

Some secret ill, or hidden Foe of his:

Lo there before his Face his Lady is,

Under black Stole hiding, her baited Hook,

And as half blushing, offer'd him to kiss,

With gentle Blandishment and lovely Look,

Most like that Virgin true, which for her Knight him took.

All clean dismay'd to see so uncouth sight,

And half enraged at her shameless guise,

He thought t' have slain her in his fierce despight:

But hasty Heat tempering with sufferance wise,

He staid his Hand, and 'gan himself advise

To prove his Sense, and tempt her feigned Truth.

Wringing her Hands in Womens piteous wise,

Tho can she weep, to stir up gentle ruth,

Both for her noble Blood, and for her tender Youth.

And said, Ah, Sir, my Liege Lord and my Love,

Shall I accuse the hidden cruel Fate,

And mighty Causes wrought in Heaven above,

Or the blind God that doth me thus amate,

For hoped love to win me certain Hate?

Yet thus perforce he bids me do, or die.

Die is my Due: yet rue my wretched State

You, whom my hard avenging Destiny

Hath made Judge of my Life or Death indifferently.

Your own dear sake forc'd me at first to leave

My Father's Kingdom: there she stop'd with Tears;

Her swollen Heart her Speech seem'd to bereave,

And then again begun: My weaker Years

Captiv'd to Fortune and frail worldly Fears,

Fly to your Faith for Succour and sure Aid:

Let me not die in Languor and long Tears.

Why Dame (quoth he) what hath ye thus dismay'd?

What frays ye, that were wont to comfort me afraid?

Love of your self, she said, and dear Constraint

Let me not sleep, but waste the weary Night

In secret Anguish and unpitied Plaint,

Whiles you in careless Sleep are drowned quite.

Her doubtful Words made that redoubled Knight

Suspect her Truth: Yet since no' Untruth he knew,

Her fauning Love, with foul disdainful Spite,

He would not shend, but said, Dear Dame I rew,

That for my sake unknown such Grief unto you grew.

Assure your self it fell not all to ground;

For all so dear as Life is to my Heart,

I deem your love, and hold me to you bound;

Ne let vain Fears procure your needless Smart,

Where cause is none, but to your Rest depart.

Not all content, yet seem'd she to appease

Her mournful Plaints, beguiled of her Art,

And fed with Words that could not chuse but please,

So sliding softly forth, she turn'd as to her Ease.

Long after lay he musing at her Mood,

Much griev'd to think that gentle Dame so light,

For whose Defence he was to shed his Blood.

At last dull weariness of former Fight

Having yrock'd asleep his irksome Spright,

That troublous Dream 'gan freshly toss his Brain,

With Bowers, and Beds, and Ladies dear Delight;

But when he saw his Labour all was vain,

With that misformed Spright he back return'd again.

Edited by;

(Ayaz Aslam, MA-Eng (Evening) @NUML)

Cell# 0333-5425726

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